Quin gets official nod as Grand Court Judge

(CNS): After almost a quarter century in Cayman’s legal arena Charles Quin, QC, has been appointed as the country’s fourth Grand Court judge. Quin signed the instruments on Thursday, 11 September, following the announcement by Governor Stuart Jack, although Quin has been acting as judge since May of this year.

 “It is a very challenging position,” said Quin. “I look forward to assisting the Chief Justice and the other Puisne Judges.”

Prior to the appointment, Quin was senior partner of law firms Quin & Hampson (from 1992) and Mourant (Cayman). He has served on the bench before and has been an acting magistrate of the Summary Court since 1993.

He also has held legal positions in other regional countries. He served as a crown counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers in Bermuda from 1981 to 1984. He also acted as Attorney General of Montserrat, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2004.

The Chief Justice, Hon Anthony Smellie, said he is very pleased to welcome Justice Quin to the Grand Court. “Having been acquainted with Justice Quin for the past 25 years, I am confident that his very diverse experience in many areas of the law and his knowledge and understanding of the Cayman community will enable him to respond appropriately to all matters coming before the Court,” he said.

Educated at Southampton University and the Queen`s University of Belfast, Quin was called to the bar of Northern Ireland in 1978, where he practised law until 1981. He was admitted as an attorney of Grand Cayman’s Grand Court in January 1985 and was called to the Supreme Court of the Eastern Caribbean in September 2005.

Quin was president of the Cayman Islands Law Society from 1999 to 2000, and again in 2006-2007. As an attorney, he has appeared before higher courts in Ireland, Bermuda, Eastern Caribbean, and Grand Cayman, as well as the Privy Council.  He also has been involved in negotiations with international financial bodies as part of Cayman’s team, such as to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1999.

His notable presentations at overseas conferences include at the Commonwealth Lawyers Association in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2007 on corporate governancein the Cayman Islands. Quin is currently Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Cayman Islands Cricket Association.