difficulties'' emerged victorious in her call to the Bermuda Bar this week.

And Janet Elizabeth Maria Davis, who started her legal career at Milligan-Whyte and Smith, emphasised the importance of maintaining integrity in the legal profession.

Ms Davis is the daughter of Rosalie Davis and the late Boyd Davis, a landowner who was cheated out of more than $500,000 by late disgraced lawyer Larry Madeiros.

Ms Davis yesterday made allusions to the situation, stating: "Although my path is strewn with members of the profession who didn't hold up to the measure of integrity...I feel privileged to have this position.'' "I'd like to thank my mother and Rod Attride-Stirling for showing what true integrity is,'' she added.

Chief Justice Austin Ward remarked on both mother and daughter's resilience in the face of difficulty.

After the ceremony, Mrs. Davis thanked friends and family who helped finance her daughter's education after the swindle.

"Today is a great day for me,'' she told The Royal Gazette . "After Madeiros stole the money for Janet's education, I had to work extra hard.

"Everyone helped in their own little way, and not just financially,'' she added.

Ms Davis, a former Warwick Academy student, attended Bermuda College before studying at the University of Buckingham.

She attended the Holborn College of Law before being called to the Bar of England and Wales in November, 1994.

After working in a specialised derivatives team at Clifford Chance law firm, she sat and passed the solicitor's exam.

Ms Davis then joined investment bank Daiwa Europe Ltd., where she was responsible for legal and economic documentation, project management, and policy issues.

Mr. Attride-Stirling, who made the application on behalf of Ms Davis, explained that her training as both a barrister and a solicitor were a "rare set of qualifications'' since most lawyers schooled in England are trained either as one or the other.

Mr. Attride-Stirling mentioned that Ms Davis was the fifth lawyer from her graduating class at Warwick Academy, and suggested that the newly privatised school had a "huge goal to aim for''.

Deputy Premier Jerome Dill of Appleby, Spurling and Kempe and Leighton Rochester from the Attorney General's Chambers also offered comments on Ms Davis' behalf.

Ms Davis will be moving to Japan in the New Year to continue practising derivative law.

UPHOLDING THE LAW -- Janet Elizabeth Maria Davis is pictured outside the Supreme Court after being called to the Bermuda Bar.

Graphic file name: DAVISBAR