Amending of Legal Profession Act critical for foreign law firms – Premier Smith
He was speaking during yesterday's January 26, 2016 Sixth Sitting of the First Session of the Third House of Assembly as the debate on an amendment to the Legal Profession Act got underway following its second reading.
The Premier noted that the principal Act was brought to the House of Assembly last year 2015 after being worked on for a considerable period.
However, he noted that even though the act had been in the making for ten years, there were still elements of it that did not sit well with the territory and needed amending.
“And Madam Speaker even as some issues are addressed others are emerging,” he said. Giving an example, he said there is now a one-year residency requirement in the VI for non-Virgin Islands lawyers who worked in other overseas territories.
Premier Smith said that another issue that has surfaced is the time line that practice certificates come into force.
He said overseas legal firms need to have non-resident lawyers working for them and for that reason among others the passage of the amendment is important.
“So it is important to have this Act passed, because if nothing happens many lawyers will be [left] without practice certificates and that won’t be good for the territory’s legal firms,” he said.
Some of the provisions of the Principal Act speak to the power of the General Legal Council; the criteria and qualifications for admission to practice and issue of practice certificates, funding of Legal Aid, the criteria for temporary admission of Foreign Counsel, the mechanics of pupillage or post qualification training and the Code of Ethics.
6 Responses to “Amending of Legal Profession Act critical for foreign law firms – Premier Smith”
Your money ALL comes from overseas, whether it's cruise ship passengers, sailing charters or companies wanting anonymity or tax efficiency.
The BVI is entirely reliant on foreign people and companies, and unless you realise and appreciate that, you're going to find yourself broke.