From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Country’s Oldest Law Office, Callenders 1st Firm to Have Three QC’s
By Diane Phillips, DP&A
Jan 8, 2015 - 2:38:33 PM
Lester J. Mortimer, Jr., QC, was named Queen's Counsel in the list released this week by the Government, making Callenders, the country's oldest law firm, the only law office in The Bahamas to have three QC's in one firm.
|
Nassau, Bahamas -
This
week’s release of the latest list of lawyers to be called to the Inner Bar as
Queen’s Counsel, the highest honour in legal circles, held extraordinary meaning
for Callenders when it became the first law firm in the history of The Bahamas
to be home to three partners holding the prestigious title.
“We offer our warmest
congratulations to Lester who was one of 11 very accomplished attorneys
recognised for their dedication to the law and upholding the critical role it
plays in civil society,” said Colin Callender, QC, Managing Partner of the Firm
founded in 1903. Callenders’ Grand Bahama Managing Partner, Fred Smith, is also
a QC.
Mr. Mortimer served on
the Judicial and Legal Service Commission from 2004 - 2009. He is a member of
the current Constitutional Review Commission and the former Deputy Co-chair of
the Commission from 2003-2006. He was called to the Bahamas Bar in 1978, joining
Callenders as a partner in 1985 where his work in constitutional and
administrative law, commercial transactions, banking, shipping and
telecommunications has become legendary.
One of nine partners in
the Firm that has won numerous awards and honours, Mr. Mortimer has provided
evidence as an expert witness on Bahamian Law in several Courts and has
attended as a witness in the Courts in England, Cayman Island and the United
States District Court for South Florida. Locally, Mr. Mortimer has appeared as
Co-Counsel in several notable and high profile cases.
He has served in several
posts with the Bahamas Bar Association, including as its Treasurer for four
years and as a member of the Bahamas Bar Council. Mr. Mortimer has also served
as a member of the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of The Bahamas. He is a
graduate of St. Anne’s High School in Nassau and holds degrees from Dillard
University, New Orleans and the College of Law, London where he was awarded the
Degree of Utter Barrister, Lincoln’s Inn.
This week’s appointments
also included the first female to be named a QC, the Hon. Allyson
Maynard-Gibson, Attorney General of The Bahamas.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com -