ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, June 8th, 2012 – BVI law students in the United Kingdom (UK) will soon benefit from the expertise of experienced lawyers under the Legal Students Mentorship Programme launched by the Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE last Friday at the BVI House in London.
The initiative is being facilitated by the BVI London Office and the Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), as part of their continued support of the Twinning Programme, an agreement between the BVI and HCC which allows for the sharing of best practices and the development of skills amongst persons in the public service, commercial sector and non-governmental organisations.
The mentorship programme will match students with experienced lawyers based in England to advise and support them throughout their academic training and through to obtaining employment. The commercial law firms will work with the students with commercial law and the Hertfordshire County Council will work with the students on public law, affording the students opportunities in varied areas of law.
In his remarks, the Premier told attendees that the BVI Government supports opportunities for the enhancement of student learning, saying, “Over the years, it has been the policy of the Government of the British Virgin Islands to train as many of our citizens in the legal profession as it has become a highly demanded field due to the increase in our Financial Services sector. My Government pledges to continue this support and further seek opportunities to enhance all our students learning and development capabilities.”
The Premier commended the committee members Mr. David di Mambro of Radcliffe Chambers and Mr. Leonard Birmingham of Harney’s for their hard work and commitment, in addition to two law students, Mr. Lloyd Wheatley and Ms. Suzette Vanterpool, who also contributed to the development of the programme. Honourable Smith also expressed his appreciation to Hertfordshire County Council for their participation in the mentorship programme.
In an invited comment, Director of the BVI London Office Mr. Kedrick Malone said the launch was a success because of the support of the Premier, in addition to the representation from five major London based law firms, adding, “Although there was low student turnout due to exams and other unavoidable commitments, many students have already indicated that they will take advantage of the great opportunities afforded to them by this programme. It was still very much a success in that we had the support of representatives from the five major law firms which include Radcliffe Chambers, Charles Russell, Maples and Calder, Ogier and Rooks Rider.”
Commenting on the progress of the Hertfordshire County Council Twinning Programme, Deputy Leader of the HCC Councellor Mr. David Lloyd expressed the Council’s pleasure in assisting BVI students, adding, “Given that we share the same common law systems, we are delighted that we can share our expertise and as a leading British local authority, we are delighted to take this opportunity to help facilitate the learning of these students.”
The launch of the Legal Mentorship Programme represents Government’s commitment to both the training and development of the people of the British Virgin Islands to compete globally, in addition to strengthening ties between the United Kingdom and this Territory.
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