Premier urges attorneys to support legal aid

| 28/07/2022 | 99 Comments
Cayman News Service
Premier Wayne Panton at the conference on Thursday

(CNS): The well-established Judicial Legal Aid Department and the launch of a fully staffed Legal Aid Clinic have gone a long way to reinforcing access to justice in the Cayman Islands, Premier Wayne Panton said Thursday in his address at the Conference of CARICOM Chief Justices and Heads of Judiciaries, as he urged more attorneys to support the legal aid system.

Panton, who is himself a lawyer, stressed the importance of legal aid in public perceptions about justice, and said that actual and perceived access to the courts was important. People need to see justice is being “meted out without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”, regardless of a person’s place in society.

“Speaking not only as premier but as a lawyer myself, I appeal to my legal colleagues’ greater shouldering of the legal aid weight, which will contribute much to enhancing public confidence in our legal and judicial systems,” he said.

For decades the government has tried to persuade more lawyers to engage in legal aid work, especially in the criminal field, as the limited number of defence lawyers prepared to do the work continues to delay cases going through the courts.

However, very few are willing to work for legal aid rates. Of the 600 or so practising attorneys in Cayman, only about two dozen lawyers do regular legal aid work and even fewer are prepared to take on criminal cases.

“For us here in the Cayman Islands, the entrenchment of the constitutional separation of powers is a relatively recent achievement,” Panton said. “The separation of powers was only fully and finally constitutionally entrenched in Cayman with the 2016 Constitutional Amendment. It was only then that it was established that the executive branch had no disciplinary authority over the judiciary — except when acting upon the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and only in cases of serious misconduct or inability to function.”

He explained that all other disciplinary matters are now left to be resolved internally between the chief justice and the member of the judiciary involved.

He said the conference agenda was focused on the sustained advancement of the efficiency of the administration of justice, its accessibility to all sectors of society, and enhancing the professionalism and well-being of the judiciary.

“I have no doubt that you will also be exploring ways to utilise the technological advances to further enhance access to justice; a subject that our chief justice is very passionate about,” he told the heads of judiciaries from across the Caribbean Region and Bermuda gathered for the occasion.

See the premier’s full address below:


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Category: Courts, Crime

Comments (99)

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  1. Anon says:

    As part of the ongoing review of the Point System for Permanent Residence, they should consider having points awarded for providing an average of XX hours of pro-bono per year to Caymanians – that may motivate some lawyers to give more time.

  2. NotQanon says:

    75/80% Taxpayer money spent on drug using, drug sellin, robbin, stealin, lootin shootin gangsters

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  3. Or says:

    Or legal aid can be fund from tax.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Say What??? What you mean, “Fund from tax”???

    • Anonymous says:

      It already is funded by government revenue. Do you mean law firms should be taxed?

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    • Background information from the UK, in case it’s helpful context says:

