Africa-Press – Liberia. Members of the Noble Second Floor, an organization comprising of lawyers and law students, held its 5th annual retreat in the port city of Buchanan, renewing members’ vigor and commitment to advance legal scholarship, support charity programs and contribute to the development of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.
The Retreat was held under the theme “Lawyering: a Conscious Call to Justice and Service, Ethics – a Bedrock”.
During the three-day event, which began on Friday, April 26, and ended on April 28, eight (8) new members were inducted into the Noble Order, with elections conducted for a new corps of officers, and the adoption of a three-year strategic plan.
Charitable donations were also made to the Liberian government hospital and the MODUC Orphanage home in Buchanan to climax the retreat.
Making the donations, which comprised assorted toiletries, to the two institutions, Noble Sister Hnede Sillah, President of the Noble Second Floor, outlined the important roles hospitals and orphanages played in the society, adding that the donation was a small way of the Floor’s contribution to support their work.
She assured that her organization will continue to make donations to help institutions that are contributing to the betterment of the country.
Receiving the items on behalf of the Liberian Government Hospital, the nursing director, Tenneh Nmah, thanked the NSF for the support and promised that the items would be used for the intended purpose.
For her part, Madam Esther P. Smith, Director of the MODUC orphanage home, also thanked the NSF for the donation but called on the organization to continue to “think about the orphanage any time you want to do some goodwill”.
Earlier on day two of the retreat, legal lectures were provided by some erudite Liberian lawyers and judges to help enhance the legal knowledge of Floor members.
Serving as the key speaker during the lecture session, Her Honor Judge Eve Mappy Morgan, Chief Judge of the Commercial Court at the Temple of Justice and Associate Professor of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, called on members of the organization to uphold the rule of law at all times by being “ethical and professional”.
“Lawyers must be ethical in everything that they do because it is conscious of justice and service is ethics,” Judge Mappy-Morgan stressed.
“Ethics serves as a bedrock for lawyers and their clients. You all know that staying on the side of ethics is the right thing to do. Even if everyone refuses to do it, you, as an ethical person, should be ready to do it. That’s why a lawyer should be a lawyer at all times.”
Lawyering is not just a noble profession but a calling for justice, and lawyers must uphold ethics no matter what, she added.
Also speaking at the retreat was His Honor Joe S. Barkon, Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Grand Bassa County, and His Honor Chan-Chan A. Paegar, Associate Judge of the Commercial Court at the Temple of Justice. Judges Barkon and Paegar lectured on the topics “duty of a lawyer to the court” and “the confidentiality of a lawyer owes a client” respectively.
All three (3) Judges were also inducted into the Order of the Noble Second Floor as “Associate Members”.
Other Associate Members of the Noble Second Floor are Associate Professor Jamal Christopher Detho, Associate Professor Abrahim B. Sillah, Associate Professor G. Moses Paegar, and His Honor Jumah Jallah, Stipendiary Magistrate of the West Point Magisterial Court.
Cllr. Abraham B. Sillah, Senior Partner of the Heritage Partners & Associates law firm who is also an Associate Member of the Noble Second Floor, lectured on the principle of “Conflict of Interest” for a lawyer.
Meanwhile, while giving her report to the body, the President of the Noble Second Floor, Noble President Sillah, thanked the membership for working with her for the past three years and for the massive support received.
Outlining some progress made over the years, NS Sillah named key achievements such as scholarship programs at the law school, tutorials for law students, and support to the Law Student Association (LAWSA) charity donations to prison centers, and orphanage homes, amongst others.
Established in 2019 at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, the Noble Second Floor comprises lawyers and law students who are keen on contributing to the law school, enhancing legal scholarship, and advancing charity support to the community.
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