Christel Sands-Feaste served as a member of the country's inaugural Fiscal Responsibility Council. She is a highly experienced commercial lawyer with over 25 years of experience, primarily focused on financial services, securities, and investment funds. She is a Partner in the firm of Higgs & Johnson, where she serves as Chair of the Financial Services, Securities, Investment Funds, and Fintech Practice Groups.
Christel provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, securities offerings in The Bahamas and international capital markets, securitizations and investment fund structuring and creation. In addition to her transactional work, Christel regularly advises clients on day-to-day legal issues including licensing and compliance matters as well as other general corporate, governance and operational activities.
Christel acts for institutional and private clients locally and internationally in the financial services, hospitality, securities, gaming, utilities and fintech sectors. She has presented extensively at local, regional and global conferences on banking, securities, financial services, fintech and other general business issues.
Christel is ranked Tier 1, Band 1 in the General Business Law Category in Chambers Global legal directory, as a “Highly Regarded” attorney in The Bahamas in IFLR1000. She is included in the IFLR1000 Women Leaders List for her outstanding contribution as a female lawyer. She has been recommended as a ‘leading partner’ by Legal 500 Caribbean (Commercial Transactions) and Global Law Experts (Mergers & Acquisitions Law). Christel is a recipient of the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) award for Financial Services Development & Promotion as a member of the Working Group responsible for the launch of the groundbreaking Bahamas Investment Condominium (ICON) legal structure.
In addition to serving as Chair of the Fiscal Responsibility Council, Christel is a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, the International Association of Gaming Advisors and the Investment Funds Working Group of the Bahamas Financial Services Board, President of the Nassau (Bahamas) Chapter of The Links Incorporated, and a Director of St. Andrew’s International School. She previously served as a Director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) (also co-chairing its Ease of Doing Business Division), and as Vice Chairman of the Bahamas Hospitals and Health Care Facilities Licensing Board. Christel has also served as Vice President – legal for a family office and a leading Bahamian development company.
She holds a Master of Laws degree in Banking and Finance Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Reading. She was called to the Bars of England and Wales and The Bahamas in 1998.
