A gift to law which he has practised for over 40 years
RICHARD DONALDSON has been a practicing attorney, primarily in St. Ann and St. Mary for over forty one years. His entire legal career has been spent with the law firm Robinson Phillips & Whitehorne, one of the oldest continuously operating firms along the Coast. Donaldson who is a graduate of York Castle High School entered into Articles at Robinson Phillips & Whitehorne and on qualifying as an attorney-at-law in 1973 joined the firm as an associate attorney. He explained to the NORTH COAST TIMES, that in those days training as a lawyer was done either by entering into Articles of Clerkship with a practicing attorney if one wanted to become a solicitor or one had to travel to the United Kingdom for training at one of the Inns of Court, to become a barrister “I commenced training as a solicitor in 1968 at a time when there was a move on to end the separation of the profession into barristers and solicitors. The fusion of the profession came about in late 1972 so on qualifying in January 1973 I was among the earliest to be admitted to practice as an attorney-at-law.” He told The Times: “I was from my mid teens attracted to law by things I would read about lawyers and their activities and that persons with problems often seemed to turn to lawyers for a solution. It seemed a very interesting type of profession.” Robinson Phillips & Whitehorne was formed by Sydney A. Phillips & Lieutenant Colonel Whitehorne in Highgate Saint Mary in 1951 and Richard Donaldson did his training in the firm’s Highgate office. Donaldson explained that the training he received was very good and paved the way for his very successful career in law. “The training was good as it involved you in a ‘hands-on approach’ to practice from the outset and you attended court with the lawyers to gain experience by observing them conduct their cases in Court,” Donaldson said. Four years after he joined the firm, Donaldson was made partner and today he is the managing partner for the firm which operates offices in Ocho Rios, Highgate and Kingston with a complement of seven attorneys and a staff of 25 persons.
GROWTH
Donaldson explained that the firm has continued to grow over the years and the success record and reputation of the firm speaks for itself. Though the founding partners are now dead the standard and quality work for which the firm is known remains the same. “Ocho Rios has always been served by a number of attorneys-at-law and in recent times the number has grown but the town has grown tremendously in size since I first came here. We have been able to not only maintain but also expand our client base over the period,” Mr Donaldson said. Up until a few years ago, Mr Donaldson was very involved in court practice, doing primarily civil litigation and some criminal defence work. Now, the court work is mainly carried on by other attorneys in the firm. His primary areas of work are in real estate transactions, estate planning and probate, commercial and business law. Donaldson said that he has thoroughly enjoyed his over four decades as a practicing attorney and would not trade in that occupation for anything else. “I have enjoyed it. I have enjoyed my profession immensely. It has been great experience dealing with the persons who have become clients of the firm. It is always interesting to meet new clients and develop the relationship of trust and confidence which must exist between lawyer and client. We still have persons who have been clients of the firm from even before I joined the firm. We have been able to establish good longstanding relationships and the firm places great value on that. Donaldson served for several years as president of the Northern Jamaica Law Society. He also served for three years on the General Legal Council of Jamaica and he has been a member of the Disciplinary Committee for practicing lawyers for over twenty three years. Years ago he was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios of which we was awarded the title ‘Distinguished President’. Donaldson is a Justice of the Peace and is also a Notary Public. He is also enrolled as a non-practicing solicitor for England and Wales.
PLEASANT GROWING UP
A native of Lucea, Hanover, Donaldson’s growing up involved residing in several other parishes including Westmoreland, Clarendon and Saint Mary as his father, who was then an engineer and later general manager with The West Indies Sugar Company, took his family went with him whenever he was transferred from one estate to the next as his career progressed “Life was pleasant growing up on the sugar estates which were virtually communities of their own. It was a fairly controlled environment and there were large open spaces over which one could roam and develop your imagination and there were plenty of children from Jamaica and other parts of the world with whom to associate.” An avid reader and tennis player, Richard Donaldson had been married to Dulsa for over forty years and together they have three sons. He explained to THE TIMES that though his job is almost a seven-day-a- week one, he still sets aside a little leisure time to enjoy a good game of tennis each week. He reads widely and in addition to his law books his collection includes biographies, books on economics and other general reading material Like many other Jamaicans, Donaldson is very concerned about the spiralling crime rate and the growing disregard for the sanctity of human life for which no solutions have yet been found. He is also concerned about the high level of youth unemployment. “It is a big disappointment that the economy has been stagnant for so many years and with a growing population opportunities are diminishing. What is remarkable is the spirit and resolve of the Jamaica people and their ability to persevere in the face of adversity and so many unfulfilled promises”
