The Cayman Islands Law School will celebrate its 25th anniversary at its 7th Annual Gala at the Ritz Carlton Friday.
The Silver Anniversary Celebration programme includes Professor Peter Rowe, the first director of the Law School, as the keynote speaker.
Cayman Islands Law School 7th Annual Gala |
There will also be a tribute honouring all alumni for the past 25 years. Ministers of Cabinet, the judiciary, and firms within the legal and financial sector have been invited to share in this special occasion.
CILS is a government entity operating under the Attorney General’s portfolio. The 25th year is a celebration of Government’s decision to make legal education available to local residents.
This decision came as a result of students having to travel thousands of miles to the UK in order to gain legal qualifications. The financial and logistical difficulties of this meant that only a very limited few could pursue a legal education. Early proponents of the school National Hero Jim Bodden and established attorney (and then Minister of Education) Mr. Truman Bodden were instrumental in the bringing the need for a law school to the foreground.
Consequently, the Cayman Islands Law School was established and the doors opened on 27 September, 1982.
In 1984 the school’s campus moved to the Tower Building. Because of the ravaging effects of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 the school was forced to find a new location that could accommodate students, teachers and a new law library. Classes resumed in a mere two months after the hurricane and were held in the board rooms of offices and government departments as well as in court rooms. Local law firms including Quin and Hampson, Solomon Harris, Walkers and Ogier graciously extended the use of their boardrooms for classes and tutorials, during this difficult time.
By Christmas 2005 the final renovations to the law school’s new premises in the old CIBC Building had been completed and the much improved law library saw its reference stocks steadily expand throughout the academic year. In September 2006 the Law Library added a Commonwealth Law Reports section featuring law reports from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, The West Indies and, of course, the Cayman Islands. This expansion of the library was in part made possible by a generous donation by Peter and Clare Stafford, alumni of CILS.
2005-06 was undoubtedly the Law School’s most successful year academically to date. The class of 2006 distinguished itself by earning four overall First Class degrees and 11 Upper Second Class degrees.
Graduates of the post graduate Professional Practice Course also distinguished themselves with three students being awarded Passes with Distinction. It was fitting that the 2006 graduation ceremony was attended by a high level delegation from the University which included the University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Drummond Bone. For only the second time in the history of CILS, the presence of Mr. Bone at the ceremony meant that CILS students actually graduated in person in the Cayman Islands. Usually CILS graduates graduate in absentia at the University’s ceremony in Liverpool.
This year student enrolment has risen to an all time high, with the 2006-07 first year class accounting for almost 50 per cent of the entire undergraduate population.
In November 2005 CILS was subjected to a periodic review by the University of Liverpool with five senior university staff visiting CILS for this purpose. The review was extremely favourable with the only suggestions for improvement taking the form of limited procedural recommendations.
Both the full- and part-time degree programmes are offered under the aegis of the University of Liverpool with which the Law School has a long standing affiliation. 2002 witnessed two landmark achievements in connection with this affiliation.
Firstly, in March 2002, following a five-day inspection of the Law School, the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council of England and Wales each, for the first time, conferred Qualifying Law Degree status directly on the Cayman Islands Law School for the purpose of the Liverpool LLB degree. Conferral of QLD status signifies that the holder of the degree has a qualification recognised by the English professional bodies for the purposes of completing their legal professional training in England.
Secondly, in August 2002 the relationship between the institutions was placed on a formal footing by the signing by the Attorney General of the Cayman Islands and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of an Institutional Agreement. This document operates to cement the already strong relationship between the institutions and specifically recognises degree students at CILS as registered students of the university.
CILS Students Society
The Cayman Islands Law Student Society is comprised of 12 members who are voted for annually in order to ensure that the various needs of the student body are met.
The society acts as a liaison between faculty and students, voicing concerns and questions on behalf of the student body to the staff in student/staff meetings. They also provide the student body with information and resources. They also organise events, which are aimed at promoting teamwork and morale amongst the students.
Academically based extra-curricular activities such as client counselling and mooting are also facilitated by the Student Society. In 2005, the Society sent two students to the International Mooting Competition in Wales where they obtained a place in the finals of the competition.
If you go
The annual gala is the biggest fundraising event of the year for the Cayman Islands Law Student Society and as such garners much support from the local community. The society also uses this event to host a silent auction at the event with items donated by local businesses.
To purchase tickets or tables call 547-6482.
The CILS Students Society and Mr. Charles Quin, QC, the guest speaker at last year’s event. Photo: Submitted
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