organisation in the world.

Dianna Kempe, Q.C., managing partner of Appleby, Spurling and Kempe, has not only been chosen as the Vice President of the International Bar Association -- she is also the first woman to do so.

The IBA represents some 18,000 individual members and 183 bar associations worldwide.

And after Ms Kempe's two-year term as vice president, she will set another first by becoming the first female President in the IBA's 50-year history.

Ms Kempe said she looked forward to tackling the hard work of international pro bono work, and would also seek to use her position to raise the Island's profile.

The former IBA secretary general also said she intended to continue promoting the Association's role in protecting human rights.

Since joining AS&K in 1972, Ms Kempe has made a career of setting milestones.

In 1992 she became the first woman in Bermuda to be appointed Queen's Council, and three years later, according to an AS&K spokeswoman, Ms Kempe became the first woman to serve as acting magistrate.

Dianna Kempe QC