 ug s professor kenneth benjamin honoured by hugh wooding law school for outstanding contributions to legal education and the field of law ug s professor kenneth benjamin honoured by hugh wooding law school for outstanding contributions to legal education and the field of law ug s professor kenneth benjamin honoured by hugh wooding law school for outstanding contributions to legal education and the field of law andydindial fri 7262024 1607 professor kenneth benjamin head of ug s department of law at the hugh wooding law school s 50th anniversary celebrations professor kenneth benjamin the head of the law department at the university of guyana was honoured by the hugh wooding law school for his distinguished career in the legal field recognised for his extensive contributions to law and justice he was the only guyanese among the seven 7 honourees at the institution s 50thanniversary celebrations the event which was held on july 13th at the hilton trinidad and conference centre st ann s port of spain was attended by several legal professionals from guyana and across the region including judges magistrates and lawyers in an interview with the department of events conferences and communication decc professor benjamin shared that his journey has been an interesting one admitting that he was destined to become what he is today professor benjamin shared that initially he wanted to study economics at the university of guyana however his interest shifted to law while he was signing up for the economics course and he decided to enroll in both he later received a scholarship to pursue his law degree which he explained was completed between guyana and barbados followed by his professional training at the hugh wooding law school in 1977 professor benjamin s professional journey began in private practice as a solicitor at clarke and martin legal practitioners in guyana in 1977 by 1980 he transitioned to working as an attorneyatlaw in private chambers his judicial career started in 1981 when he served as an acting stipendiary magistrate followed by his role as assistant judgeadvocate of the guyana defence force from 1986 to 1988 his career took him beyond guyana serving as a magistrate and then chief magistrate in antigua and barbuda from 1985 to 1993 in 1993 he was appointed as a judge of the eastern caribbean supreme court initially assigned to antigua and barbuda and montserrat and later to the british virgin islands and grenada by 2007 he served as the presiding judge of the criminal division in saint lucia and acted as a justice of appeal for the eastern caribbean supreme court in september 2011 he was appointed chief justice of belize a position he held until his retirement in march 2020 recognised as a fellow of the commonwealth judicial education institute professor benjamin continues to contribute to the legal field since 2021 he has been sharing his extensive knowledge and experience as a professor and from 2023 as head of the law department at the university of guyana throughout his career professor benjamin has always been keen on sharing his knowledge with lawyers and other professionals in the legal field while he had considered teaching support staff he had not initially thought about teaching formally at a university however since joining the university of guyana as a professor he has found great fulfilment in this new role he enjoys imparting his extensive experience and insights to the next generation of legal minds contributing to their academic and professional development and thus continuing his legacy of dedication to the legal profession reflecting on his career professor benjamin emphasised the importance of reading for those studying or interested in law reading and understanding cases are crucial for mastering legal principles people are not reading as much as they should and it is important especially if you are pursuing a legal career professor benjamin said it is my firm resolve to devote my energy to legal education including the educating of legal practitioners and judicial officers at all levels at the academic level the quality of law graduates is crucial for nationbuilding beyond the university legal education impacts the standards of the legal profession in the same vein judicial education raises the bar on judging in our courts with our citizens being the ultimate beneficiaries professor benjamin said this award serves as a testament to professor benjamin s impactful career from his early days in private practice to his service as a judge and chief justice and now as an educator shaping future legal minds the hugh wooding law school s gala dinner also honoured six other distinguished graduates for their significant contributions to the field of law these include retired ccj judge rolston nelson ccj judge andrew burgess of barbados president of the ccj adrian saunders and president of the trinidad criminal bar association israel khan sc former special prosecutor dana seetahal and former trinidad and tobago attorney general keith sobion received posthumous honours the university of guyana is immensely proud of professor benjamin s recognition by the hugh wooding law school his distinguished career and significant contributions to the field of law bring great honour to our institution we are delighted to have such a distinguished mind as part of our team inspiring and educating the next generation of legal professionals 5c0e7185f8bf4b899b0c28e3d32d526fjpg  11781 kb  