It was just after 1 a.m. when Opposition Leader Julian Fraser did what many other professionals might do when they’re at work unusually late. He posted a selfie on Facebook.

“You don’t have to believe it, but we are here in the House of Assembly at 1:20 a.m.,” he wrote alongside a photo that showed his eyes and the view over his head and across the aisle at Premier Dr. Orlando Smith.

Not long after, lawmakers voted to pass an amendment to last year’s Legal Profession Act, the matter in consideration during the closed-door debate.

During the public portion of the debate hours earlier on Tuesday evening, Mr. Fraser said that while any proactive government must amend its legislation on occasion, he worried about the impetus behind the act’s proposed changes.

“What drove these changes?” he said. “Are the changes industry-driven or are they interest driven?” He was particularly concerned about a timeline for VI practitioners to get a certificate to practise here.

The changes were apparently prompted by Governor John Duncan. On JTV’s Jan. 12 Spotlight, Mr. Duncan said the BVI Bar Association had approached him about the act after it was passed by the HOA last March.

“I was lobbied by the [BVI] Bar Association and they said, ‘We’re not happy about this — we don’t think this is actually quite ready,’” Mr. Duncan said on the show.

Accordingly, he withheld his assent to certain sections of the bill, the majority of which came into force on Nov. 11. The other sections went back to the HOA for considerations.

See the Jan. 28, 2016 edition for full coverage.

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