Twins balance scales of justice

Identical twins Obika Jovan Gordon and Obiko Jevan Gordon were among 77 law students admitted to practice in the courts in the island yesterday

Queen's Counsel Howard Hamilton proposed them for admission during a lengthy ceremony held in the Supreme Court, downtown Kingston.

Chief Justice Zaila McCalla, who presided over the ceremony, implored the students to uphold the canons of the legal profession.

The 26-year-old twins are the sons of attorney-at-law Linton Gordon and his wife, Margaret.

They will be practising with their father at his Duke Street office in downtown Kingston.

Obiko told The Gleaner that while civil litigation would be his speciality, he would also be practising generally.

He said he has always enjoyed arguments and is a good writer.

He said he would be doing whatever he could to improve the justice system.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Obiko pointed out that there were areas for improvement, referring to the large backlog of cases in the courts.

Obika, on the other hand, wants to practise in the general area of law before he decides on the particular area for which he is suited.

He said students who want to enter the legal profession must be prepared to work hard and must be disciplined and determined.

The twins both intend to do some legal aid work to help the unfortunate in the country.

They said they were going to take very seriously the charge the chief justice gave that they must uphold the integrity of the profession.

The chief justice called for the newly enrolled lawyers to resist certain temptations because too many lawyers were being struck off for unethical conduct.

The motivating force behind the twins was their parents, who they said always encouraged them to strive for excellence. They said they were extremely grateful to their parents for their assistance.

The Gordon twins attended Campion College and the law faculty of the University of Technology before heading to the Norman Manley Law School.

Obika has a degree in economics while Obiko has a degree in political science from the University of the West Indies.

Kwame Gordon, their older brother, is also an attorney-at-law.