Former judge of the Court of Appeal Justice Hilary Phillips was last Friday hailed by members of the legal profession as “a trailblazer with significant groundbreaking firsts”, trademarking 47 years of a stellar career in law.

During a special sitting of the Court of Appeal to mark her retirement, president of the Court of Appeal Justice Patrick Brooks said Phillips was “a truly exemplary lawyer, jurist, woman and remarkable human being” who was not just tenacious and thorough but also fair.

“She was in every sense a leader at the bar,” he said of the woman who, to her credit, was the first student from her alma mater, St Andrew High School for Girls, to become Queen’s Counsel; the first woman trained as solicitor to become Queen’s Counsel, the first woman to be elected president of the Jamaican Bar Association, the first chair of the Regulatory Market and Oversight Committee of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the first woman trained as a solicitor to become a judge; the first woman elevated to the Court of Appeal directly from the private bar and part of the first all-female panel at the Court of Appeal.

Judges of the court, in a citation, heaped praises on Phillips for her Herculean work ethic, unquestioned integrity, noting that despite her achievements she “is celebrated most for being a first rate human being”.

The legal luminary who has mentored many was hailed for her fierce loyalty to family and for being a staunch defender of her friends and those she mentored.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, who said Justice Phillips has been a constant source of encouragement and wisdom to her colleagues in the profession, said in her time as an appellate judge she had written significant judgements and contributed to others in vital ways.

Recently retired president of the court Justice Dennis Morrison said her “service in law has been exemplary with her making contributions beyond what was expected of her in any sphere that she worked”, adding “congratulations on a wonderful career, the judiciary will be lessened but it would have been greatly, greatly enriched over the years”.

And Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn QC, reflecting on judgements handed down by Justice Phillips in several seminal cases which number among the high points of her stellar career, said, “for me you will always be an exemplar of the finest professional as a jurist”.

Also among those paying tribute to Justice Phillips in the more than two-hour long affair was Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte, president of the Bar Association Emile Leiba and Sir Michael Barnett, president of the Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, who chairs the Judicial Services Commission of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Justice Phillips is the daughter of the late Sir Rowland Phillips, who was chief justice of Jamaica in the 1960s, was sworn in as a judge of the Court of Appeal, in a ceremony at King’s House in July 2009. She has been an attorney since 1974, and a Queen’s Counsel since 1998. As a member of the Jamaican Bar Association, she served as the first female president from 2001 to 2004. She was extensively involved with civil litigations and demonstrated long-standing commitment to legal education, serving at the Norman Manley Law School as a tutor in civil procedure from 1994.

She also served as a member of the General Legal Counsel from 1984 and was a member of its disciplinary committee. Justice Phillips who has received numerous awards leaves a successful legal practice as senior partner at Grant, Stuart, Phillips and Company.

She also served as the acting president of the Court of Appeal in 2019, the second female to do so.