      Yes, this is the answer. If something is needed, then either public spending must be reduced to release funds for it, or taxes (e.g. perhaps on tourists) should be raised. Here’s a comment written on a UK website last year, when a member of the opposition suggested lawyers should do ‘amateur hour criminal work’:
      ———
      How about making builders knock up public sector housing without payment too? Or making restaurants feed the homeless? Or nurses to work for free to mitigate issues in healthcare provision, or police officers to volunteer for free as security guards to bolster stability in areas prone to violent crime? No, I thought not. Pro bono work can be not only unhelpful, but actively damaging. It is a myth that people working for free in their spare time is commendable. We do not encourage other sectors to work for free, so why is this different? It’s not, but the general public’s lack of understanding of the legal services sector makes meddling more tempting.
      ———
      The better option would be for the public to elect politicians to set the level of general taxation, determine spending priorities, and then direct the former to enable the latter. That’s what happens in any other sphere of activity: why would we pretend – otherwise than inexcusable ignorance – as if moonlighting lawyers would be a good thing?
      ———
      Beyond that general overview of why this is ludicrous, here are some concrete reasons why this is poor policy:
      ——-
      1. Moonlighting is never good. Regardless of the rhetoric, if doing pro bono we’re not earning money for the firm, so we are de facto doing it in our spare time.
      ——-
      2. Professional progression. Law firms are businesses, and we sell our services. If the individuals therein are giving away those services, we’re not developing the wider business or our personal skill sets. People who instead of focusing on developing the business and themselves are instead giving away their services don’t promote, don’t succeed, and are destroyed by market forces.
      ——-
      3. Pro bono = Amateurs ‘cuffing it’. Successful law firms operate in active, successful practice areas such as mergers and acquisitions, competition law, financial services, insolvency and restructuring, and commercial litigation. Areas of so-called “unmet legal need”, to use the phrase favoured by charities, are typically crime, family, housing immigration, and suchlike. For those of us working in the former areas, attempting to dabble in the latter is a little like expecting one’s vet to have a crack at doing an appendectomy. I daresay that a 6 PQE M&A lawyer could cuff it at offering housing advice, but we ought not to pretend that they are doing anything better than what generations of well-intentioned left-wing law students have been doing for decades. And the latter actually give a sh#t, and would therefore do a better job.
      ——-
      4. Completely different professions. Areas like “crime, family, housing immigration” are nicknamed “Poor law”. They are a different world, and one in which those of us who entered commercial law have – by definition – no interest. As one criminal solicitor scathing but accurately castigated David Lammy’s recent threats on this issue:
      “I can really see those pretty little city boys and girls tottering down to the local police station, standing outside for half an hour waiting for the lazy police officer to come and get them – then dealing with a drug dependent, aggressive mentally-ill client – then dealing with an aggressive police officer – then trying to reason with the custody sergeant and eventually leaving the police station having earned less than minimum wage! Living the dream!”.
      ——/
      5. Reality: PR management. Much of the truth behind the existing (extremely limited) pro bono work done by law firms is that it is is merely cynical PR for law firms. I am not knocking that, merely articulating a reality.
      ——-
      6. Reality: Recruitment of naive students. I love the brutal reality encapsulated by the old adage, “Any 20 year old who isn’t a liberal has no heart; any 40 year old who isn’t a conservative has no brain.” Law firms recruit trainees in their late teens/very early 20’s at university, then employ them as junior solicitors in their mid-20’s. I trained at a Magic Circle firm, and I was (perhaps naively) astonished how many trainees intended to qualify, do two years, then bang out into something unrelated to commercial law. A large part of that was because people idealistically wanted to ‘make the world a better place’ etc. – and working for Big Corp Inc. to (a) reduce their liability for x, y or z; and (b) make them richer, didn’t achieve those laudable goals. In this respect, pro bono schemes are merely tools for recruitment of the young and gullible. Once solicitors are recruited, they grow up, get real, and either get out of the profession, or lose interest in touchy-feely, wishy-washy, namby-pamby social justice nonsense, in favour of surviving long hours, high pressure, demanding clients and hard work. We don’t really care which, as long as enough fee earners stay at their desks to get the work done. The ones who leave to join Oxfam would never have survived to make Senior Associate, let alone partner, anyway.
      ——-
      7. Professional indemnity insurance renders quasi-compelled pro bono impossible. Insurance companies would never insure this work in a million years. Pro bono work done under quasi-compulsion would therefore be commercially impossible.
      ——-
      8. Cost-benefit analysis. The proposal is economically illiterate. There is no cost benefit for competent, successful law firms offering this in exchange for meagre government contracts. As The legal news website Roll on Friday rightly criticised:
      “Labour’s policy also appeared to overlook the financial ramifications for its external advisors. A City firm of 1,000 solicitors all swapping 35 hours of work charged at £200 an hour for unbillable pro bono time would cost it £7 million a year. Unless a firm compels its lawyers to rack up Lammy’s pro bono contribution in addition to their existing workloads, shutters its current pro bono projects, or increases its rates, the cost of winning the government’s contract might outweigh the benefits.”
      https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/labour-government-will-force-city-firms-prop-legal-aid. See also the comments under the Law Society Gazette article, here: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/labour-tells-firms-to-meet-pro-bono-target-or-lose-government-contracts/5109938.article.
      The hypothetical example in the former is extraordinarily generous to Labour. £500/hour is a more realistic blended rate for fee earners, so this policy would cost The hypothetical law firm above £17.5M. Government contract bids would simply stop.
      ——-
      9. The real question: tax/spend choices. As I alluded at the outset, the merits of pro bono are the wrong question. Perhaps a better analogy to nursing/policing examples which I offered would be dentistry: try getting an NHS dentist in most parts of the country. You won’t, because the funding simply isn’t there. That doesn’t mean that the answer is dentists being forced to work for free: it’s deciding what the public wants to pay for, and then setting taxation accordingly. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Politicians need to be more honest about the trade-offs between (a) the extent to which we’re willing to confiscate and redistribute people’s income and assets via taxation; and (b) what the state then delivers in public services. If people want widespread, subsidised provision of legal services to the masses then we must adopt the 55-58% tax rates seen in Austria/Denmark/Finland/Japan (https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/services/tax/tax-tools-and-resources/tax-rates-online/individual-income-tax-rates-table.html). There is an annoying refusal by politicians to articulate such hard choices, and a penchant of the general public to approve only “higher taxes for other people”, without a mature (or indeed, any) acknowledgement of what that means.
      ——-
      Anyway, apologies for the lengthy answer. I thought I’d take the opportunity to jot down my own thoughts, as this comes up every now and again, and I hadn’t until now captured view of the reality in writing. I would be most grateful criticism of anything I’ve missed or got wrong.

