Canadian Research Firm Leads Landmark CARICOM Legal Education Reform
Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd. (DPBA) has announced a major milestone in Caribbean legal education reform with the appointment of Ms. Diana Shaw, Attorney-at-Law and internationally respected legal consultant, as Team Leader for the Revision and Modernisation of the Curriculum for the Council of Legal Education (CLE).
The project, funded by the European Development Fund (EDF) and contracted through the CARICOM Secretariat, is being implemented in collaboration with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and the Council of Legal Education. It represents the most comprehensive review of Caribbean vocational legal education in more than 20 years, covering 17 CARICOM Member States and Associate Members.
The reform initiative seeks to modernise the CLE curriculum to ensure that Caribbean legal training remains practice-ready, globally competitive, digitally responsive, and aligned with 21st-century justice needs. It will review curriculum content, teaching methods, assessment systems, and quality-assurance frameworks, and strengthen alignment with CARICOM’s Regional Qualifications Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
Ms. Shaw brings over two decades of experience in legal practice, law reform, curriculum design, human rights, gender justice, and institutional strengthening. She has worked extensively with organisations such as UNDP, UNICEF, IOM, UNFPA, the CCJ, and multiple Caribbean governments. As Team Leader, she will provide executive oversight and strategic direction for the reform of the CLE’s competency-based curriculum across its three regional law schools:
- Hugh Wooding Law School (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Norman Manley Law School (Jamaica)
- Eugene Dupuch Law School (The Bahamas)
She will be supported by a multidisciplinary team of regional and international experts in law, curriculum development, and pedagogy.
“This project aims to safeguard the future of Caribbean justice by ensuring our legal professionals are trained for the realities they will face—not those of the past,” said Ms. Shaw. “It is a privilege to lead this regional effort to strengthen legal education, professional competence, and access to justice across the Caribbean.”
Dr Cleophas Justine Pierre, Managing Director of DPBA and Project Director, emphasised the significance of Ms Shaw’s appointment. “Her leadership ensures that this reform will be rigorous, participatory, and firmly grounded in the CLE’s treaty mandate. This project will shape Caribbean legal education for the next generation.”
The project has completed its inception phase and is now in full implementation, including stakeholder consultations, online surveys, interviews, and data-driven curriculum mapping. Final recommendations are expected in late April 2026 and will guide legal education across the Caribbean well into the next decade.
About Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada Ltd. (DPBA)
DPBA is a Toronto- and Caribbean-based research, public intelligence, policy, labour-market, TVET, and data analytics advisory firm. The company has delivered over 300 consultancies across more than 40 countries for governments and international development partners, including the European Union, World Bank, ILO, CARICOM, and United Nations agencies.