When a lawyer defrauded her father of money set aside for her education, Ms Janet Davis' future was in doubt.

But with help from her determined mother and others, Ms Davis defied the odds and became a lawyer herself.

Ms Davis, 28, was recently called to the English Bar at Lincoln's Inn after studying at the University of Buckingham and Holborn College.

Early in 1993, lawyer Mr. Larry Madeiros was sentenced to three years in prison after he was convicted of cheating landowner Mr. Boyd Davis of $506,000 from a family trust while managing his finances.

Included in that amount was a nest egg Ms Davis' late grandmother, Mrs.

Emogene Davis, had set aside for her schooling.

"For me and for Janet, this is a momentous occasion,'' said her mother, Mrs.

Rosalie Davis of Sandys. "It almost never happened.'' "All of this came about when she was ready to go to the University of Buckingham and it was discovered her father's lawyer had stolen all that money.

"I was in total shock -- I couldn't believe it,'' said Mrs. Davis, who works for the Bermuda Telephone Company and is now divorced from her husband. "But I wasn't discouraged. I never got the opportunity to go to university.

"I decided if I had to wash floors and scrub and iron -- which I did at times -- to make ends meet, I was going to do it.'' In all, the four years in London cost between $75,000 and $100,000. Ms Davis also took jobs to help cover the cost, and both mother and daughter took out loans. Many friends of the pair chipped in $50 or $100.

Mrs. Davis wanted to thank the Bank of Bermuda, which provided a loan, and Telco, which presented her daughter with the $9,000 Sir John Cox Award in 1991 and 1992.

Before going abroad, Ms Davis attended Harrington Sound Primary, Warwick Academy, and Bermuda College. She was a summer student at The Royal Gazette and Miss University of Buckingham in 1991.

"The smelling salts came out when I saw my baby coming up to get her certificate,'' Mrs. Davis said. "To know that she was almost deprived of her education and in spite of all of that she still came out and she passed the Bar the first time.'' Mrs. Davis said 87 percent of those who wrote the exam with her daughter failed.

While at Buckingham, Ms Davis was in charge of entertainment for "Rag Week.'' She also received a Student Union award and was a member of the Student Union's executive committee. In her spare time, she taught fitness.

Ms Davis, who will be home for Christmas, is now taking a research Masters degree in Criminology. And mom is looking for another loan.

DEFIED THE ODDS -- Ms Janet Davis, shown here with her mother Rosalie, was not turned off when a lawyer deprived her of her education money. Instead, she became a lawyer herself.