      • Patricia Bryan says:

        From my understanding of the two words and services, pro-bono and legal aid are essentially the same service. However, legal aid is generally administered through a local judiciary office, while pro-bono is undertaken in a voluntary manner, through an organization or a firm, both “without pay” per se. Legal aid is also undertaken by the attorney for free or at a very reduced rate but compensated through the judiciary/government. The service of pro-bono could also be compensated through a non-profit/not-for-profit organization set up to offer the services, again though as no charge to the client or at a very reduced fee. But funding has to come from somewhere.
        Either way, it is offering voluntary time of specific hours whether mandated or left up to the individual. Adding, many jurisdictions will also require volunteering some hours in order to keep one’s practicing certificate, as lawyers have to maintain certain amount of certifications in order to keep their law license. It may nit have to be through the judiciary; it could be through a firm or organization. Many firms also require for their solicitors to perform certain amount of hours for pro-bono services.

        A public defender can also be considered as someone who is working for ‘free’ but differently he/she is hired specifically as a public defender and although there may be no charge or a very reduced charge to the client, the PD is paid a salary/wage for his/her title and duties as a PD.

      • Anonymous says:

        Profits over principles?

  4. Patricia Bryan says:

    In all fairness” on the flip side of the coin legal aid/Pro bono services are provided to bridge the gap for people who cannot afford legal services. While I appreciate and respect everyone’s opinions on how the present legal aid department operates that is separate and apart from these services nonetheless being offered and more attorneys taking on a few hours–per month– for instance, to offer these services. As Cayman continues to grow (with the now-reported over 71,000 residents in the country) so has the legal issues of the residents. As cost of living increases and people are taken advantage of more and more these services would greatly benefit those in need who could not otherwise afford legal representation. I would venture to say that every attorney in the Cayman Islands that has a practicing certificate be required to offer certain amount of hours per month in legal aid assistance. This would not be overly burdensome to the attorneys plus nonetheless fulfill a requirement in order to practice law in the Cayman Islands. I don’t see anything wrong with this; it is done in other jurisdictions. The lawyers would still maintain practicing and making a living for themselves while doing a community service of offering a few hours per month. This minimal required contribution would also not have too much of an effect on those lawyers having to wait for government’s potential reimbursement for doing so. My number one concern is people of lower income and working class people who cannot afford legal services unfortunately are the ones that are always taken advantage of. Legal aid certainly assist in helping these categories of clients have advocates. Also I do agree as I have had to seek legal aid help for a friend a few months ago that it is distressing to see what information was being required. Sorry but I call it “show them the very color of your underwear” without prejudice. One almost feel as if interrogated through the application. I respect and appreciate that there needs to be transparency in applicants’ financial circumstances but wow. Yes there could be some revamping with the application process including the application form. Some may potentially become discouraged to fight for his/her cause after reviewing the application. It could be less intimidating for sure

