Article #55 – WAS FUSION AN ILLUSION WE SHOULD STILL USE, OR SHOULD WE DE-FUSE? THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
WAS FUSION AN ILLUSION WE SHOULD STILL USE, OR SHOULD WE DE-FUSE? THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Attorney-at-law
Martin Anthony George & Co.
Attorneys-at-law
(Research Assistance provided by
Darrell Bartholomew, Attorney at Law)
DISCLAIMER: Please note this does NOT constitute LEGAL ADVICE or LEGAL CONSULTATION, which you should get from your own Attorneys and this is being shared with the general public for the purposes of information and discussion ONLY.
INTRODUCTION
The legal profession consists of the body of persons who have been admitted to practise law in any given jurisdiction. Depending on which part of the world one is in, when a layperson thinks of the legal profession, they are likely to associate this term with persons who are lawyers, solicitors, barristers, Advocates, Counsels, or Attorneys at Law.
Generally speaking in Trinidad & Tobago, a practising lawyer, or as we say, an Attorney at Law, is able to conduct a wide variety of matters on behalf of their clients such as representing them in criminal or civil proceedings, preparing contracts, incorporating companies, setting up trusts, and dealing with estate matters inclusive of the probate of a will and the administration of an estate.
These are in fact a mere snippet of the matters that lawyers handle for clients. In the United Kingdom you have two separate and distinct streams of Legal Practitioners, known as Solicitors and Barristers. Solicitors in the UK handle the majority of non-contentious and non-litigious legal matters and they tend to specialise in one or more areas of law such as Conveyancing, Probate and Administration of Estates, Wills, Trusts, Contract Law, Banking and Insurance Law, as well as preparing briefs and taking Instructions from clients, research and providing support for Barristers in preparation for criminal and civil litigation.
Barristers in the UK specialise in litigation and courtroom advocacy, where they argue their client’s cases in a superior court such as the UK’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and the various Crown Courts. Solicitors and Barristers tend to collaborate in litigation matters, with a Solicitor ‘instructing’ a Barrister. In practice in a litigation matter this means that the Solicitor meets with the clients, takes their instructions, performs the relevant research (often with help from the paralegals or legal researchers) and prepares legal documents for filing at the Court office.
The Solicitors also prepare briefs, speaking notes, and submissions for the Barrister, who then address the Judge on behalf of their client. If a picture of a Barrister standing in Court wearing robes and wigs comes to mind here, then that is an excellent reference point.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Attorney-at-law is how we refer to our lawyers. Our lawyers are a combination of all of the roles of a typical Solicitor and all of the roles of a Barrister. So while the UK retains these as two separate streams, in Trinidad and Tobago the Profession has been fused by virtue of the Legal Profession Act Chapter 90:03, and there is no longer any distinction between being a Solicitor and a barrister – we are all “Attorneys at Law”.
THE LEGAL PROFESSION ACT CHAPTER 90:03 OF THE LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Prior to 1st January 1987 the Legal profession in Trinidad and Tobago consisted of the same two separate streams of Solicitors and Barristers as exists in the UK. The Legal Profession Act Chapter 90:03 changed all of this and eliminated the distinction between Solicitors and Barristers in a total overhaul of the legal profession here, fusing the specialty roles of Solicitor and Barrister into one title called Attorney-at-law. This is more in keeping with the US and how they view their Attorneys as being all-purpose individuals who are permitted to do the traditional Solicitor type work and also the regular barrister type Advocacy function. This meant that in 1987, all Barristers and Solicitors entitled to practise law in Trinidad and Tobago at the time of the commencement of the Act automatically became Attorneys-at-law.
PATHS TO QUALIFICATION TO PRACTISE LAW IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
There are several routes which an interested individual can take to become an Attorney at Law entitled to practise Law in Trinidad and Tobago.
The most popular route is to attend the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine, to pursue the study of an undergraduate law degree or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) as it is commonly known. Attendance at UWI offers students a distinct advantage as those who successfully complete the LL.B at UWI St. Augustine gain automatic entry to the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS), where they are taught the practical skills which they would need to possess as an Attorney-at-law.
Upon successful completion of the two-year program at the HWLS, students are awarded a Legal Education Certificate (LEC), which is one of the requirements needed to apply for admission to practise Law here in Trinidad and Tobago. Once a prospective Attorney-at-law is able to, inter alia, earn an LEC, gain a Certificate of Fitness, provide all relevant academic certificates, and get a senior Attorney-at-law to present them for admission, they are able to petition the Court to be admitted to practice law in Trinidad & Tobago and once their petition is accepted, their name is entered onto the Roll of Attorneys at Law and they are able to practise law here in Trinidad and Tobago.
Of course, attendance at UWI St. Augustine (or one of the other campuses) is not the only means for students here to obtain an LL.B, as there are many universities in the UK which offer the LL.B degree, both via in-person teaching or distance learning education. Once the LL.B is obtained from a UK University, its holder can apply to the HWLS for admission, though it is normally a difficult process to gain entry, as there are limited places for non UWI students, and once admitted, the process follows the same steps highlighted above for UWI students.
