Hilary Phillips rests her gavel after yeoman service
Published:Saturday | May 29, 2021 | 12:11 AMRomario Scott/Gleaner Writer
Glowing tributes were paid to retiring Court of Appeal Justice Hilary Phillips yesterday during a special sitting of the court as the curtain came down on her 47-year legal career.
President of the Court of Appeal Patrick Brooks, who led the tributes, said Phillips was tenacious and thorough in her work.
“She was, in every sense, a leader at the Bar,” Brooks said while delivering the opening statement at the sitting from Justice Square in downtown Kingston.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes disclosed that one of Phillips’ judgments will be examined at an upcoming seminar, where judges will look at copyright, trademarks and intellectual property at large.
Sykes said the judgments written by Phillips are going to become very influential in legal circles.
Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte said Phillips was never shy about engaging in conversation about hot-button topic in her role.
But she praised Phillips for her “masterfully” written judgments, which have helped to develop Jamaica’s jurisprudence.
She reminded the court sitting that Phillips became the first woman from the private Bar to sit at the Court of Appeal.
‘Master batsman’
Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, using an analogy from cricket, described the retiring justice as a “master batsman”.
“You have the wonderful gift of discernment; you know which shot to play, irrespective of the restitutes of life you are facing. You are the consummate team player,” Llewellyn said.
“Your team – this appellate body – would know that you will be with them before, during and after, and they can depend on you. There will be no need to send in a night- watchman before the time, because you as master batsman will always play till the end and anchor the innings,” Llewellyn stated.
Phillips is the daughter of former Chief Justice Rowland Phillips.
Prior to her ascension to the appellate bench in 2009, Phillips gave sterling service in a number of areas of public life.
Her professional affiliations include the Jamaican Bar Association, which she joined in 1975.
She became the association’s first female president in 2001, serving in that capacity until 2004.
Phillips, too, served as a director at the Jamaica Stock Exchange, where in 2008 she also served as chairman of its Regulatory Market & Oversight Committee, and other directorships at Petrojam and the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.