See: Press Article 9 August, 2018 & Speeches
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John My Lord, I appear on behalf of the Applicants in these matters, Sophia Katerina Collis and Richard Grant Collis.May I first take this opportunity to congratulate/welcome/acknowledge your Lordship’s recent appointment as the CJ. I look forward to the benefit of your legal wisdom on the law of the land. Thank you for acceding to my request that I appear before your Lordship in this matter, it is a great privilege to stand here again. As your Lordship will be aware, I didn’t appear often before this court when I was practicing, although in the early days I had a mini-practice of doing calls, so it is good to be back. As a preliminary matter, let me also say that my interest in so appearing is, as no doubt your Lordship will have perceived, that I am interested in the matter before this Honourable court, and I think it proper that I should so declare to your Lordship. I should say that I don’t believe my interest rises to a conflict, but I can assure your Lordship that I will be particularly conscious to stick to the important facts, and resist any temptation to embellish. Just a small administrative point, my Lord, would you prefer to make the two orders first and then invite the new members to address the court, or should we do the two applications one after the other? |
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John for Sophia's Application Sophia Katerina Collis is the first Applicant This is a matter pursuant to section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1905 to admit and enrol Mrs Collis to practise as a Barrister and Attorney before this Court and to appoint her to be a Commissioner for taking Affidavits, Declarations and Affirmations.Your Lordship will have before you the Affidavit of Mrs Collis attesting to her qualifications to be admitted as a Barrister, which I trust your Lordship will find in order. My Lord you should also have before you the affidavit of Mr Charles Collis, a Director of Conyers Dill & Pearman, attesting to the fact the Mrs Sophia Collis is Bermudian and, in his view, is of good character and a fit and proper person to be called to the Bermuda Bar. If it pleases your Lordship, I will briefly highlight Mrs Collis’s qualifications: 1. Mrs Collis’s first university level education was at the University Of Tampa in Florida from where she graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. 2. After University, Mrs Collis joined Codan Services Limited, the corporate secretarial business of the local law firm, Conyers, Dill & Pearman, where she was engaged as a corporate administrator. As you may know, My Lord, Conyers Dill & Pearman encourage young Bermudian graduates working in Codan to qualify as Chartered Secretaries with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. Mrs Collis took up that challenge and studied the course between 2010 and 2013, and received her Chartered Secretaries’ qualification. 3.1 It is common practice in these applications to provide your Lordship with some insight into why the Applicant set out to become a lawyer. At some point in time while Mrs Collis was with Codan, she met my son. Now, while Justin was not heading into law, but rather medicine, it maybe that she felt some sort of Collis family pressure. For total transparency, I should say that was not aware the relationship for some time. Your Lordship will know that I had a manage responsibility in Conyers at the time, so while I could probably be criticised for not know what was going under the roof, at least lack of knowledge shows there could have been no favouritism or influence. Indeed, to suggest it was Collis family influence would probably be presumptuous. Having come to know Mrs Collis over the years as a determined young woman with energy to spare, the better answer is probably that Mrs Collis saw law and the next challenge, the next opportunity as she sought to define her career. 4. So, in 2013, after about four years with Codan, Mrs Collis entered the College of Law in London. In July, 2014, she completed the Graduate Diploma in Law. 5. Next, Mrs Collis attended the College of Law in London and passed the examinations for the Legal Practice Course with Commendation in July, 2015 to qualify as a Solicitor in England and Wales. 6. Between January, 2016 and January, 2018, Mrs Collis completed 24 months of training with Spring Law Limited, solicitors in London. 7. And on 15th January, 2018, Mrs Collis was admitted by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in the United Kingdom as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. 8. In about March, 2018, Mrs Collis joined (perhaps re-joined) Conyers Dill & Pearman, this time in its London office. In London, she is engaged a general corporate practice, particularly banking and finance work in London. 