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    • Anonymous says:

      How can a corporate lawyer who has not seen the inside of a court room since admission to bar in Cayman be expected to know criminal law?

      It is like asking a GP doctor to perform brain surgery.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Pro bono work is not just criminal. There is family law and employment law that poor people need help with. Or you can farm it out to the right co-counsel and pay for the help.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Lol. An electrician and a plumber both work in construction but why the hell would expect a plumber to rewire your house? For free.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Maybe him and Alden QC can lead by example?

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Wayne panton is really out of touch with reality. That all I can really say about this mess we face in Cayman .

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Some Lawyers love to issue writs and not serve them…meanwhile judges do as rules state..dissalow cases due to limitations…guess they have their reasons for not serving the writs….ha ha ha…shoukd be ashamed of themselves…right mrs….r

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    • Anonymous says:

      The misbehavior commences very early in the legal process. This is a common practice to how it all starts. Essentially violating the principles of law to pervert the right to due process & subsequently hampering the course of justice.
      Those (il)legal attorney tricks & judicial administration tricks are many, common and frequently used- and, simply “criminal”.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Limitation doesn’t run until service tho, does it. So what’s your point.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Maybe if government paid their bills on time, one would be more incline to render their services.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Get rid of the Jamaican stranglehold on the judiciary and we would get better support..

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  10. Anonymous says:

    Because mandatory sentences that apply regardless of circumstances are an appalling idea which has failed everywhere that they have been tried, perhaps?

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Why is legal aid suddenly an issue that only lawyers need to solve. It is societal issue that PACT needs to tackle. Are doctors responsible for all ailments?

    What is being asked is akin to asking all doctors to perform heart surgery. It would be professional negligence to work on matters that you have no knowledge of.

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    • Anonymous says:

      @7:04am

      What??? Do you even know what legal aid is? Maybe you are too privileged or just uneducated..

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      • Anonymous says:

        10:21 perhaps you should read the comment again. It’s spot on. But to put it in plainer English, the comment is saying that this is a problem that can’t be solved by simply asking more lawyers to participate. He/she is saying that you can’t expect a lawyer who specializes in a non-criminal area to do a good job at representing a criminal case.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Business as usual. How about revamping the judicial system and enforcing stiffer penalties. (1) Unlicensed firearm = 20 years mandatory.(2) Child molestation = 30 years etc.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Screw that! The death penalty will stop that criminal every time!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Unfortunately it won’t.

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        • Long-standing criminal justice skeptic says:

          Criminals act based on the certainty and severity of punishment. That’s it. That’s what the well-meaning, soft-of-heart-and-soft-of-head refuse to admit, because it goes against all of their — there is no nice way to say this — deluded liberal fantasies that are utterly untethered from reality.

          By contrast, Singapore’s crime rate is so low that many shops don’t even lock up.* How do they do it? Effective policing and pervasive CCTV to ensure certainty of arrest, and most importantly: corporal punishment for minor offences, and capital punishment for serious offences, to ensure severity of punishment.

          As Thomas Sowell notes:

          “Whatever you may think about the death penalty, it has the lowest recidivism rate of any of the ways of fighting crime.”

