Kaieteur News
PAGE 22
Sunday September 15, 2019
Using the legal profession for public good…
Attorney-at-Law
Ronald Daniels By Feona Morrison
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ome of his most i m p a c t f u l litigations were done without him charging a dollar. For Attorney-at-Law Ronald J. Daniels, pro bono work, or in other words professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, is a way of giving back to society. Dedicating his time to helping people is partly influenced by the help he received from many persons along his journey to becoming a lawyer. These include family members, especially his sisters, close friends, and many virtual strangers. Oftentimes described as the well-spoken man behind the Bar table, Daniels who has been a practising lawyer for about five years remains h u m b l e d a t h i s accomplishments; and for him, he has a long way to go in terms of serving the people of the land of his birth. Daniels was born at Wismar Hospital, Linden. He later moved to Grove, then Kaneville on the East Bank of Demerara, where he spent most of his life. He attended Grove Primary School. His teenage years
is a 'Special Person'
were spent at the Central High. He qualified as a Land Surveying, and Building and Civil Engineering Te c h n i c i a n a t t h e Government Technical Institute (GTI) before pursuing International Relations and reading for his Law Degree at the University of Guyana. As a prerequisite to
Guyana Bar after his mentor, prominent lawyer Nigel Hughes, presented his petition before Chief Justice Roxane George. Daniels noted that for years he actually resisted becoming an attorney. However, true to one of his favourite quotes, he sees where he presently is as “a man oftentimes getting to his
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I resisted becoming an attorney. But I knew from a very tender age that God brought me here for a larger than life purpose. But I only appreciated that purpose when I left high school. I have always been advocating for students' rights in an unofficial capacity. At the Hugh Wooding Law School, I served as my Seminar Group Representative and I also served as President of the HWLS Students' Representative Council.
practise law in the Caribbean Region, Daniels later moved to Trinidad where he attended the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) from where he obtained his Legal Education Certificate (LEC). In November 2014, he was admitted to the Bar in the Twin-Island Republic. December of the same year, he was admitted to the
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destiny on the very road he takes to avoid it.” He admitted, “I resisted becoming an attorney. But I knew from a very tender age that God brought me here for a larger than life purpose. But I only appreciated that purpose when I left high school. I have always been advocating for students' rights in an unofficial
capacity. At the Hugh Wooding Law School, I served as my Seminar Group Representative and I also served as President of the HWLS Students' Representative Council.” Daniels has debated in local and international competitions in which he has distinguished himself. He has a reputation as a very competent speaker, and has received his fair share of academic awards. Nevertheless, this father of three, who is happily married, is no stranger to overcoming challenges to get to where he is today. Oftentimes we hear about the astronomical costs of attending law school. This, however, was not the only challenge he faced. He was forced to mature early and do odd jobs from since his high school days. His mother, Marcia Daniels, was a single parent and he reveres her as his hero. JACK OF ALL TRADES During his time in high school, Daniels worked to maintain himself. He recalled selling magnetic earrings and clothing in school during his early high school days. A friend was his supplier. He took up varying odd jobs while studying at Ronald enjoys a moment with his hero, his mom Marcia, who dresses his d readlocks
A day out with his crew…his lovely family
Ronald Daniels GTI and the University of Guyana. He even reminisced on his life as a bus conductor. According to him, “I worked as a minibus conductor in the evenings from my late high school years all the way up to the University of Guyana. I operated with really little sleep. I used to tell one of my dearest friends out of jest that life is too short to waste it on sleep. My friend and I went to school during the day and worked the bus up until midnight, sometimes after midnight. Sometimes we would work as late as 2 a.m.” He added, “On occasions that we did not work the bus, I operated as a bus tout, given that I had responsibilities. In between that, I worked as a construction labourer. The very friend and I, along with his other employees, manually installed a massive number of the Guyana Water Incorporated water pipes in
the Diamond New Housing Scheme (East Bank Demerara). We did this from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, after which we worked the bus until after midnight.” He also worked rather briefly as a security guard. Daniels taught Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Law to lower and upper sixth form students at St. Rose's High School before attending HWLS. Prior to leaving for Trinidad, he worked as a paralegal at the highly respected Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm, where he remains as a practising lawyer under the guidance of his mentor. Asked to describe his practice in the legal field in Trinidad, Daniels had this to say, “Trinidad has definitely been and continues to be good to me. I initially started working as an associate with Mr. Richard Clark-Wills, and I did that up until January 2015. I did civil and immigration litigation, but my concentration there was criminal practice.” He has represented innumerable persons c h a rg e d w i t h v a r y i n g offences ranging from murder, to possession of illegal arms and ammo, possession of narcotics, drug trafficking, fraud-related offences, general summary matters and private criminal charges. Since his Bar admission, Daniels says he has been back and forth between Guyana and the Twin-Island Republic. But he always comes back here; Hughes, Fields and Stoby Law Firm has always been his home. 'I LOOK UP TO HIM' Daniels shared that he “looks up” to Nigel Hughes whom he described as one of (continued on page 53)