General:

Attorneys are expected to dress conservatively in business attire. See Dress Code Practice Directions.

Here is a general list of what not to wear and what to wear, whether you are in court or not.

What not to wear:

• crumpled shirt
• skewed tie or bands
• ill-fitting vest or jacket
• torn robe
• un-pressed trousers or skirts
• unpolished shoes
• Micro Minis
• Trousers, skirts or blouses that are too tight
• Capri pants
• Opened-toed shoes, sandal or strappy footwear
• Overly large or noisy jewellery
• Ornately decorated or painted nails arid nail extensions
• Untidy or bizarre hairstyles (braids and locked hair are acceptable)
• Short sleeve or sleeveless tops unless covered by a jacket
• Outlandish or disheveled hairstyles
• Unkempt facial hair
• Eccentric make-up
• Sunglasses on your face or perched on your head. Remove them before entering the court or greeting a client.

What you may wear:

• Wear tailored pant and/or skirt suits
• A vest which entirely conceals the shirt near the waist
• Choose sober colours.Striped or dark conservative trousers or skirts and dark shoes (See below for Court Room attire)
• Keep a jacket (preferably black) in your closet for emergencies
• Wear appropriate day-time make-up
• Wear a suit or jacket with shirt and tie for men; similar attire or a conservative dress for women

Prohibition:

The following is strictly prohibited in the :

• Firearms of any type
• Knives, any other instrument that is specially adapted as a weapon
• Explosive devices and any incendiary device or firework, including smoke and stink bombs
• Cigarette lighters
• Matches
• Nail files
• Tools
• Handcuff keys
• Aerosol sprays
• Any straight razor or razorblade
• Any drug of abuse or illegal substance
• Any drug paraphernalia
• Anything deemed inappropriate to the Court environment

Open Court:

In Open Court counsel is required you wear Bands and Robes for hearings except for the Family Court.

Attorneys appearing in open courts should dress:

• For males: a stiff wing collar with bands; For females: the bands are usually attached to a collarette worn around the neck; For Family division: you may wear wing collars and bands (without robes) but it is not a requirement
• dark (preferably black) suits or with a waistcoat (which can be combined into one garment i.e. a waistcoat with sleeves)
• a white shirt
• black or grey striped pants/skirts

Robes should only be worn in court or court precincts and should never be worn in public. One should robe after entering and disrobe before existing the precincts of the court.  There is a Robing Room at the Hall of Justice outfitted with lockers in which Attorneys’ robes may be kept and where attorneys can robe and disrobe, never robe in the courtroom. You can invest in a Robe bag to safely transport your robe when moving from office to court.

Case Management Conferences, Directions Hearings or in the Magistrates’ Courts:

Robes are not required to be worn at hearings in chambers (Case Management Conferences or Directions Hearings) or in the Magistrates’ Courts instead you may wear ordinary business suits and adhere strictly to the dress code.

To Other Attorneys

As a lawyer it is expected you must always be friendly, polite, courteous, professional and respectful at all times and especially towards fellow attorneys whether or not they are opposing you.  Hostile and aggressive behaviour is unbecoming and unprofessional of a lawyer, and is in violation of section 41 of the LPA which provides that:-

(1) The conduct of an Attorney-at-law towards his fellow attorneys shall be characterised by courtesy, fairness and good faith and he shall not permit ill-feeling between clients to affect his relationship with his colleagues.

(2) All personal conflicts between Attorneys-at-law should be scrupulously avoided as should also colloquies between them which cause delay and promote unseemly wrangling”.

You should also take care not to take part in familiar communications in the presence of clients as this may be misconstrued by your client as colluding with the opponent.

To the Court

Attorneys should be respectful and courteous towards the court and judges. Essentially this is about how you address others and act in the court. Refusal to show the proper respect and courtesy is a violation of the LPA section 36(1) which provides that:-”An Attorney-at-law shall maintain a respectful attitude towards the Court and shall not engage in undignified or discourteous conduct which is degrading to the Court.”

On Entering the Court

Upon entering a courtroom the typical and correct way to greet the court is for the counsel to bow to the court and the court to bow back with a nod. You may greet the court or respond with the typical salutation “Good Morning”, etc.

Bowing should happen after you enter through the doorway but before you proceed to your seat. However if you are already seated and the Judge/Master/Registrar/Magistrate enters you must stand and you bow when the judge enters and moves to his seat. This bow must be a measured nod of the head and upper body- not too low or too quickly.

You should not take your seat until the judge takes their seat.

After you take your seat, unless greetings occur, the counsel’s opening words should be “May it please the Court”, or “May it please Your Lord/Ladyship”.

