Full Court admits 5 new Senior Counsels to Inner Bar

… lawyers must not use, abuse law in pursuit of sinister agendas – AG

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall and Attorneys-at-law Jamela Ali, Roysdale Forde, Timothy Jonas and Stanley Moore were all admitted to the Inner Bar on Tuesday at a special sitting of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature.
The sitting was presided over by Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, Chief Justice Roxane George, Appeal Court Judges and Judges of the High Court.
Nandlall and Jonas were appointed Senior Counsel by President Dr Irfaan Ali after consultation with the Chancellor, with effect from October 30, 2020, while former President David Granger named Forde, Ali and Moore Senior Counsels on December 31, 2019.
Senior Counsel and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, presented Nandlall’s petition to be admitted to the Inner Bar before the Full Court, where he said there are no known reasons why the AG should not be admitted to the Inner Bar, since he has demonstrated incomparable passion for the law.
He noted that they are cognizant of the recent ruling by High Court Justice Nareshwar Harnanan in the case wherein Jonas challenged the appointment of Senior Counsels by the President. Based on the judgment, Ramkarran told the Court, while the appointment followed a specific process, the sitting of the Full Court cannot be regarded a merely formality.

“From the time Mr Nandlall was admitted to practice on 21st October, 1998, and began to appear in the Supreme Court soon thereafter, it was difficult to ignore him. Without an imposing stature or a resounding voice, not having yet developed his recognisable facility with the English language that he deploys today, he was nevertheless a young man with a noticeable passion for law and legal practice. He was made for the legal profession… Today, no one who reads his submissions or listens to his arguments fail to be impressed by the magnitude of his efforts and scholarship, the volume of authorities, the depth of analytical skills, and the compelling and persuasive conclusions, even if the courts do not always agree with him,” Ramkarran informed.
Nandlall received his secondary education at Queen’s College, and his tertiary education at the University of Guyana. He then went to the Hugh Wooding Law School where he received the LEC, and now serves as AG, Member of the Twelfth Parliament, Secretary of the Guyana Defence Board, and member of the National Security Council. He entered into practice in Guyana under the wings of the late Vic Puran, and now has his own Law Firm – Mohabir A Nandlall and Associates.
He served at Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Member of the Tenth Parliament from December 05, 2011 to May 18, 2015. He also served in the Ninth Parliament from 2006 to 2011.
He appeared in at least 15 reported cases, including the first appeal heard by the Caribbean Court of Justice (and first out of Guyana) – Brent Griffith vs Guyana Revenue Authority in 2006, Ramdass and Jairam of 2008, which saw the entire bench of the CCJ sitting to hear the landmark case on agreements of sale in immovable property; Rudisa Beverage vs State of Guyana, and other constitutional cases.
Meanwhile, Nandlall presented the petitions on behalf of the other Senior Counsels, and expressed his gratitude to the various mentors he had had had over the years. Nandlall, who has 22 years of service in the legal profession, credited everything he has achieved to his practice of the law.
“I learnt that the law is a jealous mistress, but I have learnt that when you serve her well, the law becomes a generous mistress. Everything I achieve is because of my practice of the law…the law is the greatest of all professions,” he added.
Nandlall called on lawyers to ensure that they understand the great responsibility that devolves upon them by merely being members of the legal fraternity. He reminded that lawyers have a responsibility to not use and abuse the law in pursuit of their sinister agendas.
The newly-minted Senior Counsel said that judges must be able to enforce their decisions, and rule in accordance with the law.
“I appeal to the profession to do as much pro bono work as possible. Throughout my career, I have done this,” he proffered.
Senior Counsel Robin Stoby welcomed the newly silken members to the Inner Bar, and applauded them for their accomplishments. He advised them of the responsibilities that come with their new stature in the administration of justice.
He was also joined by President of the Bar Association, Teni Housty, who congratulated the new Senior Counsels and called upon them to continue contributing to the development of the practice of law in Guyana.
Senior Counsel Jonas was called to the Bar in 1996, having studied law at University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. He joined the AG Chambers in 1996, and immediately became involved in lecturing law, which he did for the advanced level law programme at QC and University of Guyana from 1996 to 2002. During that time, his interest in legal aid was piqued, and it saw him serving as the Managing Attorney at the Legal Aid Clinic in 1998. At the same time, he joined the Law Firm of de Caires, Fitzpatrick and Karran, and is now Managing Partner and head of the Chambers.
He fought several cases before the CCJ and Supreme Court; namely, Ross and Sinclair, Guyandin v Republic Bank 2014, Dipcon v Attorney General 2015, Rodrigues and the New Building Society in 2018, Ramsahoye and NICIL in 2018, and Christopher Persaud v Tulsi Persaud in 2019, among others.
Jamela Ali came into practice in 1989. She was attached to the AG Chambers, where she later completed her Masters of Law in Legislative Drafting in 1997 before moving into private practice in 2002. She moved into practice at the Law Firm of Rex McKay, where she still practises. She holds the record for most female lead appearance before the CCJ for the region.
She appeared in cases such as James Ramsahoye v Linden Mining Enterprises Limited and Bauxite Development Company Limited 2014, and Walter Ramsahoye v Glenn Lall in 2016.
Forde completed his law degree at UG, and then went to Hugh Wooding Law School. He was called to the Bar in Dominica in 2005 and Grenada in 2004, and has founded the Law Firm of Forde, Amsterdam and Lewis. He fought in several high-profile cases, such as Attorney General v Caterpillar Americas Company, Ganga Persaud and the Chief Elections Officer in 2016.
Moore obtained his LLB in London in 1962 and his LLM in 1968. He was called to the Bar in Guyana and England in 1970; Grenada in 1971, and Antigua in 1989. He established the firm McKay and Moore in Guyana, where he presently practices.
He served as a Magistrate in 1973 in Guyana, acting High Court Judge in 1979, resident Judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court between 1992 and 1996, Senior Resident Judge in the British Virgin Islands in 1996; Justice in the Supreme Court in the Bahamas in 2000, Senior Judge of the Supreme Court in the Bahamas between 2001 and 2002; Justice of Appeal in the Republic of Botswana in 2004-2012, and in the Kingdom of Swaziland between 2010-2014.
He also served as Attorney General in Montserrat between 1990 and 92, subsequently acting as Governor.
In Guyana, between 1981-82, he served as Minister of Home Affairs and Member of Parliament. He also acted as Minister of Justice and Attorney General in the absence of Dr Mohammed Shahabuddin.

