DESCRIPTION OF CAREER AND ATTAINMENTS OF MR SMITH, QC
Today Mr. Oliver Smith QC makes history as the first member of the Turks and Caicos Islands Criminal Bar to take silk, an exceptional feat, and well deserved.
Mr Smith QC has had an impactful career which deserves our commendation, and the emulation of his peers.
He was first called to the Bar in 1984 in his native Jamaica. Shortly thereafter, he moved to New York, and was called to the Bar of New York State in 1987. The focus of his career has been criminal defence attorney.
Mr Smith QC was called to the Bar of the Turks and Caicos islands in 2007 and has since then, practised in all the courts of these Islands. Mr. Smith QC needs no introduction as he is well known, acclaimed and respected as an attorney who has appeared in a number of our local high profile criminal matters. Mr Smith QC is described as a defence attorney par excellence, well respected by his peers at the criminal Bar for his depth of knowledge and superior advocacy skills, but also for his compassion, demonstrated in the part of his practice dedicated to pro bono causes. I asked a respected member of the Bar to describe him in one word and this is what he stated: “Inspiring”. Another had more words: “smart and intelligent”, “passionate” “committed to his clients and going the extra mile for them” “compassionate”.
My acquaintance with Mr Smith QC has been short, but no less impactful. So committed has he been to the Judiciary’s mission of providing access to quality justice, that he has never turned down an opportunity to put his expertise and considerable experience to use in any initiative he has been called upon to be part of. He has in this regard, expended considerable time and energy, undoubtedly at cost to his own practice, by serving on a number of committees.
Mr. Smith QC is a member of the team that produced our new Criminal Procedure Rules which provide for effective case management towards the achievement of the overriding objective of trying cases justly; he currently serves on the Bail Bill Committee which has produced a Cabinet Paper and is headed for the House of Assembly where hopefully, some order and certainty will be introduced into the grant and refusal of bail in these Islands.
Mr. Smith QC is also a very worthy representative of the Bar at the Criminal Justice Stakeholders’ Group, and is a member of its sub-committee on Her Majesty’s Prison.
It is having regard to his stature as an advocate which is recognised by his peers, his achievements in criminal justice which are celebrated by them, and his
commitment to justice and judicial initiatives, that he became the only person to be nominated by the Chief Justice under s. 7 of the Supreme Court (Appointment of Queen’s Counsel) Rules 2021 for recommendation for appointment as Queen’s Counsel. I am quick to say that in spite of his nomination, Mr. Smith QC chose to submit an application in order to fulfill all that was required under Rule 10 of the said Rules. Having done so, he also submitted himself to the interview, which is part of the application process.
Mr. Smith QC is a man of many parts, a mentor to many young persons, and an ardent football fan who while carrying on his work as an attorney, manages to find the time to coach football. He serves as a football administrator and is at present, a member to the FIFA Appeals Committee, the CONCACAF Appeals Committee and is Chairman of the Caribbean Football Union.
Mr. Smith QC is truly deserving of the recognition he receives today, as Queen’s Counsel and will no doubt, be a worthy member of TCI’s Inner Bar.