Addressing Persons of the Court

You must take care in addressing the persons of the court with their correct titles. For example you must never refer to a judge as “Sir” or “Madam”.

• A Judge is to be addressed directly as “My Lord(s)/Lady(ies)” or indirectly as “Your Lord/Ladyship(s)”.
• A Master of the High Court is referred to as “Master”.
• A Registrar is referred to “Sir” or “Madam”.
• A Magistrate is referred to directly as “Your Worship” and indirectly as “His/Her Worship” unless you are in a Petty Civil Court, in which case, the Magistrate is referred to as “Your Honour”.
• Outside of the Courts you refer to a Judge as “Judge”, a Chief Justice as “Chief Justice” and a Chief Magistrate as “Chief Magistrate”

You must always take care to manage your tone of voice. You should not sound as if you are telling a judge or a magistrate what they should do. Your tone should sound persuasive or guiding rather than demanding. Your speech must be clear, firm and strong but not in a loud voice.

Sometimes a judge may correct or guide you, in this case you should customarily respond with “I am much obliged my Lord/Lady”.

You should end your submissions by enquiring if the judge has any more questions by saying “Unless I can help your Lord/Ladyship further …”

The most important rules are to never interrupt a judge/magistrate when you are being asked a question and to never talk over them or address the court in the second person. If a judge interrupts you, you must let it happen and respond respectfully.

Introducing Yourself

You must introduce yourself to the court unless the other side introduces you. You must never introduce yourself as “Ms. / Mr. …..” To properly introduce yourself you must say either:

• “May it please the Court/Your Lordship(s) [Ladyship(s)], in this matter I appear on behalf of the …. Petitioner/Complainant (party), together with Mr. /Mrs. /Ms. ……….” OR
• “May it please the court/Your Lord/Ladyship my name is [surname and first initial OR first name followed by surname].” Follow the introduction with: “I appear on behalf of…” OR “I appear for the [party]” OR
• If you appear with an instructing attorney: “May it please the court my name is … of counsel and I appear for the (party) instructed by (instructing attorney’s name)”.

Addressing Other Attorneys

When addressing other attorneys or attorneys of the opposing counsel you should not use just their surnames. A general rule should be to refer to other attorneys as “My learned friend” or “My learned colleague”. If there are many attorneys you may use “My learned friend Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. ……”

Leaving the Court

When you are to leave the court, you must not pack up until the case if finished. Before you leave it is expected you must bow to the Court before you exit. In an open court setting, you must wait for the Court to rise and leave before exiting.

When you have completed your matter, if you are the only attorney in the court, you must remain in Court until the Court finishes its list or seek permission to leave.

General Rules

• Attorneys should be punctual at all times. It is disrespectful to be late to the courts and violation of the LPA section 39 “An Attorney-at-law shall be punctual in attendance before the Courts and concise and direct in the trial and disposition of causes.” Being punctual should also be practised in your arrangements with your clients.
• When you are required to appear in court, it is expected that both you and the client are aware of all the details of the case, this includes all documentation.
• Your client and witnesses should be informed how they should dress and behave in a courtroom setting. You should respectfully and quietly reprimand them if they do any inappropriate actions.
• While Court is in session eating and drinking or using a cellphone is strictly forbidden.

All lawyers and members of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago who owns their own legal practice, must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit. You may find the registration information via the following link: https://fiu.gov.tt/compliance/supervised-entities/registration/

Once registered you will have to file a Compliance Manual each year.

As an Attorney-at-Law you are required to abide by Part B of the Third Schedule Paragraph 10 in determining whether fees are unfair or unreasonable.

Part B of the Third Schedule Paragraph 10 provides:-

An Attorney-at-law shall not charge fees that are unfair or unreasonable.

(In determining the fairness and reasonableness of a fee the following factors may be taken into account:

(a) the time and labour required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the skill required to perform the legal service properly;

(b) the likelihood that the acceptance of the particular employment will preclude other employment by the Attorney-at-law;

(c) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;

(d) the amount, if any, involved;

(e) the time limitations imposed by the client or by the circumstances;

(f) the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client;

(g) the experience, reputation and ability of the Attorney-at-law concerned;

(h) any scale of fees or recommended guide as to charges prescribed by law or by the Law Association).

(2) An Attorney-at-law shall not accept any fee or reward for merely introducing a client or referring a case or client to another Attorney-at-law.

(3) An Attorney-at-law shall not charge a contingency fee save and except reasonable commissions on collection of liquidated claims with the prior agreement of the client.

