Guyanese students cop several coveted awards at Hugh Wooding Law School

– 4 senior Police Officers among graduating class of 2022

Guyanese students copped several coveted awards when the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) held its annual graduation and award ceremony for its Class of 2022 on Saturday in Trinidad and Tobago.

The event marked their completion of the Council of Legal Education’s (CLE) two-year Legal Education Certificate (LEC) programme – a prerequisite to practice law in Guyana and other Commonwealth Caribbean countries.
Shawn Shewram of the Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm copped the Government of Guyana Prize for Best Performance by a student of Guyana.
For his outstanding performance, he also walked away with four other awards: The Book Specialists Prize – Second Outstanding Year Two Student; The Cameron & Shepherd Prize – Best Performance in Civil Procedure & Practice I and Civil Procedure & Practice II by a Guyanese; The H Aubrey Fraser Memorial Prize – Best Performance in Ethics, Rights & Obligations of the Legal Profession and The Course Director’s Prize in Probate Practice & Procedure – Best Performance in Probate Practice & Procedure.

Shewram was the University of Guyana (UG) Law Department’s best graduating student in 2020, having completed his Bachelor of Laws with distinction.
The former St Rose’s High School student was the country’s 2017 top performer at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).
This young man was the first recipient of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)/Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Business Studies Award. He also placed 10th nationally at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) in 2015.
Meanwhile, Reon Miller, the Creative Director of PanJazz Concerts, took away The Miles Greeves Fitzpatrick, SC, Prize for being the best performing graduating Guyanese student in Legal Aid.
Joshanna Hopkinson, on the other hand, was recognised as the most outstanding Year One HWLS student and the best performing student in Evidence and Forensic Medicine.
For her efforts, she received The Peterson, Lambert-Peterson and Co Prize and The Justice Anthony and Justice Gillian Lucky Prize for Evidence & Forensic Medicine and The Council of Legal Education Prize and The Book Specialists Prize for Most Outstanding Year One Student.
Meanwhile, Akeeta Kingston was awarded The Book Specialist Prize for the academic year 2021/2022. This coveted prize is awarded to the second-best outstanding Year One student of Hugh Wooding Law School.
Copping The London House Chambers Prize and The SM Shah Memorial Prize for the academic year 2021/2022 was Dhuchanik Peters.
These highly desired prizes are awarded to the best performing student of the Hugh Wooding Law School in the Legal Drafting & Interpretation Course.
Special Dazzell copped The Oswald J Wilson Memorial Prize for the academic year 2021/2022. This award is given to the best performing student in the Landlord and Tenant Course.
The above-mentioned persons were part of 2022 HWLS Guyanese class which consisted of over 30 students, including four senior Police officers.
The four officers are Deputy Commissioner of Police, ‘Administration’, Calvin Brutus; Deputy Commissioner Law Enforcement, Wendell Blanhum; Assistant Superintendent Delon Fraser; and Assistant Superintendent Domnick Bess.
These recent law school graduates will be formally admitted to the Guyana Bar once their admission petitions are presented before, and accepted by a High Court Judge.
The CLE was created in 1971 to provide training in the Region rather than in Britain to persons wishing to practice as lawyers in the Region.
It operates three law schools in the Region: The Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad – both established in 1973 – and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas, which was established in 1998. (Fiona Morrison)