Judges always lend advice to new Attorneys-at-Law. Friday was no different as High Court Judge Navindra Singh advised recent law school graduate Dhaneshwar Deonarine to be a beacon of integrity. Deonarine, who currently serves as Guyana’s Chief Labour Officer, was admitted to practice law on Friday.
His petition was presented by Attorney-at-Law Devindra Kissoon, the founder of London House Chambers. Given Deonarine’s impressive curriculum vitae, Justice Singh accepted his Bar admission petition with much delight. Deonarine comes from humble beginnings hailing from the Cinderella County of Essequibo, Kissoon said, adding that the father of two “worked hard to progress to where he sits today.”
The Chief Labour Officer recently graduated from the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) with his Legal Education Certificate (LEC) – a prerequisite to practise law in Guyana and the Commonwealth Caribbean. Given his exceptional performance, he earned a place for himself on the Principal’s Honour Roll.
From 2016-2019, he attended the University of Guyana where he read for and obtained his Bachelor of Laws (Distinction). He is also the holder of a Bachelor of Economics (Credit) from the University of Guyana and a Master’s in Human Resource Planning and Development (First Class Honours) which he obtained from the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India.
He also has a Diploma in Project Management (Distinction) from the Institute of Commercial Management, United Kingdom, which was done through IPED, Guyana.
From 2012-2015, Deonarine served as Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Tourism, Industry, and Commerce Ministry. He also served as the director of many State Boards and was a part-time lecturer at the University of Guyana from 2012-2016.
The new lawyer also served as Development Officer, Development Assistance Section at High Commission of Canada and as National Consultant/Project Coordinator, Smart Hospitals Initiative and Disaster Preparedness and Response with PAHO Guyana.
He is currently the Chairman of the Competition Commission. Given Deonarine’s academic background, Kissoon said, “I have no doubts he will make us proud at the Bar. During the few months he spent with us at our firm, we grew to be endeared by his responsible nature and his work ethic.”
Lots of sacrifices
Deonarine, in brief remarks to the court, reflected on the many sacrifices his parents made to ensure that he pursued his education. He thanked Kissoon for accepting him to do in-service training at his law firm. “I must say that I was pleasantly taken back with his [Kissoon] humility; he is certainly a role model.”
He went on to say, “But your honour none of this would have been possible without my family. But I must single out my wife for her support and dedication to my studies. The most important was her support, her purity of thought, and her ability to put her family first.”
“The journey was a lot of sacrifices but it was my family that sacrificed the most. I remember the days when my son and daughter would count down the days to my final exams… It would be naïve of me to think that this journey started five years ago. Coming from Essequibo, you would understand the economic situation there …my parents, 18 years ago, they sacrificed a lot…”
The new lawyer vowed to uphold the dignity of the profession and said that he will be guided by the oath. He, however, said that at this point, he will delay practicing in the courts because of various reasons. “At some point, I see myself going into the profession. However, I am not sure as to when.”
Integrity is important
In brief remarks, Justice Singh told Deonarine that his résumé is nothing short of exceptional. “It seems that you have excelled everywhere that you have ventured and that is amazing.” In outlining the qualities needed to be a good lawyer, the Justice recited a quote from Chief Justice Bartlett Andrews (1834-1902).
It reads as follows: “It is not enough for an attorney that he be honest. He must be that, and more. He must be believed to be honest. It is absolutely essential to the usefulness of an attorney that he be entitled to the confidence of the community where he practices…a lawyer needs, indeed, to be learned…and he must have prudence, and tact to use his learning, and foresight, and industry, and courage. But all these may exist in a moderate degree and yet he may be a creditable and useful member of the profession, so long as the practice is to him a clean and honest function. But, if once the practice becomes to him a mere brawl for hire, or a system of legalised plunder where craft and not conscience is the rule, and where falsehood and not truth is the means by which to gain his end, then he has forfeited all right to be an officer in any court of justice or to be numbered among the member of this honourable profession.”
Justice Singh advised Deonarine to defend his integrity with his life.
Against this backdrop, he told him, “Your integrity is important. Defend it with your life. When you walk the roads, you must be able to hold your head high. The court feels confident when it can trust [lawyers] and that was what Chief Justice Andrews was saying. Your conscience must guide you.”
The Justice told Deonarine that he has an excellent mentor in the person of Kissoon. As such, he urged him to make use of every opportunity he gets to have discourses with Kissoon about the law. According to Justice Singh, many lawyers, both young and old are coming to court and “bluff their way”.
He said, “I see it happening a lot these days where young and old attorneys go to court and wing it. That is a new thing, they come and they try to bluff their way through the legal part… and what they do with the facts is a whole different thing. Don’t go to court and think you can wing it and go with the flow and get through.” In the end, Justice Singh wished Deonarine continued success in his endeavours. (Feona Morrison)
