(Jamaica Gleaner) Prominent attorney-at-law Dr Raymond Clough died yesterday morning at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Mona, after a long illness. He was 71.
According to Clough’s youngest daughter, Kristina, he died after she had taken him to the hospital from their home in St Andrew at about 6.30 am.
Clough had been battling cancer for over a year, but had been active in his firm Clough, Long & Company up to the time when a year-long suspension from practising law was imposed on him by the Disciplinary Committee of the General legal Council (GLC).
The suspension, which took effect on September 1, followed a complaint against him by leading Queen’s Counsel Frank Phipps.
Clough was also ordered to pay $850,000 in costs to the GLC, which was made before August 15, as well as $400,000 to Phipps.
The issue led president of the Jamaican Bar Association Emile Leiba to make a call for lawyers to adhere to the “canons of professional ethics”, following the ruling published on July 26. According to Leiba, lawyers must be mindful of the work that they do, and ensure that they are acting as they are trained to do.
The ruling found Clough “guilty of inexcusable and deplorable negligence” contrary to the canons of the professional ethics rules. He is said to have allowed a law student to act in the capacity of an attorney, thereby deceiving members of the public.
Clough had been practising law in Jamaica for some 50 years, and his cases include representing former People’s National Party Member of Parliament for St Ann North Eastern Manley Bowen in the 2009 dual citizen case involving current MP for the constituency and Minister of Labour and Social Security Shahine Robinson.
Robinson resigned the seat, renounced her US citizenship, and was returned as the MP for the constituency in a by-election in 2010. But Bowen went back to court with his lawyers, Clough and Abe Dabdoub, after the court reduced the legal costs she was required to pay from $19 million to $15.3 million.
Clough and Dabdoub also represented former minister of state in the Ministry of Transport and Works Richard Azan when he took the contractor general to court over his ruling on the issue of the contract for 10 shops which were built in the Spaldings Market in 2013.
The director of public prosecutions had ruled that there was no basis on which to charge Azan, but the MP took the matter to court, challenging the contractor general’s interpretation of corruption.
In addition to Kristina, Clough is survived by two other daughters — Jessica and Mireille.
He was a Roman Catholic and worshipped at Sts Peter and Paul Church on Old Hope Road, St Andrew.
He earned a PhD from Nottingham University in England and is a past student of Campion College.
