Bar Association Provides Legal Representation for Embattled Lawyer

Eamon Courtenay

With the facts of the case on display, the court appears to have little sympathy for a member of the legal fraternity who has committed serious wrong. And certainly, Staine will get no support from the claimants who are out of pocket and whose trust has been abused. But he did have some support today from senior members of the Bar Association who were present in court. In fact, Staine’s representation by Senior Counsel Denys Barrow was arranged by the Bar Association. This morning President Eamon Courtenay told News Five that when they realized that an unrepresented Staine could find himself behind bars, they had to step in.

Eamon Courtenay, President, Bar Association

“I had received a number of calls from members of the Bar who had expressed their concern for the welfare of Mr. Staine who was representing himself, which is never advisable. So I contacted colleagues and people agreed to come forward to provide assistance to him. I want to make it very clear that that relates only to the contempt matter. That is a very serious matter and it appeared to us based on what we were able to gather that Mr. Staine was in need of legal representation. From the Bar’s perspective I can say that this is a matter of serious concern and the fact that Mr. Staine was brought to Court at the risk of going to prison today, we wanted to signal to the Court and indeed to the public that the Bar Association is very concerned about this kind of order being made against a member of the profession.”

Reporter

“Could we get a reaction to the presence of senior members of the Bar in the Courtroom today?”

Julie-Ann Ellis Bradley

Julie-Ann Ellis Bradley, Attorney for Claimant

“That is a very good question, and I am still assessing my own reaction to that. Mr. Staine was represented by Mr. Denys Barrow who is a Senior Counsel, and the presence of other members of the Bar here, I am not able to say entirely the basis on which they were present, apart from what was represented to the Court in terms of them understanding the gravity of the circumstance. What I am more concerned about is the state of affairs where an attorney who is required by his code of ethics, required by law to act in a manner which is even higher than an ordinary person in respect to these matters, is able to have clients be in that position and that I would hope to perhaps get something from the Bar Association which in fact confirms their position on it.”