9. On these occasions, my Lord, it is also common to comment on the Applicant’s intentions vis-à-vis practice in Bermuda. While Mrs Collis enjoys the experience she is getting at practice in London, her long term plans anticipate a return to Bermuda with a view to practicing in corporate law here. That said, my Lord, such a return is not imminent. Mrs Collis’s husband, Justin, is in the midst of qualifying as a doctor in the United Kingdom and still has several years of post-qualification training in his area of specialisation. As such, there is still a while to go, but when she does return, I am confident Mrs Collis will be a loyal and committed member of the Bermuda Bar. 10. My Lord, I trust my comments have been helpful and given you a fuller picture of the Applicant than is sometimes apparent from a collection of certificates. So, unless I can help you further, may I ask you to make the order in terms of the papers: to admit and enroll to practise as a Barrister and Attorney Sophia Katerina Collis before this Honourable Court, and to appoint Sophia Katerina Collis to be a Commissioner for taking Affidavits, Oaths, Declarations and Affirmations. 11. Thank you, my Lord. |
John for Richard's Application Richard Grant Collis is the second Applicant. This is a matter pursuant to section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1905 to admit and enrol Mr Collis to practise as a Barrister and Attorney before this Court and to appoint him to be a Commissioner for taking Affidavits, Declarations and Affirmations.Your Lordship will have before you the Affidavit of Mr Collis attesting to his qualifications to be admitted as a Barrister, which I trust your Lordship will find in order. My Lord you should also have before you the affidavit of Mr Charles Collis, a Director of Conyers Dill & Pearman, attesting to the fact the Mr Richard Collis is Bermudian and, in his view, is of good character and a fit and proper person to be called to the Bermuda Bar. If it pleases your Lordship, I will briefly highlight Mr Collis’s qualifications: 1. Mr Collis’s first university level education was at the Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland from where he graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree, First Class. 2. After University, Mr Collis joined Systech in London, a firm of Chartered Surveyors and Engineers, in a training program that would ultimately lead to becoming a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. 3.1 It is common practice in these applications to provide your Lordship with some insight into why the Applicant set out to become a lawyer. His mother would say that, as a son coming from a family full of lawyers, she made every effort to make him aware that there were many other worthwhile endeavours in the world, and so, as he embarked on a career in Chartered Surveying, his mother believed that the family tendency towards law had finally been broken. 3.2 However, while at Systech, Mr Collis found himself exposed to the forensic side of the profession (not so much ensuring the building was constructed properly, but discovering why it fell down). This brought him into direct contact with lawyers and the analytics of causation and responsibility, and thus his interest in law was born. 4. So, in 2011, after about two years with Systech, Mr Collis entered the College of Law in London. In July, 2012, he completed the Graduate Diploma in Law. 5. Next, Mr Collis attended the College of Law in London and passed the examinations for the Legal Practice Course with Commendation in July, 2013 to qualify as a Solicitor in England and Wales. 6. Between February, 2014 and February, 2016, Mr Collis completed 24 months of training with Spring Law Limited, solicitors in London. While there, he was seconded to assist a start-up company, D3O, an impact technology company in London. 7. And on 1st February, 2016, Mr Collis was admitted by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority in the United Kingdom as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. 8. Since being admitted as a solicitor, Mr Collis has practiced with Peregrine Law in London. He is engaged in a general corporate practise, particularly business and share acquisitions and mergers, and private equity fundraising. 9. On these occasions, my Lord, it is also common to comment on the Applicant’s intentions vis-à-vis practice in Bermuda. Mr Collis enjoys the experience he is getting at practice in London and the opportunities there, and is likely to continue his practice in London for some time into the future. That said, his long term plans anticipate a return to Bermuda with a view to practicing in corporate law here. So, while the date of any return to Bermuda is still unknown, I am confident that when he does return, he will immerse fully within the Bermuda legal community as a loyal member of the Bermuda Bar. 10. My Lord, I trust my comments have been helpful and given you a fuller picture of the Applicant than is sometimes apparent from a collection of certificates. So, unless I can help you further, may I ask you to make the order in terms of the papers: to admit and enroll to practise as a Barrister and Attorney Richard Grant Collis before this Honourable Court, and to appoint Richard Grant Collis to be a Commissioner for taking Affidavits, Oaths, Declarations and Affirmations. 11. Thank you, my Lord. |
