TT lawyer made QC

TT attorney Anand Beharrylal has been awarded the title of Queen’s Counsel in England, having been admitted to practise as a senior advocate at the inner bar. The appointment was made last month following deliberations by the Queen’s Counsel Appointments Commission in London.

Beharrylal is the first TT attorney to be made QC since 1976, when this country became a republic and the Queen of England was no longer head of state. Attorneys in TT elevated to the inner bar were thereafter named Senior Counsel instead. Some QCs from TT appointed before republican status are former chief justice Michael de la Bastide, the late Karl Hudson-Phillips and Justice Frank Misir.

In making the announcement on December 22 of the 2018 list of new QCs, the Lord Chancellor of the UK said: “I commend each of the 119 barristers and solicitors, alongside the seven honorary Queen’s Counsel, on their appointments. The award of the title of Queen’s Counsel is a recognition of depth of expertise and eminence in their fields. It is this expertise that gives the English legal system its world-leading reputation.” Beharrylal, 42, is the son of San Fernando attorney Reynold Beharrylal and the late Sham Ramasray-Beharrylal. His family hails from San Francique, Penal and Marabella and he is a past student of St Bendict College, La Romaine.