Mr. John Benjamin, one of Anguilla’s senior Barristers-at-Law, has been elevated to the position of a Queen’s Counsel. His appointment was announced by His Excellency the Governor, Alistair Harrison, on Friday, February 22.
“This is a very important occasion because it marks a new phase in the professional life of one of Anguilla’s most distinguished and senior lawyers,” the Governor told media representatives in the Executive Council’s Chambers. “I am very pleased to be in the position to hand over to John the Letters Patent from Her Majesty the Queen which appoint him as a Queen’s Counsel. It is the so-called ‘Taking of Silk’ which is a mark that the Queen gives to most distinguished and learned lawyers both in the United Kingdom and throughout the Overseas Territories.”
Governor Harrison said that Mr. Benjamin’s career had been extremely varied in Anguilla, St. Kitts and in the United Kingdom. “Apart from being a lawyer, he has also been a Talk Show host… and in that context has been a great champion of free speech here on Anguilla,” the Governor further stated. “He has also recently been appointed to be a Judge in a number of jurisdictions in our region and is continuing to serve with good distinction, in particular handling some extremely sensitive political cases in a neighbouring jurisdiction. John has made a tremendous contribution to the legal fraternity across the whole board, and I am delighted that I have been asked to hand over these Letters Patent appointing him as a Queen’s Counsel.”
Replying, Mr. Benjamin thanked the Almighty God that he had overcome a feeble infancy to make his mark on life; the Governor and, through him, the Queen, for bestowing the honour of QC on him. “It is very humbling when you come from a background like I did – very humble and poor,” he said. “For me to get this far, I am sure that my grandmother – Hannah Waver – must be turning in her grave because when Bishop Errol Brooks and I were talking about going off to university, she used to laugh at us saying ‘my two little grandsons.’ Who would think that one of us would become the Bishop of the North Eastern Caribbean and Aruba and the other one a Queen’s Counsel?”
Mr. Benjamin said that he had a number of good friends and teachers who assisted him to reach this far and he was grateful to them. He was also thankful to the Chief Justices – past and present – who gave him the opportunity to serve as an Acting Justice for Nevis, Montserrat and St. Kitts. He acknowledged the support of his staff members who were present at the ceremony at which he was appointed a Queen’s Counsel.
Mr. Benjamin left St. Kitts for England in 1965 to study Theology in the Anglican Ministry. He eventually switched to law after teaching for a while and serving as a Community Liaison Officer for schools on crime and violence. He studied law at Warwick University and was attached to the Legal Aid Department where, along with lecturers, he advised citizens on legalmatters. He was also attached to the Anti-Apartheid Movement and did much work in the Midlands.
Mr. Benjamin acknowledged that the British Government had been very helpful to him. “They have given me about four scholarships including one to Jamaica,” he said. “I have gone through all my years of education without having spent a penny, so I am very grateful to the British.” He spent fourteen years in England.
Mr. Benjamin’s substantive position in Anguilla is CEO of Caribbean Juris Chambers – at Hannah Waver House – his own law firm. He has also been serving as an Additional Magistrate in Anguilla. He is on his second appointment as an Acting High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court until the end of March.
