Astaphan defends law fees

Anthony Astaphan, one of the lawyers representing the Government in the Boundaries Commission matter, has responded to the issue of the fees to be paid to him and his team.{{more}}

Astaphan went on the attack on Tuesday, September 7, on the WeFM “Shake Up” talk show claiming that he has never been accused of stealing or charged or disbarred for any form of unethical activities or misconduct.

His telephone call to the programme came on the heels of criticism levelled at him and his team, which includes Kenny Anthony, former Prime Minister of St.Lucia and local lawyers, Grahame Bollers and Richard Williams.

At a press conference held on Friday, September 3, 2010, lawyer for the New Democratic Party Kay Bacchus-Browne raised concerns about the fees requested by the Commission’s legal team.

“If our matter was so simple and so trite, why they [the Commission] brought in two lawyers from abroad, employed two lawyers from here and pay them over $400, 000 of tax payers’ money? Answer me that, Mr. Prime Minister,” said Bacchus.

Responding to the furore that has since developed from this issue, Astaphan said the legal services provided by him and Anthony especially, are reasonable, but are far lower than they can charge. He cited experience and professional achievements as their justification.

“For one, to question the fees paid to me is laughable, because I have been consistently ridiculed by members of the Queen’s Counsel Bar in the Caribbean as selling myself short, because my fees are much too low and there are junior people who are not QCs and QCs in St.Vincent [and the Grenadines] that having cases that charge far more than what I have,” said Astaphan.

“I think the fees that we’ve charged for the collective efforts that we have put in, is nothing compared to what we could have charged,” he noted.

On the issue of experience, Astaphan said he was one of the youngest lawyers to be made Senior Counsel and Queen’s Counsel in the OECS and has had the honour of representing CARICOM and its Secretary General at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). He said he has also represented the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) as well as the Governor of the ECCB. His legal service in the region also includes representing most of the prime ministers of the OECS.

“Perhaps no one in the OECS has appeared in the Court of Appeal more than I have in the last ten perhaps fifteen years. But in the history of the court, I have been involved in some of the significant private and constitutional cases in the OECS: whether it was the liberalization of telecommunications, the increase powers of the courts under the constitution, the seperation of powers, [and] the defamation matters,” said Astaphan.

Speaking of Anthony’s accomplishments, he noted that Anthony was a senior lecturer of Law at the Cave Hill Campus, University of the West Indies, and was also Secretary General Counsel to CARICOM.

He added that Anthony was a former prime minister who has a profound sense of understanding of the law.

Astaphan said in his view, the tax payers of St.Vincent and the Grenadines should be happy to have people of his calibre and Anthony representing the public’s interest in the rule of law and the Commission.

He said neither he nor Anthony have ever been accused of being part of a firm whose members have stolen monies from clients.

“I have never been accused of stealing monies from anyone. I have never been accused or charged or disbarred for any form of ethical or misconduct of any kind whatsoever under the sun,” said Astaphan.

He said because of the nature of his practice, he doesn’t even have a clients’ account.

“You’re not talking about men in a second eleven team who are seeking desperately to win an election in order to make a living. We have passed that stage and I think the fees that we’ve charged for the collective efforts that we have put in is nothing compared to what we could have charged,” said Astaphan, noting that they have always been mindful of the fact that Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is their friend.

“We know that politics have gotten into the gutter in the OECS, so we try to keep our fees at what we consider to be a reasonable level,” he added.

Astaphan said he has not billed the state for travel or hotel expenses while representing the Government of St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

He added that he and Anthony are men of integrity, who have reached the highest levels of the Bar Association. (HN)