Tips:

1. Always have a discussion with the client about fees and scope of service to be performed. This can help to determine very early whether or not you can adequately perform the required services in a timely manner (this can be essential for hourly billing), or if the client can afford your service.
2. Record all time spent and steps taken on behalf of the client in legal services regardless if a client cannot pay or if you do not bill hourly or non-billable hours such as illness/pro-bono. This can be used for a number of purposes such as to keep a track of performance or to keep track of what services are commonly requested.

During court proceedings, mobile devices must be turned off. The noise from the vibrations from these devices, even in silent mode, are picked up and magnified by the court’s speaker system and interferes with the court recording. This can be disruptive and annoying.

Tablets may be allowed to be used, but you should remember to disable notifications and vibration features. It is suggested you receive permission from the Presiding JSO before attempting to use any device.

Secretly or Privately recording of Court proceedings is strictly prohibited and may result in disciplinary action.

• Note: Permission may be sought to utilized a CAT reporter in proceedings and directions given in respect if such permission is granted must be strictly adhered to.

Outside of court, cell phones generally should not be used during client meetings unless it is an emergency. Tablets can be used but it should not be a distraction from the client and the meeting.

Social Media has an increasing growing relevance in modern society. This means how one conducts himself/herself online can have real world consequences. As an Attorney you should be cautious about what you put on your social media accounts.

Your Social Media accounts should at all times reflect that you are a mature and professional individual.

Media

The media you place on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and even WhatsApp can have both professional and personal consequences. You should refrain from posting any compromising media such as raunchy or x-rated photos (this includes ‘flexing’ at a party), drunk photos and photos of any illegal activities being committed for which you are a participant.

In addition to the type of media, the context of textual posts and comments must observe the same rule of professionals and maturity. It is expected that your posts are professional in nature as they reflect you as an Attorney. Some common posts you should avoid are: posts which are libellous to individuals whether they are public figures or not, posts which contain obscenities and posts which advocate an illegal act.

Confidentiality

At all times you must maintain attorney/client confidentiality, therefore you cannot place any information on clients or colleagues on social media accounts or any information for which they may be identified.

The LPA

Your online presence should also observe the code of conduct the LPA, for example you must be careful not to advertise your legal services via posts.

BIR and VAT

BIR Application (PAYE NUMBER)

As someone who is now entering a profession you will have to apply for a PAYE Number from the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR). To do this you will need:

1. Original and copy of identification (National ID card, passport or driver’s permit).
2. Letter from employer indicating effective date of employment and salary.

You must carry the above items to one of the offices of the Ministry of Finance with a fill out application form which can be found at the Forms link below. You can get further information and the listing of offices here (http://finance.gov.tt/services/income-tax/applying-for-bir-file-and-paye-number/ ).

VAT Registration

You are only applicable to pay VAT if your services generate revenues or believe your services will be generating revenues of $500,000.00 TTD or more in a twelve-month period. Once registered you will have to pay VAT regardless of income, if your services no longer generate $500,000.00 TTD or more in a twelve-month period then you can fill out a Cancellation of VAT form.

Sole Proprietors

This application will be made when the Legal Practice is owned by 1 Lawyer. You must have the following documentation:

1. Completed Form A application form.
2. Certificate of Registration of Business Name if using a trading name.
3. Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) file number.
4. Projected Income Statement for the next 12 months signed and dated by the preparer or owner.
5. Evidence to substantiate that the business intends to make commercial sales of TT$200,000.00 during the coming year. This could be in the form of a sales forecast.

Partnerships

This application will be made when the Legal Practice is managed/owned by multiple individuals.

You must have the following documentation:

1. Completed Form B application form signed by a partner.
2. Completed Form C application form, with the names, home addresses and signatures of all partners.
3. If there is a partnership name other than the names of the individual partners, the certificate of registration of business name issued by the Registrar General’s Office.
4. Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) File Number for the partnership.
5. Projected Income Statement for the next 12 months (signed and dated by preparer/owner) to show that the business intends to make over TT$200,000.00 in commercial supplies in the year following its VAT Registration.

All documentation will need to be submitted to
Ministry of Finance,
Inland Revenue Division,
Registration Unit,
Victoria Courts,
Queen Street,
Port of Spain

Please note that the information here is provided for convenience. Please verify all information by clicking on the following links.

Link to BIR information: http://finance.gov.tt/services/income-tax/applying-for-bir-file-and-paye-number/

Link to VAT information: http://finance.gov.tt/services/income-tax/registering-for-vat/

Link to BIR and VAT Forms: http://www.ird.gov.tt/Forms