          Thomas Sowell, Controversial Essays (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

          We are told by our ‘betters’ in the UK, and those who support them in Cayman, however, that is apparently more “enlightened” to sacrifice vulnerable victims of crime to feral predators who in Singapore would simply be put down. I know where I would rather live.

          * https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/16/singapores-crime-rate-is-so-low-that-many-shops-dont-even-lock-up.html

  13. Caymanian says:

    Can the premier please explain the process of applying for legal aid only for a Caymanian to be told that they must provide all banking, savings and earnings information for everyone in the household? If the applicant is sharing a house with strangers who don’t know the person, or even family members who are not responsible for the applicant as a grown adult how will the person ever obtain their financial information to disclose to all in sundry at a government dept? Yes it’s the law is what they said. Look at the requirements for legal aid Sir for CAYMANIANS before you go preaching about things you know nothing about. Fix that and then maybe more lawyers would be able to help Caymanians.

    Also that Director makes decisions for people without even knowing the laws. Disabled people have a right to legal representation and yet she has turned down applicants. Perhaps she needs to read the disabilities law. She spends more time traveling and making TikTok videos than doing her job. ONE person has the ability to decide who gets legal aid in this country. Anyone with that much power is unheard of. Best part: a non Caymanian!!! Can’t make this stuff up

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    • Anonymous says:

      Once it dawns that there are better ways to make decisions than on the basis of nationality, we might actually start making progress.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Cayman Islands needs to protect Caymanians. Otherwise, just like the loggerhead turtle or the blue iguana, Caymanians are a rare and endangered species, which is facing extinction in the Cayman Islands.

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        • Nastie says:

          You get these sorts of angry mediocre failures resorting to crass nativism in every country.

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          • Anonymous says:

            Nativism is the best way to go.

          • Anonymous says:

            Crass nativism? In every country, you get immigrants that rape jurisdictions, and get upset when locals defend their rights as citizens of a country, especially when they’ve become more and more insignificant in their own country and have to endure immigrants calling them entitled. Yet you smile in Caymanian’s faces and talk behind their backs anonymously on CNS.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Who was it killed that loggerhead again?

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    • Anonymous says:

      5:04 am OMG this sounds awful and that real changes need to be made to the system, not just the number of lawyers offering their services

  14. Anonymous says:

    If I were accused of a crime why the hell would I want a corporate lawyer defending me? That’s like needing an electrician and getting a free carpenter.

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    • Patricia Bryan says:

      Lawyers come from various areas of law, including corporate, criminal, family, estate and planning, immigration, litigation/civil, etc. I would hope a corporate lawyer would not be assigned to represent any other matter aside from corporate, especially not a criminal case/client. This would defeat the reasoning of providing professional and experience, free or reduced legal representation for the client.

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      • Anonymous says:

        I am a lawyer and provide well over 100 hours service pro bono, every year. I will not touch legal aid. It is simply too painful. I have to keep much of my pro bono activities secret to avoid damaging my career. Literally.

        Far too few lawyers play any part in serving the needs of the community. There is nothing noble or honorable about the profession. It has been hijacked.

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        • Patricia Bryan says:

          Pro bono and legal aid are the same. If you mean you won’t register with the Judicial Legal Aid Department to offer services through there then how are you providing the pro bono services? Curious to know–does your firm offer pro-bono/legal aid? Or are you registered with one of the community organizations?

    • Anonymous says:

      Doesn’t stop those lawyers who practice criminal law also practicing family and corporate law though, does it.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    I would feel sorry for anyone that had or has to deal with the uneducated and mentally ill people that are in the situation that need legal aid. Some of these guys roaming the streets have no chance and most like deserve something one way or an other. The legal system here is very broken and a lot of things happen that shouldn’t. If someone said hey, we understand why your not taking legal aid, please help us improve it, that person would be on the right track of fixing the problems.