In 2000, the Legal Profession Act Chapter 90:03 was amended by the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2000, which provided a special route to admission to practise for Trinidad and Tobago nationals, in an attempt to address the inability of the HWLS to meet the demand for places there. Section 15 (1A) of the Act now provides that:
“Notwithstanding this Act or any other written law to the contrary, a national of Trinidad and Tobago who–
- has passed the Bar Finals or the Bar Vocational Course at an institution validated by the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales, has been called to the Bar of England and Wales and has completed pupillage of at least six months and is certified as such;
- has passed the Law Society Finals or the Legal Practice Course at an institution validated by the Law Society of England and Wales and having undertaken articles or a training contract in accordance with the Training Regulations of the Law Society of England and Wales, has been admitted to the roll of solicitors of the Supreme Court of England and Wales;
- has passed the Bar Vocational Course at an institution validated by the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales; or
- has passed the Legal Practice Course at an institution validated by the Law Society of England and Wales; and
- in the case of persons referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) has obtained a certificate from a head of chambers of an Attorney-at-law of not less than ten years standing, practising in Trinidad and Tobago to the effect that the national has undergone an attachment at those chambers for a continuous period of not less than six months doing work relating to the practice of Law,
is deemed to hold the qualification prescribed by Law and is entitled, subject to the payment of the prescribed fees, to practise as an Attorney-at-law in Trinidad and Tobago.”
So, a Trinidad and Tobago national who holds an LL.B received from an institution other than UWI, can instead of obtaining a LEC from the HWLS, complete an alternate course (normally in England or via distance education) such as the Bar Vocational Course (BVC), the Legal Practice Course (LPC), following which they can then undertake an attachment of at least six months at a local law chamber in Trinidad & Tobago to obtain the necessary pupillage, and once they are provided with a certificate evidencing such by the head of the law chambers, they are regarded in law as holding the qualifications required to practise Law here in Trinidad and Tobago and are thus entitled to admission to practise as Attorneys at Law in Trinidad & Tobago.
In 2018, Ms. Dianne Jhamilly Hadeed, a dual citizen of St. Lucia and Grenda, desired to be admitted to practise here pursuant to Section 15 (1A) of the Act. However, she was refused admission on the basis of her not being a Trinidad and Tobago national.
Ms. Hadeed challenged this decision in the High Court, alleging that Section 15 (1A) of the Act contravened the equality provisions in Section 4 (b) and (d) of the Constitution. After Ms. Hadeed was successful in the High Court (CV 2018-02726 Dianne Jhamilly Hadeed v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago), the Court of Appeal overturned the decision in the lower court (Civil Appeal No. P310 of 2019 The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago v Dianne Jhamilly Hadeed), holding that there was no breach of the equality provisions in Section 4 (b) and (d) of the Constitution, and that there was also no breach of Section 4 (a) which has to do with the right to the enjoyment of property.
THE REALITIES OF THE FUSION OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION HERE IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
An ardent observer of the development of the legal profession in Trinidad and Tobago over the past thirty-five (35) years would wonder whether the fusion of the roles of Solicitor and Barrister into that of Attorney-at-law has been successful. Some Attorneys-at-law are natural born advocates, who are sharp, creative, think quickly on their feet, and are able to seize upon the slightest chink in their opponent’s armour and prise it open to create a gaping wound in the other side’s case. They are able to articulate themselves smoothly and skilfully when addressing the Judge and possibly the Jury and they are skilled in the Arts of Persuasion, Deflection, Re-direction and Mental Manipulation such that they are able to try to bend disbelievers to their will so that they become believers in the arguments they are presenting.
The best example of this on the world stage has been Johnny Cochrane’s closing address in the internationally followed O.J. Simpson trial, where in the face of all the glaring evidence of what the Prosecutors alleged Mr. Simpson had done in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her new boyfriend Ron Goldman; Mr. Johnnie Cochrane was able to twist and fashion the Prosecution’s case into one of persecution, racism and the planting of evidence where the glove allegedly used by Mr. Simpson was one which could not fit him and Johnnie hammered that tag-line into the minds of the Jury – “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.” It still stands as one of the most famous acquittals in modern times.
On the other hand, other Attorneys-at-law excel at drafting, research and conveyancing and have that patience, precision and punctiliousness when preparing and drafting documents, leases, wills, letters, Agreements, property transfers, mortgages, Deeds and in effect these people are natural born Solicitors, some of whom may not necessarily enjoy or appreciate or be cut out for the adrenaline rush and the confrontational nature of the gayelle of a courtroom trial.
In practice, it could be argued that notwithstanding the fusion of the legal profession, and even though technically they are qualified to do both, Attorneys-at-law, especially in settings where they are part of a law firm or law chambers, generally gravitate to and end up specialising in either the type of work normally associated with that of a Solicitor or a Barrister. However, for the sole practitioner who practises law by themselves and is not part of a law firm or a law chamber, they are usually required through necessity or the practical reality of survival, to perform both of the roles of Solicitor and Barrister, as they are not usually in a position to pick and choose from whatever work comes their way and they can then end up trying to be a Jack of all Trades and by extension – A Master of None…
© 2023 MARTIN ANTHONY GEORGE & CO
Article #55 – WAS FUSION AN ILLUSION WE SHOULD STILL USE, OR SHOULD WE DE-FUSE? THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO