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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

The Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Kwok-nang Li, is pleased to announce today (March 30, 2001) the appointment of Mr Ruy Octavio Barretto, Mr Simon Nicholas Westbrook, Mr Clifford Lonsdale Smith, Mr Wong Man-Kit, Mr Anselmo Francisco Trinidad Reyes and Mr Michael Coleman Blanchflower as Senior Counsel of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The appointments are made by the Chief Justice under section 31A of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance.

Their appointments will take effect from the date of the Instrument of Appointment which will be executed on the day of the ceremonial proceedings to be held on May 5, 2001 at 9.30 am in Court No. 1 of the High Court.

The biographical notes of the six newly appointed Senior Counsel are as follows:

Mr Ruy Octavio Barretto

Mr Ruy Octavio Barretto, aged 48, was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 1975. His practice is mainly in the areas of personal injury, product liability and accident litigation. Mr Barretto chairs a number of statutory pollution control and environmental protection appeal boards. He serves on the Legal Aid Services Council and has been a Council Member of the Hong Kong Branch of the International Commission of Jurists.

Mr Simon Nicholas Westbrook

Mr Simon Nicholas Westbrook, aged 50, was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1981. His practice is in the civil field including the construction area. Mr Westbrook served on the Hong Kong Bar Council from 1988 to 1991 and from 1996 to 1998. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Mr Clifford Lonsdale Smith

Mr Clifford Lonsdale Smith, aged 53, was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1982. Mr Smith has practised in the civil field including the shipping and commercial areas. Mr Smith is a member of the Hong Kong Bar Association Special Committee on Overseas Admissions (Civil) and a member of the executive committee of the Hong Kong Maritime Law Association.

Mr Wong Man-Kit

Mr Wong Man-Kit, aged 39, was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985. Mr Wong specialises in criminal matters. Mr Wong has been a member of the Hong Kong Bar Council since 1997. He is the Bar Association's representative of the Duty Lawyers Service Council and the Vice-President of the Hong Kong Young Legal Professionals Association.

Mr Anselmo Francisco Trinidad Reyes

Mr Anselmo Francisco Trinidad Reyes, aged 41, was admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 1986. His practice is in the civil field, including the commercial and chancery areas. Mr Reyes was a member of the Hong Kong Bar Council from 1993 to 1996. He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 1997.

Mr Michael Coleman Blanchflower

Mr Michael Coleman Blanchflower, aged 48, was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of British Columbia of Canada in 1978. Mr Blanchflower worked for the Department of Justice in Canada between 1978 and 1986. He then came to Hong Kong and joined the then Legal Department, specialising in criminal law. He is now the Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions in the Department of Justice.

End/Friday, March 30, 2001

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