  16. Anonymous says:

    First they need a court system that’s fair and worthy of local respect.
    The past 3 decades have been tragic.

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Where I practiced (US), the judges simply ordered you to take a criminal case and advance the costs. You might get your costs back, but you were expected to eat your fees. It was considered part of the obligation of admission to the bar. You could plead poverty, but the appointments were primarily directed to the leading members of the bar who could absorb the expense as a public service. Most, including me, were not criminal lawyers, so we hired the real thing snd paid him/her. Are Cayman lawyers not obligated to take pro bono assignments?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Non – as in no Caymanian, British, or Other Commonwealth Legal Practioner – will reply to this.

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    • Orrie Merren says:

      We’re encouraged to do so, but not obligated. I have looked at acting pro bono, where possible to do so, as a social and moral responsibility (albeit not a legal obligation).

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    • Anonymous says:

      15 years ago Walkers used to have a criminal law division that would do pro bono or legal aid work, which Walkers ran at a loss as part of the quid pro quo for all the lucrative corporate work they did. Then they were told that gesture was not at all appreciated as the DPP felt they were being outgunned. you would think that Wayne might recall that before suggesting that the private sector weigh in to provide pro bono work. I guess just as long as the government or the Crown isn’t on the other side !!

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      • Anonymous says:

        The Premier’s call was for more lawyers to do legal aid work. Some lawyers already undertake pro bono (i.e., free of charge), or at significantly discounted rates, as courtesy to society.

        However, if the Legal Services Act 2020 is brought into force, without being amended, there will not be room for pro bono or significantly discounted work anymore.

        I have been undertaking pro bono work (and sometimes significantly discounted work) every year that I have been practicing law, since 2009.

        However, with all the recent changes in legislation, that might unfortunately not be possible to do anymore.

        Too many threats to independence of the Bar and regulatory red tape is making social contributions unviable.

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    • Anonymous says:

      As a matter of professional obligation yes. But they don’t. And no one makes them.

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    • Anonymous says:

      This makes sense and should be implemented here, part of your responsibility towards citizens and justice.

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  18. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if the Premier, when he actually was a licensed attorney, actually took legal aid cases.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I would hazard a guess…and say, “No!”

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not sure I would want to be represented by a structured finance lawyer with all due respect to the Premier.

    • Anonymous says:

      I would hope not. He was a funds lawyer. Why would he or anyone want him acting on a criminal matter.

    • Anonymous says:

      @6:49pm not to defend the Premier but his specialty when he was a corporate attorney was in the field of Shipping, Aircraft, Capital Markets, Mutual Funds, Asset Finance, Corporate Law, Trusts. He wasn’t trained in criminal law so doubt he could help out in those cases.

    • Patricia Bryan says:

      Over time people’s perspectives change, is one. The country has changed and so has the issues faced within the society. The population has also grown. Put that together with now being in the position he is in, and people complaining of needing services, Mr. Panting will now have a different outlook on this concern. Just my opinion.🙂.

  19. Anonymous says:

    You all see the news the otger day….reporting on herfa robinson vs AG….legal aid told her she didnt have a case??? Now it in court..it a different story…

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Boy..you guys want see crap…try suing the government and HSA…then apply for legal aid…ha ha ha i a native caymanian and tried…amazing!

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  21. Anonymous says:

    Well that is all well and good Wayne but aside from legal matters, such as aid, can you please address our escalating cost of living and give tangible evidence that of what you and your government are doing to assist us! Food, electricity and water prices are through the roof! What negotiations are you having with insurance companies to reduce the astronomical health and home insurance costs? What are you doing to improve CINICO service and give patients choice of doctors outside of HSA? What are you doing to prevent more foreign real estate agents from coming here to compete with our Caymanian realtors, while they are still operating long distance in their countries? Bear in mind that this is m happening even while local agents are told that they cannot have another job. What are you doing to address housing needs, especially residential facilities for our seniors? These are the things that we desperately need to be dealt with!