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Sophia 1. My Lord, I would like to start by thanking you for allowing this
application to admit me to practice as a Barrister and Attorney before
this Court and to appoint me a Commissioner for taking Affidavits,
Declarations and Affirmations. It is an honour to stand before this
court. |
Richard 1. Thank you for allowing this application to admit and enrol me to practise as a Barrister and Attorney before this Honourable Court. I am honoured and privileged to be able to appear before you today.2. I feel particularly honoured to be following in the footsteps of so many of my family members including; my grandfather, my parents, my uncles and my brother - and to stand before your Lordship today with my sister in-law who is making the same application. 3. I have always respected the work my parents have done and how passionate they were about their careers. That said, growing up I never thought I would be a lawyer. My mother and father always encouraged me think of other careers, as well as law. Perhaps this was an attempt to avoid there being yet another lawyer in our family or perhaps it was them try to save me from the long road of law school and articles. But in fact, I suspect, it was to inspire me to do whatever I am passionate about. I am very thankful for their continued support. 4. I believe this is why my route to law has been somewhat untraditional. I originally studied surveying and worked as a quantity surveyor for two years. It was during this time that I became heavily involved in a number of large construction disputes and this is what sparked my interest in law and the reason why I decided to re-train as a lawyer. 5. When I decided to leave my career as a surveyor to a pursue this new career, I could not have received more support from family and friends. This support continues and is unwavering and for that I am extremely grateful. 6. My Lord I am lucky to be accompanied by my very patient and supportive girl-friend, Aimee. Aimee and I met at law school and since then she has been a source of inspiration and support and has always been someone I can turn to for invaluable guidance. It is our intention to return to the island in the near future and to use our the experiences we have gain in London market here. 7. Your Lordship will be aware that I am currently practicing as a solicitor in London with a newly founded boutique corporate firm, Peregrine Law, where I advise entrepreneurs and small to medium businesses on range of corporate law issues, including private equity and venture capital fund raising and mergers and acquisitions. 8. Many of my generation are turning away from traditional lifetime careers in large corporate organisations and are instead pursuing their own business initiatives, for example in technology sector. My intention is to gather as much experience and exposure as I can to the legal issues concerning entrepreneurs and owner managed business as well as investments in high growth businesses. Through this experience I hope to be well placed to provide a meaningful contribution to this community and the Bermuda Bar when I return. 9. Finally, I wish to thank your Lordship and this Honourable Court for hearing my application. |
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Kim White on behalf of the Bermuda Bar (synopsis) He welcome both as new members of the Bermuda Bar. He referred to Sophia's comment about the Collis family being able to constitute a "small" law firm and suggested it could quite probably constitute quite a big firm all on its own. He said he noted that both Sophia and Richard would not be back to practice in Bermuda for a while, but was sure they would make a great contribution when they retunred. |
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Chief Justice Hargun (synposis) He welcomed both Sophia and Richard to the Bermuda Bar. He said he noted that Sophia had followed a more traditional route to law, business degree, corporate administration, then law. He also commented that Richard had followed a less conventional route, first Chartered Surveying then law, but said now understood how and why that had happened and suggested Richard had make a good decision to puruse law. He encouraged Sophia and Richard to be true to the duties of a lawyer. He reminded them that they were now officers of the court and that they had important duties to their clients. He also urged them to use their legal skills to give back to their community by serving on government boards, in legal aid and/or Bar Association services, on charities, etc He mentioned that he had worked as a lawyer with Senator Charles Collis who had given long service as a senator in Bermuda as service to the community. He also mentioned working with John. He too noted that they would not be back in Bermuda for a while, but looked forward to seeing them return and serve the Bar and the community. |
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