The Bermudian lawyer on trial in the Supreme Court accused of stealing more than $500,000 from a mentally ill widowed client hinted that racism was the reason her advisors did not want to hand over control of the widow's affairs.

Julian Ernest Sinclair Hall is being tried on five counts of stealing a total of $551,044 from Betty Lorraine McMahon between 1995 and 1996.

Hall, a former MP and Shadow Minister of the Environment, was officially declared bankrupt and banned from practising law in January 2000.

He was ordered in December 1997, to pay Mrs. McMahon, $1.6 million plus seven percent interest. As legal proceedings dragged on, he was charged with stealing from the woman. He has denied those charges.

The case is being heard by Chief Justice Richard Ground and prosecuted by consultant counsel to Department of Public Prosecution's office Kulandra Ratneser. Hall is representing himself.

Mrs. McMahon is not considered fit to be a witness in the case.

Yesterday, Mrs. McMahon's former legal representative and now retired Appleby Spurling & Kempe senior partner John Campbell took the stand. Mr. Campbell first came to Bermuda to practice law in 1968.

During cross examination, Hall took Mr. Campbell through Hall's career as a lawyer.

"I'll bet the professional and social scene in Bermuda in 1968 was quite different then than you see in the Bermuda today," Hall said. "I was the first black lawyer appointed at Conyers Dill & Pearman."

Hall said that at that time there were no black lawyers at Appleby Spurling & Kempe.

"By 1995, whatever could be said of me I enjoyed a fine reputation, as a lawyer of talent," said Hall.

Mr. Campbell agreed.

Hall then questioned why Mr. Campbell had greeted his appointment as Mrs. McMahon's new legal representative with such suspicion and dismay.

"Before June 1995 when I first came on the scene you were very familiar with me?"

"I was indeed."

"Had you ever had any reason before June 1995 to doubt my integrity?"

"No, I had not had any reason to do so before that time," said Mr. Campbell.

Hall said in the early days of his career it was "virtually unheard of" for a wealthy white client to be represented by a black lawyer.

"Are you comfortable talking about race, Mr. Campbell?" Hall asked.

"Yes, I am," said Mr. Campbell.

Hall asked Mr. Campbell if he was aware that he had been friends with Mrs. McMahon for a long time. He said that she had often offered him support and personal encouragement. He said he had once helped Mrs. McMahon when Bettina McMahon's boyfriend, John Phillips who was the lead singer of the Mamas and the Papas, was charged with drug offences in Bermuda.

Mr. Campbell said he was unaware of Hall's relationship with Mrs. McMahon.

But Mr. Campbell told the court that his concern with the new appointment was that Hall was trying to represent Mrs. McMahon and her daughter Bettina, and the relationship between Mrs. McMahon and Bettina was rocky.

Mr. Campbell told Mr. Ratneser that he had never known Mr. McMahon to loan anyone money, but he knew of two instances when she had given her daughters Francine and Bettina monetary gifts.

"The other situation was in relation to her daughter Bettina," said Mr. Campbell. "She was in desperate need of financial support. She came to her mother represented by Karen Lomas. I had corresponded with Karen Lomas."

Mrs. McMahon's representatives agreed to give Bettina McMahon $250,000 to help her with debts if she signed a letter saying she would not ask for any more money. She complied.

Mr. Campbell thought that Hall had later taken over from Ms Lomas as Bettina McMahon's attorney. However, under cross examination from Hall, Mr. Campbell admitted that Hall had never stated that explicitly. He said he inferred that Hall was Bettina McMahon's lawyer from an incident in July 1985.

At this time he received a telephone call from Hall saying he was at the residence of Mrs. McMahon with Bettina McMahon and two burly police officers because the people within the house, a housekeeper and a nurse - were preventing Bettina McMahon from having access to her mother.

The court was treated to a series of angry letters between Hall and Mr. Campbell written in 1995 and 1996 as the issue of who was going to represent Mrs. McMahon was sorted out.

Earlier in the trial, the court was shown contradictory documents in Mrs. McMahon's handwriting, one saying she wanted Hall as her attorney and another saying she didn't want him to represent her.

In one letter in response to these handwritten notes from Mrs. McMahon, Mr. Campbell wrote to Hall that Mrs. McMahon was "easily intimidated and likely to sign any document that Bettina was likely to put under her nose or suggested that she produce".

Under cross-examination Hall turned this against Mr. Campbell suggesting that she could easily have been influenced in the same way to write the letter for Mr. Campbell.

"When Mrs. McMahon writes a handwritten letter in my favour it is suspicious, but when she writes it in your favour it is not suspicious," said Hall.

The trial continues today.