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Names of other lawyers who should have been awarded Silk

Jan 14, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Please allow me space in your newspapers to address this open letter to the President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Mr. President, the action that you took at the end of December, 2016 was very wrong. The matter relates to the appointment of Senior Counsels, or ‘’Silk’’, as it is generally called.
Mr. President, in a rather surreptitious way, and pardon the use of this word, but there is no other way to describe it, you would have released another creeping form of ‘’taxation’’, on the backs of an unsuspecting public that is already trying to deal with an increased cost of living.
What is not known to the public is that the cost of ‘’retaining’’ the services of a Senior Counsel is usually more than three (3) times the amount that it will cost to retain an ordinary lawyer. For that reason, Mr. President, the position of attaining ‘’Silk’’ is usually a very coveted position among ALL of the practising lawyers, and in so far as the Legal Profession is an honourable one, the members know which ones from among its numbers should be accorded this particular ‘’honour’’.
Mr. President, with due respect, I will submit that your Constitutional position is ALWAYS to assist the professions with the advancement of their best practices, tenets and obligations. In carrying out those duties, I would admit Sir, that there would be some allowances for personal preferences and desires, but it would be expected that the advice given in this regard will seek to prevent the profession from falling into contempt and ridicule.
Mr. Nigel Hughes has done a lot of work for MANY citizens of this country, of all walks of life, of all social and political standings, of all class or description, whether they ‘’retained’’ him or not. Where ever he saw an ‘’error’’ occurring he felt that it was his legal DUTY to prevent harm from occurring, and this is the nature of the ‘’Oath’’ taken by all members of the profession. So, you see Mr. President, when your list of December, 2016 DID NOT Contain the name of Mr. Nigel Hughes, then it means that a very serious error had occurred in the process of these ‘’consultations’’.
In any other process, such as National Awards, or any other process, errors alone would not count for any serious impairment of the process. But in the area of the law, lawyers are TRAINED to correct errors. It would become MY duty, if I see it fit, to enter into the arena and correct ‘’errors’’ that can cause national ‘’harm’’. In those duties, I would not be alone. The status of a Senior Counsel does not await the endorsement of any state official. It is the actions of practising advocates, in particular that accords them that status. In closing Mr. President I would like to say that my noble profession can boast of the qualities of many more of its sons and daughters.
Mr. Roysdale Forde who once ‘’advised’’ a sitting President, almost from the first day of his admission to the bar, and has continuously maintained that very high standard of his legal practice. Mr. Stephen Fraser finds the time to assist in bringing out new lawyers, and whose legal practice forms the bulwark for legal relations between very important banks and their customers.
Mr. Teni Housty displays all of the tenets of a true gentleman and solid member of the legal profession in the practice of the law. He may have forgotten how elegantly he handled a situation at the University of Guyana, when he sat with me as a member of a panel discussion and the situation seemed in danger of getting out of hand. Our legal profession boasts many more lawyers of exceptional qualities.
Juliet Holder-Allen
Attorney-At-Law

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