DunnCox celebrates 80 years
DUNNCOX, ONE of the longest established and largest full-service law firms in Jamaica and the Caribbean, is celebrating 80 years of offering client solutions to challenging legal issues.
Operating since 1942, DunnCox has developed a depth of expertise that has been difficult to match in any other country of the Englishspeaking Caribbean. They have successfully acted for a sizeable pool of local and international clients in virtually every area of commercial and corporate law, civil litigation, property law, and estate planning.
The firm’s team of seasoned litigators has successfully appeared in various landmark court cases that have moulded the contours of Jamaican jurisprudence. Their commercial attorneys have also contributed to structuring commercial and financial transactions of historic significance, in every decade of the firm’s existence.
Senior Partner Jerome Lee, who has been a partner since 1985, attributes the firm’s continued success to active adherence to its founding principles of reliability, confidentiality, teamwork and client-centred service.
UPHOLDING TRADITIONS
“We continue to uphold the traditions, and we take care of our client’s business first. When new persons join the organisation, they are exposed and oriented to the organisation’s principles. They come on board and adopt the same type of approach, that becomes a part of them,” Lee said.
By virtue of the service it offers, a law office is only as strong as the partners and attorneys at the core of its operation. According to Lee, the firm has a cadre of young, bright and energetic attorneys and staff who will uphold the cherished traditions of the organisation.
“We have plans in place to deal with the passage of time. We have good people who will take over. I have every confidence that we will continue to provide excellent service for the next 80 years. We will just have to be flexible and meet the conditions as they change and continue to deliver the quality of service that the organisation is known for,” Lee said.
On December 30, 1941, the foundation stone of the firm was laid by its first partners, Harold Herbert Dunn, Henry ‘Harry’ Cox, and Colin ‘Roy’ Macaulay Orrett. After years of practice in other legal partnerships, they combined their talents and experience to form what was to become a premier Caribbean institution.
From inception, DunnCox attorneys have served national and commercial interests through memberships on and affiliations with government advisory bodies, the boards of statutory bodies, and the boards of public and private companies.
The firm has also focused on the strategic addition of new partners with specialised skill sets and deliberate grooming of associates, which has ensured its continuous provision of highquality legal services to corporate and individual clients.
Pauline Findlay, head of the firm’s Conveyancing Department, became a partner in 1989. The firm, she said, has had an excellent reputation and is still highly regarded in the field of law because of its solid practitioners and support staff, that always deliver the best service to its clients.
QUICKER RESPONSE
“With modern technology, and much quicker response times underpinning good practice, our standards have not changed. We are known for producing good quality, and our clients continue to expect the highest standards from us,” Findlay said.
Renowned commercial lawyer, Christopher Bovell, now acting as a consultant at DunnCox, has been a practising attorney since 1961. His uncle, James ‘Jim’ Lycott Reece Bovell, joined the team in 1944. Like his colleagues, Bovell envisions continued growth for the organisation in the years to come.
“I believe we have to make sure that we are ready to take on new challenges to meet the needs of the changing world. We will have to be up to date in our jobs as facilitators, and move with the changing times,” Bovell said.