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  22. Anonymous says:

    I used to be a criminal lawyer, the defence lawyers are treated with such disrespect and disregard it’s no surprise so many leave etc. There are no conference rooms, payment is slow, taxation is arbitrary. There is no recourse for anything really. No criminal lawyer gets in to the field to make money but basic respect and human decency is seriously lacking towards them – from the legal aid director to the Court staff. They don’t even get parking!

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  23. Anonymous says:

    If you have ever had to deal with the legal aid department or the director in particular you will know why so few lawyers do the work. The unreasonable power trip, totally in appropriate questions and generally rude manner is really not what you’d expect. The other staff are kind but clearly drowning in paperwork and don’t seem to be able to do anything without referring to her and she is so terrible and slow in her decision making and treatment of the applicants. It’s appalling. I dread to think how she treats the lawyers.

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  24. JTB says:

    There may well be 600 attorneys practising in the Cayman Islands, but only a tiny fraction of them will know anything at all about criminal law, or be competent to advise on it.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Too busy setting-up companies & selling secrecy. It’s all that these local attorneys know. They know NOTHING, at all, about criminal law. They wouldn’t even understand how properly reconstruct & evaluate a crime scene for the purpose of legal arguments.
      But, ask them how to “finesse” a decedent’s assets/legal instruments for probate & transfer, open a bank account, secure a nominee, and ‘you know the rest’… There’s big money in shit like that 💰. All is well.

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  25. Anonymous says:

    According to this list, the Premier isn’t a registered attorney in Cayman anymore.

    https://www.judicial.ky/general-public/licensed-attorneys

    And the reason lawyers don’t want to take criminal cases is because most lawyers in Cayman don’t practice criminal law.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Not everyone seeking justice via legal aid is an accused criminal. Many, sure, not all. Just as many perhaps need representation for filing injunctions against errant regime policy, and/or steamrolling preferential developers, for example.

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      • Anonymous says:

        5:55 pm that may be true but in the article the Premier specifically referred to the lack of criminal lawyers doing legal aid

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      • Anonymous says:

        Exactly. Some people may just simply want Justice ⚖:

        “a fair legal system, free of prejudice, so that a fair and right outcome can be reached”.

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    • KnowFacts says:

      It’s important to know what you are talking about. He is an attorney and is on the Roll. He simply does not maintain a practising certificate which is why he is not on that list. There’s no need for him to maintain a practising certificate since he isn’t currently practising. However he is entitled to one as of right and his status as a Cayman Islands attorney-at-law is not changed by virtue of not being on that list.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Does he have to get CPE credits to reinstate his license to practice, should he decide to do so?

        • Anonymous says:

          Credits are not required. Only payment of the $2000 practicing certificate fees plus fees for the judicial website.

          • Anonymous says:

            All attorneys called to the Bar, are on the Roll (which is very large book which you sign). This in itself does not allow you to practice, in order to do that you must pay your yearly fees. If you don’t pay and you practice you are committing an offence.

      • Anonymous says:

        7:04 pm “KnowFacts” get a grip….all the comment said was that he’s not a “registered” attorney any more

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Well buddy…why do we have legal aid judging a case stating it “has no cause of action” placing it on my file for j7dges to see prior to going to court? Yes …it happened to me….

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    • Anonymous says:

      A family member encountered the same sh!t. Took the matter to the U.S. Courts & it was qualified/passed. Now, they possess a u.s. court judgement with the Cayman matter noted on U.S court records as an ancillary matter. Now, the matter has to be acknowledged & accepted by a foreign court (I.e Cayman Islands), to include discovery. 😀
      Ordinarily, the U.S. courts do not dismiss poor people from due process.

      • Anonymous says:

        …and, due to U.S. courts conducting their own investigations/due diligence on the case matter, it took almost 18 months for the judge to render a final judgement😊.

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