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  • 1 year ago
Attorney at Law Timothy Hamel-Smith weighs in on the controversy surrounding the recent award of Silk to 14 Attorneys.

Several Lawyers have raised concerns over the transparency of the process....


Nicole M Romany tells us more ....
Transcript
00:00Former Senate President and attorney-at-law Timothy Hamel Smith is
00:05today questioning whether it's about who you know that will determine what you
00:10get as he comments on the award of silk in the legal profession. He says this is
00:17a very critical topic because it makes one wonder if there's truly opportunity
00:22for all. And if in fact some are more equal than others then you know I think
00:28it sends a wrong signal. So I agree yes we need to look at the process and we
00:35need to create a transparent acceptable methodology and imagine no system
00:41will be perfect. There will always be people who have not made the list as it
00:47were who will feel you know that somehow we bypassed unfairly. Over the past days
00:55the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago also came under fire for its part
01:00in determining who is awarded silk. In fact one attorney told the Express the
01:07association's process is as murky as manzanilla water in the rainy season.
01:12However the head of the association has said the process of consulting with the
01:17lat president has been in existence for many years. On Wednesday Hamel Smith
01:23acknowledged that both the head of the cabinet and the Attorney General also
01:28have a role to play in the selection of lawyers to be conferred silk. Still he
01:33suggests a separate entity be part of the process as well to avoid what is
01:39happening now. Unfortunately of course both of them are a political person
01:46somebody you know I said we think ultimately the president but it there
01:51should be some sort of council set up I think to make recommendations one that
01:57is perceived not just by lawyers you know we get impression from the remarks
02:02here but the public have just as much an interest because if the awarding of silk
02:09is an indication of who is more talented than the other then of course the public
02:17Hamel Smith believes members of the private sector should be represented on
02:22the council as it would counterbalance any sense of favoritism. He also believes
02:28politicians should not be involved in the selection of candidates. You want the
02:34best the cream of the crop to rise as I mentioned the important factor is you
02:39should be able to draw your ultimate judges from from this not only from I'm
02:46not saying as a absolute criteria but if you want your your circle of judges
02:55to be you know seen by the community as as members who were qualified what
03:04better what better choice of saying well you know they had entered the inner bar
03:11before. There is now a call for an independent panel to look into the
03:16process for appointing lawyers to senior council. Nicole M Romany TV6 News
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