egal Aid Counsel Shade Subair is a very, very busy lady.

It took three weeks to arrange a suitable time for an interview ? and even then it could only be squeezed in at the end of another hectic day in her offices.

With four years in the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) behind her, the 29-year-old took the bold step of accepting the post as Bermuda?s first Legal Aid Counsel in August, 2004. Her life has not been the same since.

For a young, still relatively inexperienced barrister, the scale of the task has been immense and Miss Subair admits she feels as if she has been thrown into a deep, raging sea and asked to stay afloat.

While she often seeks guidance from other defence lawyers, Miss Subair is, by and large, on her own. Absurdly long hours, a reduced social life and time away from her beloved sports are all accepted norms for her at present as she works to keep up with the bewildering array of case work which pours into her office every week. Currently, she averages two Supreme Court trials a month as well as a host of criminal, civil and family cases in the lower courts. Regular interviews with new clients ? determining their disposable income and reporting her findings to the Legal Aid Committee which assigns her work ? adds a significant administrative limb to an already bursting portfolio of responsibility.

But while she conceded that the job is an arduous one and demands sacrifices that many, less ambitious individuals would not be prepared to make, Miss Subair was nonetheless adamant that the constant grind will be more than worth it in the long term.

?I?m working day and night at the moment,? she said.

?But it?s a sacrificial period for me because I?m in my formative years as a counsel and the hard work has to be expected. I?m hoping that after a while, when I?ve built up a good level of experience and it is all not so new to me anymore, then hopefully it will not require as much time as it presently does.

?Now, when I?m preparing for a case, I subsume myself in the work ? to the exclusion of virtually everything else. That might sound rather drastic, but to be honest I enjoy the challenge.

?There will be a time when the balance will be better. But it is just me doing this job. When I?m in court, often the Senior Crown Counsel will have a Junior Crown Counsel assisting them ? and that junior may well have more years at the Bar than I do. I appear by myself. The DPP?s office is a team ? they consult with one another and they get approaches, advice and guidance on how to deal with a particular case. I?m a one-man team which makes it tough sometimes but I always try my hardest to rise to the occasion.?

Part of a large family, Miss Subair?s great uncle on her father?s side was Nigeria?s first ever Queens Counsel (QC) ? so law has always been somewhat in her genes.

Indeed, she was seduced by the prospect of becoming a lawyer as early as primary school and recalled with mischievous affection her uncanny ability to argue her way out of tight spots with a strict and demanding father. The latter proved invaluable training.

?I?ve always by personality been accused, or criticised or sometimes complimented for being argumentative, and so I guess the law was an obvious choice,? she said.

?For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a lawyer. I just thought the idea of being paid to argue was fantastic! But my father was very, very strict, and as a young girl I learned to use my tongue to either talk my way out of getting into trouble or being permitted to do something. So, even at that stage, you could say I was preparing for my career.?

Her education has taken her from Bermuda to Canada, England and France ? the latter a year-long exchange programme in Bordeaux from which she emerged fluent in French, although she admits she is a little rusty in the language these days given the limited opportunity she gets to use it.

Having passed the UK Bar exam in 2000, Miss Subair returned to Bermuda that autumn to become a Crown prosecutor at the tender age of 23 ? a further example of her willingness to confront new challenges with impressively little apprehension.

?The advantage of going into the DPP?s office as a young barrister is that if you want to litigate, I don?t think you can get a better place,? she said.

?Right from the very beginning you are in court virtually every day. You are thrown in at the deep end ? you?re subject to public criticism, you?re under the public?s eye, you have to become accustomed to that pretty quickly. You start off assisting a more senior Crown Counsel in Magistrates? Court and slowly but surely you work your way up the ladder.

?I hope this is not misinterpreted for arrogance, but I was always desperate to take on more weighty assignments. Whenever I moved up a rung, I was always immediately keen to move up one further. When I was assisting in Magistrates? Court, I wanted to have sole conduct of Magistrates? Court cases and when I?d achieved that, I immediately wanted to be in the Supreme Court. I was a little impatient I admit. But I think it?s good to be ambitious and always aim for something better or more challenging. I found climbing up the ladder pretty exciting and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible.?

So what prompted her move across into defence work and how has she coped with the requisite psychological shift? Does she consider herself a natural prosecutor or a natural defence counsel?

?That?s a dangerous question for me to answer!? she said, laughing.

?Let?s put it this way, I would like to think of myself as a natural lawyer. I don?t get personally involved with my cases and I only do what I am instructed to do. I like to think I am a passionate mouthpiece for my clients as a defence counsel and also that I?ve got what it takes to be a good prosecutor as well. I enjoy both and I definitely want to prosecute again. And I think it?s good for lawyers to do both. But speaking frankly, I moved because I saw more opportunity in the position of Legal Aid Counsel. I saw a better volume of work, a saw the strong possibility of exposure to civil work and family work as opposed to just being confined to criminal litigation. I knew I would get a lot more Supreme Court work as well.

?So, while I?m forced to work extremely hard, I?ve got no regrets and there is no doubt in my mind that I?m growing as a lawyer in this job faster than I?ve ever done.?

While her career is progressing well, Miss Subair is well aware that to ensure her continuing development she must at some stage venture overseas. When that will be exactly, she was reluctant to say ? although a lengthy period working in the Caribbean or perhaps the UK is definitely part of her thinking as she plots her next move.

?I returned home on the basis that it would not be permanent because I do eventually want to go to a larger jurisdiction and practice,? she said.

?I think that is going to be a very important part of my overall development. I have taken a long, hard look at what we import into Bermuda though. The DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham-Allen) herself is from Jamaica, our Principal Crown Counsel is from Jamaica, our Senior Crown Counsel is from Jamaica, another one of our Crown Counsels is Bajan. We quite rightly seem to give an awful lot of credit to overseas experience, and as a Bermudian, it seems sensible for me to go and gain that, so if I want to return to Bermuda, I have got what is required. Whether I end up coming home after that largely depends on my personal life ? even the best laid plans can change in an instant. And I?m still very excited by the possibility of going anywhere. But at the moment, I?m enjoying myself immensely ? it?s a real adrenaline rush this job ? and I will happily continue on until the next step becomes available ? whenever that is.?