Dear members

Although Courtenay Griffiths was not a solicitor, he pressed flesh over the years with many from our ilk. He more recently, when QC, gave the Keynote Address at the LCCSA’s AGM meeting, held virtually in November 2020 during one of the Covid 19 lockdowns under the presidency of Mark Troman, which was well-attended though remote. I am sure members join me in extending condolences at his passing to his family and all those he met and worked with so successfully over the course of his illustrious career. He was a good friend of mine and I met him and some members of his family in the time I knew him, as well as instructing him at the UK Bar and him as my Lead Counsel at The Special Court for Sierra Leone, a United Nations war crimes tribunal where he so memorably cross-examined the supermodel Naomi Campbell in the reputed ‘Blood Diamonds’ trial.

Courtenay worked in so many different Commonwealth jurisdictions it would be hard to find someone who had not heard of him. He epitomised the fearless advocate, presenting his cases with skill and dexterity and an uncanny ability to pursue the trickiest lines of cross-examination to a desired finish, in a quiet but persuasive voice - think dulcet tones. A loss to the legal profession and will forever be in our thoughts.

Regards

Adiatu
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