Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Vincent Nelson is enjoying his return to Jamaica to labour in the island's trenches.
Avia Collinder, Gleaner Writer
Vincent Nelson, new associate for Myers Fletcher and Gordon, has employed the strategically brilliant career moves which have helped this Jamaican to make a place for himself in the echelons of international commercial law.
Nelson appears regularly in the UK's High Court, Court of Appeal, House of Lords and Privy Council. While still maintaining chambers in London, he hopes to make significant contribution to both his new firm and the Jamaica legal system.
The barrister is said to be one of the first black persons to become a commercial Queen's Counsel in England. With 28 years' experience in the legal profession, he decided to return home completely in September 2008 - to fulfil his desire to practise and have a career in the island.
Graduating from the University of Birmingham in England in 1979, Nelson's career was set to be a noteworthy one with his receipt of the prestigious Inner Temple Ashworth Scholarship.
However, defeating the challenges faced - including racial prejudice - involved not only working hard, but also smart decision making on his part.
Life of twists and turns
The barrister, after being called to the Bar in 1980, found employment in the field of entertainment, arranging tax financing for international companies throughout the world and also sourcing financing for business start-ups.
Nelson explains, "I do not come from a rich family. At the Bar you only survive on what you earn. My thought was to get some money into the bank and then practise."
In the field of entertainment and business finance, he was instrumental in creating a tax financing company and became a senior executive of several UK companies.
Nelson describes his life as filled with twists and turns which have been no match for his determination.
"I set myself the goal of getting into one of the top firms."
In 1992 Vincent Nelson returned to being a barrister, beginning work with a leading law firm at 39 Essex Street in London, where he immediately became involved in many leading cases.
He subsequently worked on several landmark cases, including the Ashworth Hospital Authority v Mirror Group Ltd (CA) in England in 2001, a leading case on breach of confidence and protection of journalistic sources and the important disclosure principles enshrined in the Norwich Pharmacal Orders. (A Norwich Pharmacal order permits the discovery of fraud evidence from innocent third parties).
Nelson has also represented some of the foremost media companies in the United Kingdom and internationally, including Sony, SBS/Viasat, Fox and National Geographic.
In relation to commercial fraud, Nelson's landmark case was The Society of Lloyd's v Jaffray, the longest, most complex litigation to have been heard by the Commercial Court and Court of Appeal.
The judge determined the case in favour of Lloyd's.
Coming back home is something Vincent Nelson wished he had done long ago.
Challenges
Taken to the United Kingston at age six by his parents, he reflects that he came of age in the 1960s and '70s, when race was a still an issue and integration a painful experience.
"It was not entirely easy, but if you worked hard you could get ahead."
But, challenges are just obstacles to be manoeuvred around, he states.
Nelson was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2001 and has been recognised by the Advocacy Training Council of England and Wales as a Grade A trainer of lawyers in the skills of advocacy.
He is also now an accredited mediator and his name appears on the list of mediators maintained by the Bar Council of England and Wales.
Nelson believes that his background in finance benefited his subsequent career in litigation, as clients were assured that they were dealing with a lawyer who was familiar with the real world and its financial challenges, instead of just the law by itself.
Clients seek advice
Today he notes, "Clients come to me right at the beginning of a project and seek advice, not only in relation to the strategic legal aspect but also in general planning strategy. I am not a simple litigator who goes to court."
The son of Jamaicans Simeon and Leah Nelson (deceased in 2006), Nelson is pleased with his affiliation with Myers Fletcher and Gordon - a firm which is said to be the largest law firm in Jamaica and the Caribbean - which brings him back home where he can see dad Simeon, who has returned from the UK to live in Mandeville.
Favourite pastime
A great lover of art, music and films, the QC enjoys travelling - his favourite pastime which fits hand in glove with the nature of his border-hopping career.
He has been returning home since age 16 almost every year and has always wanted to work locally. His destiny, otherwise, he said, would have been to become a judge in the English system, and "I would never be able to get away".
Nelson, a divorcee, has made his escape and feels all the better for it.
His children Oliver, Saffron and Edward - all students abroad - have an absolute love for the island, their father says, and display this when the family gets together here.
Nelson states, "In the last 30 years, what I would have done differently, if I could, would be to come back to Jamaica sooner.
"But, altogether, I am not one for looking back with regret."
