St. Augustine Legal Affairs (STALA) Issue 2 | Page 20

Tribute To
Mr. Gilkes

TRIBUTE TO
DR LEGALL

By Arelene Chochan

By Shivangelie Ramoutar

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression
and knowledge.” - Albert Einstein.

‘A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’

Mr. Gilkes is well known to all students in the LLB Law
program at St. Augustine Campus for is instrumental role in
guiding us through the interesting, yet challenging course of
Criminal Law in year one. He is no doubt a favorite lecturer
amongst the students because of his style in lecturing being
humorous at times but at the same time ensuring that we all
grasp the seriousness of the lecture. Additionally, we all appreciate his humility and pleasantness outside of the lecture room.
His lectures are always a joy to attend and they are avenues to
learn valuable life lessons about being a successful lawyer. One
of my vivid memories of Mr. Gilkes would be when he told
us what to expect in the examination but then ends by saying
that he knows we would all do exactly what he says not to do.

As have all my lecturers, Dr. Legall has made her mark in my
grooming as a law student. Not only has she been a significant
guide in my legal studies, but she has also been and continues
to be, a source of inspiration.

Mr. Gilkes is by far one of the most inspirational, humble,
funny lecturers at the Faulty of Law. One of the many things I
admired most about Mr. Gilkes was his lecturing style, the way
he kept the class awake and the enthusiasm that he instilled
among any new Year 1 in the LLB program. Criminal Law
in itself is a very interesting course, but Mr. Gilkes elevated
our interest in this course through his practical examples of
real life cases which helped me to understand some of the
dilemmas that a new Attorney may have to face in practice. At
the end of any Criminal Law class, we were so empowered by
the lecture that we all were certain that we would like to be a
Criminal Law Practitioner. That is the impact that Mr. Gilkes
can have as a lecturer on a student. His recollection of his
childhood experiences made the class all the more enjoyable
and furthered my appreciation of the course.

Socrates professed that a knowledge of our own ignorance is
the first step to true knowledge. So too, Dr Legall has adopted
this approach in piloting our legal studies, thereby increasing
my admiration of her humility. Dr Legall also practiced Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings with us, demonstrating that“[t]he golden
rule of conduct is mutual toleration, seeing that we will never all think
alike and we shall always see Truth in fragment and from different points
of vision”, an invaluable trait, especially for a professional.

For me, Mr. Gilkes is still a student at heart! He understands
better than some lecturers I believe, the beauty of being young
and the challenge of balancing studies with leisure. His recollection of his days of being a student reassures any new student struggling to be successful in their studies that the key
to success is to balance your time. As a successful lawyer, Mr.
Gilkes demonstrated through his wealth of experiences that
a law student can party and still excel in exams. The key is to
prioritize and balance time. I remember speaking to Mr. Gilkes
just before Carnival about my plans for the long weekend, I
told him that I plan to use the long weekend productively to
get school work done. At that point, Mr. Gilkes said that he
understood my point but he reminded me that I needed to take
break at some time and enjoy the season. The St. Augustine
Campus is truly blessed to have a lecturer such as Mr. Gilkes.

-Henry Brooks Adams

William Arthur Ward prescribes that ‘The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great
teacher inspires.’ Dr Legall is indeed a great teacher. Her unflinching determination to give 110%; her open approach; her
optimism; her willingness to share her legal experiences to motivate the disheartened and; her understanding that power is
not a finite pie – that one learns every day and from everyone,
are just some of the ways Dr. Legall has had a bearing on me.

Dr Legall constantly encourages the ethic proposed by Tyron
Edwards, an American theologian, that being, ‘If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others’. In doing so, not only have
we been able to help fellow classmates, we have helped ourselves the most as putting this mental wealth into circulation
enhanced the depth, confirmation and readiness for use of our
knowledge.
However, most exemplary is that Dr Legall went a step further,
demonstrating true concern for her students’ legal career, in
agreeing to lecture an extra course, the Law of Trusts, despite
already reaching her quota of courses. Such lecturers are rare.
In this respect, though the year group faced various difficulties,
we were indeed blessed with exceptional role models.
These were just some of the many lessons which Dr Legall
was able to impart onto me, as her student, albeit in a more
simple and succinct manner. Now, I can only say thank you
very much. I hope I can apply these lessons effectively to my
professional and personal life.