WHILE the Office of Public Prosecutions is working assiduously to dispose of matters before the court in a timely manner, defence attorney Peter Champagnie is calling for increased mentorship, especially for younger members of the private bar.

Champagnie, who was speaking at the opening of the Hilary Term at the Home Circuit Court in Kingston, also made an impassioned plea for attorneys to amply prepare themselves in order to better represent their clients.

“I fear that in this new dispensation, where there is progress and the aim to make our system the best in three years, in terms of the region, I fear that if attention is not paid to mentorship, and to institutionalise this training among us at the private bar, we will be left behind in this new thrust to make this system work and to be the best,” Champagnie continued.

“… I do believe that the Jamaican Bar Association and, indeed, the Advocate Association both need to be the engine of change in relation to this. The time has come for us to be in a position where we are able to meet trial dates, we are able settle on issues and move away from extraneous matters, and we are able to focus on issues and not personalities,” Champagnie said. He said that he was looking forward to participating in any sort of meaningful mentorship programme for lawyers.

Champagnie, while saying he is committed to making the justice system work, charged that now more than ever defence attorneys are operating in interesting times, where there is a new dispensation in relation to number of legislation that are still underutilised.

Referring to provisions such as the plea negotiation legislation, child diversion policy, and plea and case management, he said while these are being utilised there are also pieces of legislation that facilitate speedy trials.

“What all of this demands is preparation in terms of those at the private bar,” Champagnie stated.

Also admitting that there is a need for mentorship, president of the Jamaican Bar Association Emile Leiba told the Jamaica Observer that there are already some programmes in place.

“…We attempt to pair more senior attorneys with more junior counsel upon graduation so that they will have some measure of guidance on steps they should take and how they should approach matters,” Leiba said.

He said seminars have also been organised for lawyers who were being called to the Bar, which should be completed next week. Done in four batches, he said the new practitioners are taught how they should operate and how they should interact with the judiciary, etc.

According to Leiba, the Jamaican Bar Association has recognised that mentorship is not just a one-stop situation.

 “We acknowledge mentorship is not necessarily a formal structure, and sometimes it can be met with varying degrees of success, because it also depends on inclinations of the mentor and the mentee. So the individuals need to be willing to learn, as well as we need to have individuals who are willing to teach, and so the willingness to learn sometimes is where the challenge lies. For those who are willing to teach, it’s having the time available to teach along with all your other obligations. So it is not by any means a perfect system. But I think, as a profession, we rise and fall together, so it is in our interest to ensure [that we] maintain the standards as best as we are able,” Leiba stated.