00:00President Christine Kangaloo in referencing what is a lengthy process in
00:04attaining senior counsel is congratulating the 13 attorneys for
00:08their success in receiving silk. She presented them with their instruments of
00:12appointment at President's house on Monday afternoon. However, the president
00:16notes that it is something that comes with what she calls a serious
00:20responsibility. The conferral of this honor is the means by which there is
00:25created within the legal profession from time to time new bodies of women
00:31and men who by virtue of their honorific title are formally inducted into the
00:37ranks of leadership in the profession. President Kangaloo calls on them to
00:41embrace it. I therefore ask each and every one of you to today's recipients
00:47of the award of silk to please continue to provide guidance and assistance to
00:53all young practitioners and those who have chosen to study below. This is your
00:59solemn duty as leaders. I have no doubt that you understand the enormity of it
01:05and that you're all up to the responsibility. The new senior counselor
01:10Faris Elrawi, Reagan Mark Asgharali, Michael Simon de la Bastide, Gregory
01:16Delzen, Elaine Veronica Green, Lee Mary, Mark James Morgan, Ravindra Nanga,
01:22Keith Scotland, Winston Sinath, Haseen Sheikh, Anthony Isidore Smart and
01:28Annabelle Ramona Sooklal. Delzen has been in private practice since 1988 and
01:34served at one point as a temporary judge in the Supreme Court. He was also the
01:38chairman of the Sentencing Commission of Trinidad and Tobago which was disbanded.
01:42People don't realize it but lawyers are one of the pivotal aspects of our
01:47democracy and being conferred silk means that part of my duty is to promote the
01:52law and promote lawyers or to allow lawyers to practice at a certain
01:58standard. He's of the view that people have to give new reforms in the judicial
02:03system time to work. I applaud the changes because preliminary inquiries
02:08have been abolished and the process now of case management for case law to go
02:13into for trials and so on should speed up things drastically. So you have to
02:18give that time because there are thousands of cases. Sheikh on the other
02:22hand is the first chief public defender in the country as that department was
02:26created under former Attorney General Farris El Rawy. Mr. El Rawy would have
02:31envisioned this particular department and starting it was I suppose a little
02:37daunting but four years in we have completed about 311 matters. We
02:43currently have about 2,000 matters that are active. We are currently responsible
02:48for all of the matters under JIPA which are legally aided. Sheikh states that
02:53people who are poor deserve efficient and quality representation as well. She
02:57is honored to have been conferred the title of Senior Counsel and is among the
03:01youngest in the country to have been selected. Attorneys at Lowe's, George Young,
03:06Prakash Dehranarain and Justin Phelps are also set to receive silk but are
03:11to be out of the country at this time. Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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