Law Association hits Kamla’s ‘attack’ on lawyers

DAYS after the Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, accused senior attorneys of “singing for their supper,” by voting against a no-confidence motion involving Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, the Law Association (LATT) is calling on her to withdraw her comments.

It said her “attack” was “censorious and unwarranted.”

In a media release on Friday, the association said Persad-Bissessar violated the sanctity of a special general meeting, held on July 15, after she made it known to the public the attorneys who spoke in support of Armour and against the motion.

The association said Persad-Bissessar, being a senior member and part of the inner bar, should be reminded that it was established by law and is charged with certain functions. It said its meetings are private meetings of professionals who make up the membership, and members were reminded of this.

“The meetings of the LATT have always been private, as is the case with other similar associations. This is neither new nor unusual.”

The association said members were “entitled to rely on, and did rely on this long-standing protocol in presenting the motion, speaking on it, and participating in the general debate.”

It said members, prior to and at the meeting, had asked whether the voting was going to be anonymous and by secret ballot, and this was so.

“The council of the LATT was therefore surprised and disappointed that the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, an attendee, not only made public how certain members had indicated they were going to vote, but singled out certain members for an unseemly public attack, attributing the most dishonourable of motives to them for the position they took.”

The meeting was called to address two concerns – a call for Armour to resign as titular head of the legal bar, and to vote on whether association members had lost confidence in him as AG.

Both issues arose out of his perceived conduct in the handling of a civil matter in Miami involving the construction of the Piarco airport terminal.

Armour failed to disclose his full involvement as a defence attorney for former government minister Brian Kuei Tung and Renee Pierre, who are charged in the Piarco case, when he met with US lawyers prosecuting Kuei Tung and others in a $200 million civil asset forfeiture Miami case which has been ongoing for 18 years.

A US judge automatically disqualified Armour and the law firm Sequor Law, on May 2, on the grounds of an apparent conflict of interest as Armour was both chief prosecutor and a former defence attorney.

Some 551 financial members voted on the two motions brought by Kiel Taklalsingh, backed by 40 attorneys. The motions were rejected with 317 lawyers voting against the no-confidence motion and 234 voting for it. The motion calling on him to resign as AG saw 301 lawyers voting to reject it and 250 in favour of.

Not pleased with the outcome, Persad-Bissessar, at the United National Congress’ weekly Virtual Report on Monday, referred to those who supported Armour, some being members of the inner bar like herself, as “eat-ah-food attorneys” and “beggars” who were afraid of speaking out against the AG for fear of losing out on state-appointed legal briefs and board appointments.

In its release, the association called on her to “do what is appropriate and withdraw her statements.”

“We take no issue with any principled criticism of the position taken by the majority voting at the meeting. What is beyond the pale is the personal vilification of individual members by the holder of a high constitutional office.”

Senior Counsel Israel Khan: She should give back her ‘silk’

The first attorney to respond to Persad-Bissessar was Senior Counsel Israel Khan, the most senior practising attorney in the country.

In a letter on Wednesday, he called on her to return her title of senior counsel.

Khan said while he understood that Persad-Bissessar, as a politician, will attack her political enemy and their allies, her attack on her legal colleagues, in this instance, was baseless and obscene.

He said while he was not a member of the UNC, he believes Persad-Bissessar deserves a second chance at becoming prime minister, but she had no shame and could not be considered a leader of the inner bar. He described Armour as a man of impeccable integrity.

Calls to Persad-Bissessar went unanswered.

This is not the first time this month the association has had to defend itself from political blows.

On July 2, the Prime Minister said he was ready to vote in a no-confidence motion against the association after it, according to him, attempted to entrap him to impeach the Chief Justice in 2019. He also accused the lawyers of “surreptitiously” attempting to make him a witness in the hoped impeachment.

In a media release days later, the association called on Dr Rowley to withdraw the statements calling them “misleading comments.”