New blood: Six lawyers admitted to the bar

Fresh blood has been injected into this country’s legal fraternity. On Friday, October 12, six lawyers were admitted to practice Law at he local bar.{{more}}

The six included Carl Williams, Patina Knights, Andreas Coombs, Annette Layne-Mark, Ricky Burnette and Trinidadian Keith Beckles.

The High Court played host to a packed audience of family members and friends who turned up to lend support their loved ones.

Carl Williams, who hails from Kingstown Park, obtained his law degree from the University of London in 2002, then his Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad.

Williams said his rise up the ladder of success was not easy. Williams, who is probably known to many as a vendor at the Kingstown Vegetable Market, said he burned the lamps at night to get his studies done because there was no electricity where he resided.

Patina Knights is the recipient of an upper second class honours degree from the University of Wolverhampton and a graduate of the Nottingham Law School.

Knights was also called to the Utter Bar in London on July 26, 2007.

Obtaining his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, with upper second-class honours in 2005, Andreas Coombs was the third person to be called to the bar.

Known for his debating skills, Coombs graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School this year.

Annette Layne-Mark told the court that her task seemed impossible at times, but she never gave up. She said a lot of sacrifices had to be made in order for her to complete her studies.

Layne-Mark graduated with a BSC in Law from the University of London, then graduated with her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School.

Keith Beckles is a former police officer in Trinidad and Tobago who holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations from U.W.I. He also has an LLB and an LLM (Merit) from the University of London, a L.E.C from the Hugh Wooding Law School, an M.Sc. in Criminology and Justice, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Leadership and Management.

Perhaps the happiest of the bunch was newly appointed Deputy Registrar Ricky Burnette.

Burnette, who has been working in the registry for the past 16 years, came in for high praise from presiding Judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle and some of the counsel gathered.

Burnette obtained his law degree at the University of London in 2004 and graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School this year.

Justice Bruce-Lyle warned the new barristers that it was just the beginning of a long road. The judge told the lawyers that it is up to them to take the legal profession to the next level so the public can see them as noble.(KW)