FORMER Public Defender Howard Hamilton recently achieved a legal milestone when he celebrated 50 years at the Bar, at a dinner attended by approximately 100 friends and colleagues, at the Terra Nova Hotel and Suites in St Andrew.

Among the guests were Bernard Coard and his wife, famous for his part in the Maurice Bishop-led Grenadian Revolution and implosion. Coard was represented by a Jamaica team of lawyers including Hamilton, Norma Linton, A J Nicholson, Glen Cruickshank, Delano Harrison, Earl Witter and Carlton Williams. The team, all of whom attended the dinner, was involved in the ultimate release of the Coards after 26 years.

Hamilton, over the years, has recorded courtroom victories in every parish of Jamaica as well as The Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Grenada, St Kitts and the Privy Council and, with Patrick Atkinson, shared a partnership of 73 victories straight in the Circuit Court. He also has the distinction of defending two prime ministers of opposing governments — Michael Manley, with Carlton Williams in the Top Hill Enquiry, and Hugh Lawson Shearer in the Maffesanti Enquiry.

Hamilton considers his wealth to be the six children he helped to produce — Scott, a Doctor of Psychology lecturing at Florida International University, Miami; Kelly, holder of a BA from University of the West Indies (UWI) and a vicepresident marketing with a highly reputable securities firm; Candis, an attorney-atlaw and his legal partner; Burke, former head boy of Jamaica College now embarking on his doctoral degree in Public Adminis-tration; Kaci, holder of her BA in English and contemplating a career as a novelist; Brik, aged four and a stepson, Jahleel, aged 14, both still in school.

Among his mentors, Hamilton numbers Dudley Thompson and Ian Ramsay, both of whom had “the most profound impact on my career”.

In the midst of the celebrations, he had some advice for those contemplating a career in the legal profession: “Firstly, get to know the subjects required for Law early and do them, then, secondly, “identify the area of Law which gives you the most pleasure and concentrate on it”.

Justice C W Walker, retired judge of the Appeal Court, in the role of Master of Ceremonies, kept the audience roaring with laughter throughout the evening.

Apart from close family members, which included his wife Talia, his sister Heather Davidson, brother Dr M O ‘Pat’ Hamilton, colleagues attending also included Roger Minnis from The Bahamas, Margeta Facey-Clarke and Steve McField from the Cayman Islands and Ruggles Ferguson of Grenada who telephoned his greetings during the speeches.