Bermuda's Attorney General (AG) said she is confident that she has the right amount of legal talent in place to ensure the drafting of legislation for the Island for years to come.

And Dame Lois Browne-Evans moved to defend the recent appointment of lawyer Wilhelm Bourne as Solicitor General - a decision that prompted controversy that prominent lawyer Ian Kawaley was not chosen for the position.

She theorised that if Dr. Kawaley had applied for the position when it was first advertised, he might be sitting at the desk that Mr. Bourne occupies.

She said: "We had to pick out of three qualified lawyers. Had he probably applied the first time, he probably would have been picked. But it was only due to a misunderstanding that the advertisement for the position was placed twice. It was pointed out that there had been an increase in the salary and the position had to be advertised again.

"We had two people already on the staff and we saw no need to pass them over. The first time only two people applied. It had nothing to do with Ian Kawaley's ability."

She continued: "Only people who are looking for hidden meanings would take these circumstances and use them as the Government having something against Ian Kawaley. That's grossly unfair. We have the highest regard for his ability. I have called upon him personally to represent me when Pam Gordon hired Saul Froomkin from swearing me in as Attorney General. Mr. Kawaley represented me well and the judge threw Ms Gordon's motion out the door."

And she noted that the Government regularly calls upon Dr. Kawaley's expertise in various matters.However, in recent months the AG's Chamber has gone through a shifting and shake up of staff in order to promote more Bermudians to draft legislation and protect the Government's interests.

With the appointments of the new solicitor general and a new Principle Crown counsel in Phil Perinchief, Dame Lois said she will not rest until she has encouraged more young Bermudians to become involved in the public sector side of law.

"One vacancy now that we have to fill is of an assistant draftsman," she said. "Drafting is a specialised business - and too many of our young people want to go into private practice."

She added: "We are losing our young lawyers to the corporate and the private practices. Pupils must understand that they have to give back. So, we are going to reorganise the salary to make it more attractive and more beneficial." And despite the rumblings of criticism about her chambers, Dame Lois likened her current team to a well-oiled machine of efficiency.

Dame Lois maintained that there is a never ending cycle to the day to day business of the AG's chambers, however, she said that she had no intention of slowing down and warned her critics that she still has much work to do before she hangs up her robes.

"I am the Government's lawyer," she said. "I get asked everything. Many laws have been drafted by my staff members and approved by Cabinet and the House of Assembly.

"One that stands out in my mind is the one that has to do with the Finance Ministry and the OECD legislation. But every department had a hand in recommending legislation to be drafted by the drafters on the civil side of the AG's chamber."

She continued: "The advisory section is kept constantly busy giving advise to all Government departments. The daily mail is filled with requests for information about what the law is and how to advise all the Government departments."

And she said she is very satisfied with her performance and that of her team thus far and nearly three years into her tenure of AG, the experience of is something she said she would not trade for anything else in the world. "I've been in practice for 38 years," she said. "My experience of being in the Opposition all those years have also trained me well."