Court to start programme for trainee lawyers

| 29/06/2017 | 4 Comments

(CNS Business): Articled clerks with local law firms will have a chance to join a new judicial programme in the courts, starting 4 July, that will count towards their legal training requirements. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie said the clerkship was developed by the Judicial Education Committee (JEC), the Caymanian Bar Association (CBA) and local law firms to provide a pathway for young lawyers to get grips with the court system.

“They will get a good grasp of the complex functions our courts and judges perform and will additionally be able to participate in them,” the chief justice said. “This Judicial Clerkship will count towards legal training requirements and the 18 months of Articles, so long as the supervising judge and/or magistrate certifies that the training was completed satisfactorily.”

The programme was approved by the Legal Advisory Council, the statutory body that has oversight of legal professional education. On of the programme coordinators, Neil Timms, QC, said the programme would provide “incomparable and invaluable training” as well as a “unique insight into how the judicial process works”.

Justice Ingrid Mangatal, who also sits on the JEC, said the programme aims to provide in-depth look at the courts’ work and will include opportunities for applying and improving legal skills, case presentation and judicial decision-making processes.

The clerks will sit with judges and magistrates in weekly rotation for a total of one month. Each clerk will learn from four different judges and magistrates. During this time, they will sit on cases in the Summary Court and various divisions of the Grand Court.

Timms said applications for places can be sent to the Caymanian Bar Association, which is liaising with the JEC to match applicants and ensure client and case confidentiality needs are met. For more information, visit the CBA website.

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Category: Court Business

Comments (4)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    But legal department still can’t step up?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Oh great, one more thing that didn’t exist when I was training, to add to the mini-pupillage clerks can now get at chambers in London. Every articled clerk who goes through this program will now be able to say they clerked for judges, something which in the US and the UK is an extremely competitive, merit-based scheme. I’m glad it’s being implemented but it’s too late for all the Caymanian litigators qualified now, just like the mini-pupillages. Guess that’s progress for you.

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