Meeting new challenges
profession has risen to meet its new challenges, a former top lawyer in the civil service reported yesterday.
Ex-Solicitor General Barrie Meade, who is now in the process of setting up Bermuda's first Barrister's practice, was speaking to Hamilton Lions during their weekly luncheon.
There had been more dramatic changes in the legal profession over the past two years than there had apparently been at almost any time in the last 30 years, he said.
Partners had resigned from firms and either gone into practice on their own or joined other firms and law firms had merged and broken up, he noted.
Even within firms, he continued, changes were occurring with strategic plans being put in place, lawyers becoming more specialised and very tight business practices being adopted.
And the criminal justice system was becoming computerised which would change everyday dealings with the law, noted Mr. Meade.
These developments were all results of changes in the Island's legal culture.
The Bermuda Bar Association had recognised that in order for these developments to continue, lawyers needed to keep up their legal education and stay abreast of them.
Mr. Meade added that lawyers had always done this in the past "but with so much going on so quickly, it is harder than ever to keep up to date''.
The Bar Association realised that to meet these demands, it had to get people together and "feed'' them the necessary information.
Seminars were held around the world on different topics of law but there was a need to hold seminars that were relevant to what was going on in Bermuda.
These were held in the 1980's, continued Mr. Meade, and enjoyed great success.
However they were difficult to organise and involved a lot of volunteers.
To meet this challenge, the Bar Association was preparing a formal system to hold seminars which would be voluntary at first, and then become compulsory.
But, Mr. Meade, pointed out, it was not just lawyers who needed to be kept up to date. Everyone who worked in legal offices should have the chance to earn qualifications and develop their skills, he said.
To meet this need, the Bar Association and Bermuda College got together and replaced the now-defunct Institute of Legal Executives' Preliminary Certificate in Legal Studies with a specific legal course for Bermuda.
This is set to begin next Wednesday, continued Mr. Meade, and will comprise of seven courses, four pertaining to law and three to business. A certificate will be presented to the successful participants.
The strengthening of the relationship between the legal fraternity and the Bermuda College had been developed further with the construction of the Bermuda International Arbitration Centre at the college.
The legal profession had strengthened its links with the insurance industry and this had led more lawyers to become involved in arbitration, said Mr.
Meade.
In turn, the new centre at the college was an example of many lawyers becoming more committed to using arbitration as a means to solve disputes.