Greatest honour
In remarks before the Court, all the new Senior Counsels said receiving silk is the highest and greatest honour they could have had. They credited their support system for standing by them throughout the journey.
Chief Justice Roxane George highlighted that collectively, the five new senior counsels have over 150 years of experience in the practise of the law, and she impressed upon them that the honour of being bestowed with silk should not be taken lightly.
“The conferment of silk carries with it a number of responsibilities. These include standing up for the rule of law and what is right in the administration of justice…Senior Counsels in the past have written positively and negatively in the administration of justice, lending the weight of their status as silks in making interventions for betterment of the system… Where necessary, Senior Counsels have had to defend judicial officers who, as you know, do not have a voice in the public domain. This may be necessary, more so now given what has unfortunately become an unwholesome norm of personal attacks on judicial officers because of their decisions,” the CJ said.
Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, impressed that the title of Senior Counsel is an important one, and is only conferred after consultations with the Judiciary.
“As a Senior Counsel, an attorney is publicly recognised, even internationally recognized, and allowed certain privileges. For instance, you’re allowed to wear the distinctive silk gowns, hence the name silk, or receiving silk. You have the right to free audience and precedence in court and at the Bar. Hence, you’re allowed a special seat in the courtroom before other attorneys, and your matters are called before other attorneys’ matters,” Justice Cummings-Edwards related.