Portfolio Of Legal Affairs

Cayman Islands Law School

Introduction

The Cayman Islands Law School was opened on 27th September 1982 by the then Governor, Mr. Peter Lloyd, and in 1984 it moved to the fourth floor of the Tower Building. September 2003 therefore witnessed the 21st anniversary of the Law School’s opening.

The governing body for the Law School is the Legal advisory Council chaired by the Honourable Chief Justice and comprises the Honourable Attorney General and the President of the Cayman Islands Law Society and the president of the Cayman islands Bar Association. The Director of the Law School is the Executive Secretary to the Council.

Following Hurricane Ivan, the Law School relocated to the former CIBC Building, Albert Panton Street, where it occupies the second and third floors. It offers good facilities to the 112 registered students and boasts one of the Island’s finest and largest (at nearly 2000 square feet) law libraries.

Function of the Law School

The Law School provides tuition for both full and part-time programmes leading to the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Degree of the University of Liverpool and the qualification of Attorney-at-Law of the Cayman Islands, which follows successful completion of the postgraduate Professional Practice Course. It is also possible to enrol at the Law School as a General Student studying individual courses with or without taking examinations at the conclusion of the course. Students may register with the University in individual courses with University course certification resulting from successful completion of all elements of assessment.

The aim of the Law School is to provide students with a standard of tertiary level legal education equivalent to that prevailing in the United Kingdom. In 2002 the degree programmes taught through the Cayman Islands Law School were awarded Qualifying Law Degree status by the English Law Society and the English Bar Council. This means that students successful in the honours degree programmes are eligible to pursue further postgraduate professional legal studies in England and Wales, as well as any other common law jurisdiction recognizing an English law degree. Such students are also eligible to attend academic postgraduate law programmes across the common-law world.

In December 2005 the Law School successfully underwent a Periodic (Departmental) Review conducted by a senior panel of University of Liverpool Professors. The purpose of such reviews is to ensure that all University Departments (which for this purpose the Law School was regarded as being) satisfy the University’s high standards of teaching quality.

Postrgraduate Training: The Professional Practice Course

The qualification of Attorney-at-Law, which carries with it the ability to practice law in the Cayman Islands, follows successful completion of the Professional Practice Course (“PPC”) and articles. The PPC is open to Caymanian students and those with strong connections to the Island having the written consent of the Governor in Cabinet.

The Professional Practice Course continues to develop in curriculum and delivery whilst maintaining the highest standards by which to measure the student’s performances. The increased integration of legal skills training into the curriculum has enhanced the course’s reputation for provision of quality vocational training in preparation for the student’s entry into a professional training contract.

In order to graduate from the PPC and progress into in-house legal training, the student has to pass all course modules. The PPC Qualifying Examination consists of seven core knowledge modules: civil litigation & evidence, criminal litigation & evidence, probate & succession law, accounts, conveyancing, Cayman statute law I (Private client), and Cayman statute law II (Commercial client). Students are also required to submit a 3000 word dissertation on a topic of local legal interest. Integrated into the teaching of the knowledge modules are legal skills and professional conduct sessions, these include the teaching of legal drafting, advocacy, negotiation, client interviewing, legal research and professional ethics.

One of the major challenges to the development and delivery of the PPC has been the lack of published texts and reading material available to support the course. In order to ensure continued development of the course and the maintenance of high standards of tuition, at the request of the Law School, the Legal Advisory Council recommended and Executive Council approved, the suspension of delivery of the PPC in the academic year 2003/4 for the purpose of preparing bespoke teaching manuals to support the core modules. These manuals proved to be of significant benefit to the PPC class when a record number of 15 trainees enrolled on the PPC in September 2004.

Law School Personnel

Academic Staff: (Full-time)

Mitchell C. Davies, Director of Legal Studies, LL.B (Hons) UEA Previous Teaching Experience: University of Bristol; University of Buckingham.
Debra Morris, Assistant Director, LL.B (Hons) (Liverpool); LL.M (Liverpool). Previous Teaching Experience: University of Liverpool.
Simon Cooper, Senior Lecturer, LL.B (Hons); LL.M. (Nbria); M.Phil (Wales); Ph.D. (Newcastle); Dip. Commercial Law (London); Attorney (New York) Previous Teaching Experience: Durham University; Cardiff University; Northumbria University.
Alan Sprince, Senior Lecturer, LL.B (Hons) (Liverpool), Dip Law, Solicitor. Previous Teaching Experience: University of Liverpool.
Deborah Barker, Lecturer in Law, LL.B (Hons); Barrister (Middle Temple); Previous Teaching Experience: The College of Law, Chancery Lane.
Matthew Rollinson, Lecturer in Law, LL.B (Hons); (Lancaster) Previous Teaching Experience: The University of Bristol.
Rhian Minty, LL.B (Hons) University of Wales, Barrister. Previous teaching experience: Lecturer in Law at the University of Cardiff.
Andrew Woodcock, BA, LL.B, LL.M, University of Queensland, Barrister and Solicitor, Australia. Previous teaching experience, Queensland University of Technology, Griffth University, Brisbane, University of Queensland, University of Dundee, Scotland.

Academic Staff: (Part-time)

Hon. Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale, BSc, LL.B (Hons) (UWI); Attorney at Law.

Ms Enola Martin, LL.B (Hons) (Liverpool); LL.M (Liverpool); Barrister (Lincoln’s Inn)

James Bagnall M.A. (Hons) (Oxon); Solicitor (England & Wales); Attorney at Law

Stephen Hall-Jones LL.B. (Hons) (Manchester); Barrister (Middle Temple); Attorney at Law

Ian Whan Tong A.B. (Princeton); LL.B (Dalhouise); M.P.A. (Dalhouise); Barrister & Solicitor (Ontario); Attorney at Law

Administrative Staff

Bevereley Speirs, Librarian
Mrs. Lisa Morales-Levy;
Antonette Vernon
A vacancy for the newly established post of Library Assistant is shortly to be filled.

Graduation 2006

The Law School received its best ever set of graduating results in July 2006. The 2006 ceremony was presided over by a senior delegation from the University of Liverpool which included its Vice-Chancellor, Professor Drummond Bone, and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Gaskell. The reason for the attendance of the senior University Personnel was in order to confer an honorary LL.D on the Hon. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie QC. For only the second time in the Law School’s 24 year history, the presence of the senior University Personnel allowed the Law School students to graduate in person in the Cayman Islands.

A summary of the 2006 undergraduate and postgraduate results follows:

Professional Practice Course: 4 Gradutes, 3 of whom received Passes with Distinction.
LL.B: 24 graduates, 4 of whom received First Class Honours Degrees and 11 received Upper Second Class Honours Degrees.
Diploma: 1 graduate.