Ms. Mary Clare Haskins, the daughter of Sheila and Sherman Haskins of Corito, is the latest Anguillian to be admitted to the Anguilla Bar. Ms. Haskins was admitted to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Anguilla Circuit, as a Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor on 7 June, 2010. The 28 year old lawyer was admitted to the Anguilla Bar by Retired Appeals Court Justice Albert Redhead. Her application for admission was made by Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge and supported by Mrs. Tara Ruan.

Mary Clare Haskins

After the submission by Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, Justice Redhead said he had examined the documents submitted for the admission of Ms Haskins and was satisfied that she is a fit and proper person to practice in the High Court of Anguilla. Addressing Ms. Haskins directly, the experienced Caribbean judge told Ms. Haskins that she was entering a noble profession and one of the oldest in the world. Justice Redhead went on to tell Ms. Haskins that, as a lawyer, her first duty is to the court and the second is to her client. She was then formally welcomed to the Bar by other members including senior lawyers Keithley Lake, Josephine Gumbs-Connor, Tommy Astaphan and Vernette Richardson.

In her brief response, Ms. Haskins thanked her parents, friends and the Government of Anguilla for the assistance and support provided throughout her training. Ms. Haskins said that she hopes to make a positive contribution to the legal profession and wants to be an active member of the Anguilla Bar Association.

Ms. Haskins received her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Pace University School of Law in New York in May 2008. During the graduation ceremony she was bestowed with the Dean’s Award which honours the graduate in the full-time division who has made the most outstanding and continued contribution to the good of the law school.

While at the law school, Ms. Haskins was the Managing Editor of Pace Law Review and the Co-Chairperson of the Moot Court Executive Board. In addition, she participated in the Federal Judicial Honors Program where she was a judicial extern in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York and interned at Morgan Stanley’s Global Wealth Management Litigation Department. She also participated in the National Arbitration Competition, the St. John’s Civil Rights Competition and the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition during her tenure at Pace Law School. She currently sits on the Pace Law Alumni Board of Directors.

Ms. Haskins obtained the Certificate of Legal Education in April 2010 from the Eugene Dupuch Law School in Nassau, Bahamas, where she completed the six month conversion programme. Prior to returning to Anguilla, Ms. Haskins was admitted to the bar of New York and worked as an Associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City.
Ms. Haskins is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, cum laude. Ms. Haskins was also a graduate of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School where she was valedictorian achieving both the Best Overall CXC results in 1998 and the Island Scholar recipient in 2000 for Best Advanced Level Results in Sixth Form.

Ms. Haskins is currently working with the Attorney General’s Chambers.

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

World News