The West Indian Lawyer - Keith Sobion

Sometimes when I sit down and listen to all these stories I cannot help but say to myself that my father was truly a Caribbean man. Keith was not only interested in the betterment of his own country, Trinidad and Tobago. He was interested in the betterment of every single citizen within the CARICOM region. It did not matter which part of the region you came from. If you had a problem with the functioning of politics, the judiciary or education, Keith would eagerly listen to you. All this is not surprising for a man who writes a message to me on the inner cover of a copy of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas – The future development of the Caribbean is written within this treaty. I still feel nostalgic about the conversations we had from when I was young up until now. It seemed as if every effort, every sinew he had in his body was forged towards the path of regional integration. His life was for Caribbean people. The Caribbean people were his life. It was like he had a map of the West Indies drawn up in his head. Geographically, he could tell you where each island was situated and their own individual idiosyncrasies. He knew about the island politics; he had his own views as to the intellect and capability of a country’s Prime Minister, Attorney General or even a Judge. He knew about the latest case or legal challenge that was brewing up in any West Indian island and the lawyers who were involved. He travelled the region widely for meetings. So much so, that often he would relate to us stories like “I woke up in Trinidad thinking that I was in St. Vincent” or “I admire how Haiti’s public signs are written in French and in Créole.” He would even correct you on your pronunciation of Antigua, which he claimed was pronounced as An-tea-gwa. Once, while Principal, he sent me an email pointing out that he was elated with the new appointments of Chief Justice, Attorney General, Minister of Tertiary Education and Minister of Finance on a particular island as these offices had a direct impact on Caribbean Legal Education. That was the level of his thinking. He wasn’t concerned about the politics but more concerned that the right people were appointed. His mind was always focussed on one thing; how could this course of action benefit the Caribbean region? Not any individual island…but the region. At the Law School, his travels were not only limited to North America and the Caribbean. For work, he had the opportunity to travel to the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries such as Mauritius, Malaysia and to Australia. He claimed that his flight from Jamaica to Australia was the longest he ever experienced. He entertainingly noted that on the flight from Perth to Sydney, he was able to eat breakfast, then lunch, then sleep while still flying over this vast continent. Keith also once told me that he never visited Canada and that he vowed one day to make a trip there. Having said this, I found this quotation from the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday to be on point: “When one considers that Sobion’s legal practice encompassed company law, commercial contracts, banking, shipping and admiralty, investment financing and joint ventures, arbitration and dispute resolution, it becomes even more significant that he chose to be in education rather than active practice. This is because he was a man more interested in ideas and civic duty than in making money. The Caribbean could use more people like him.”