An interesting piece by Mr. Phinsley St. Louis in the New Today of April 29, 2011, Re: the office of the Attorney General and private representation after leaving office.
I quote“..the unethical and profound disregard for all moral standards, displayed by Mr. Jimmy Bristol, concerning his involvement in the Grand Beach resort and Time Bourke Holdings issue.
I was indeed shocked with surprise when when I read in the same Newspaper issue of 1st April, that Mr. Bristol is at present representing Time Bourke in a court matter against one of the other parties involved in the deal.
After all this was a transaction that he sanctioned during the period when he was the Chief Legal Advisor to the same Government…WHAT DICEPTION!!! WHAT SHAME!!!”
Let me first say, I agree with Mr. St Louis, and that, I too was disturbed on reading the Editorial of The New Today News Paper of April 8th, 2011. However, as I understand it, Mr. Bristol may not have broken any Grenada Laws, nor did he deviate from Legal Practice in Grenada. We have all heard the stories of some Lawyers representing both sides in the same Real Estate matter.
As unethical as this may be, I have not heard a critical comment from The Prime Minister, a Lawyer himself, nor any member of the ruling administration, the majority of whom are Lawyers nor, The Bar Association, the association of Lawyers, of which Mr. Bristol may be a member. By their collective silence, I could only conclude that they see nothing wrong with Mr. Bristol’s actions. Is this another example of the black cloak of silence?
Mr. St Louis calls for Mr. Bristol to reconsider his actions. I have to believe that neither Mr. St Louis nor the general public will ever see that, because SOME LAWYERS have set their own ethical standards over the years, and those standards seem to differ from what’s expected from the general public, for some, there are no ethical standards, for some, it’s about getting rich at all cost, driven by money, land and property.
Do you know what’s interesting, some day soon some of these same Lawyers will try to convince us that the CCJ should be our final court of appeal, and that they will make HONORABLE JUDGES?
The unfortunate thing Mr. St Louis is that our young Lawyers may think that Mr. Bristol’s action is the legal standard. It may be up to us, to convince our sons and daughter aspiring to be Lawyers, to use Christian values and conscience, to set themselves good ethical standards.
Is it time for some checks and balance in this Honorable Profession? Where is the oversight?
Brian Pitt
