( L - R ) KNIGHT, JUNOR and SAMUELS
K.D. KNIGHT and John Junor, who left the Cabinet when Portia Simpson Miller became Prime Minister is March, have launched a law partnership with another well-known Jamaican attorney, Bert Samuels.
"It is a true partnership," Junor said. "We share the assets, we share the utilities and we share the profits."
Knight, Junor and Samuels, with offices on Duke Street in downtown Kingston says it will be a full service practice, offering services in a wide range of areas, including advice in investments promotion, industrial relations, international trade negotiations and property rights issues.
"Each of us has his area of expertise, covering a wide area of skills," Junor told the Financial Gleaner.
Junor, the Member of Parliament for Central Manchester, was Minister of Health when he left the Cabinet, having previously held the portfolios for local government and tourism. Knight, who sits in the House for East Central St. Catherine, left the Cabinet as foreign minister, having before served for more than a decade as the Minister of National Security.
PHILLIPS SUPPORTERS
Both supported Peter Phillips, in his effort to succeed P.J. Patterson to the leadership of the PNP and Prime Minister of Jamaica, and played key roles in his campaign. While they indicated their intent to step down from active politics at the next general election, they did not offer themselves for Cabinet jobs when Simpson Miller won.
Knight and Junor are expected to attempt to leverage their experience in government in an attempt to build an international legal business, bolstered by Samuels' experience at the Jamaican bar.
"Bert Samuels is an eminent member of the criminal and civil bar," said Junor.
It is not the first time that Knight and Junor will be working in a legal partnership.
Until the mid 1990s Junor had maintained a partnership with prominent lawyer, Shirley Playfair, who was also chairman of the Fair Trading Commission. When Playfair was murdered Junor merged with the firm of Knight, Pickersgill, Dowding and Company. The Pickersgill in that partnership is Robert Pickersgill, the Transport and Works Minister, who is also chairman of the PNP.
"That partnership was dissolved," said Junor.
