Today four attorneys traded their junior attorney robes for silk ones as they made the transition to senior counsels. Melissa Balderamos Mahler, Ashanti Arthurs Marin, Priscilla Banner, and the attorney general, Anthony Sylvestre were awarded the distinct honor after roughly two decades of service.

But what makes a senior counsel? During the elevation ceremony, the Chief Justice outlined what they were looking for,

Louise Blenman, Chief Justice
"When we're looking at senior counsel, general one looks at honesty, decorum, integrity of character, commitment to the advancement of justice and the legal profession, knowledge, experience, and understanding of the law including practicing procedure, independence, willingness to assist persons without rumination, track record of involvement either in teaching of the law, the bar association or other professionals organizations, and being held in high regard. And this is where the General Legal Council's consultation comes in."

For the AG, it's a significant moment for him, not just because of the recognition, but also because it coincides with the anniversary of his mother's passing:

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General/Senior Counsel
"I mean, who could have imagine ten years later I would be in this place at the same time literally being elevated to senior counsel status but certainly for me, coming from the place I came from, the Southside of Belize as I had explained. Coming of age in the 1990s when literally the gang warfare started in Belize, seeing many of my colleagues, people who I grew up with, we were friends, later becoming enemies, choosing sides and later dying, certainly is an indication to me that the Heavenly Father, though I'm not a practicing Christian, but the Heavenly Father has interceded and moved his had to guide and protect me."

Banner also explained what this honor means for her:

Priscilla Banner, Senior Counsel
"I must say that this has been a wonderful experience, the practice of the law. It has been wonderful not only because of the colleagues that I have, that I work along with, the silks who teach us a lot. As you heard in my speech earlier, we have a lot of silks, senior counsels, who are very, they give us a lot of good lessons as to how to treat with the court, how to treat with our clients and civil society so overall, this entire experience has been remarkable for me and I am happy and very grateful that the chief justice decided to elevate me to senior counsel."

But it's not just a fancy title - being a senior counsel is accompanied by a higher level of expectations.

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General/Senior Counsel
"The garb changes and the senior counsel, it's a distinction, it's expected to not do as many cases, that the cases that ordinarily you have been minded to do, those perhaps maybe should be referred now to a junior. One of the things as well is that once you're a senior counsel, you're supposed to appear in court with a junior, which is one of the reasons why the fee is actually increased."

"You would have gained that status after having distinguished yourself and so what follows from that is certainly, you receive certain respect, the legal community, clients, and even the court, and you're expected to not abuse that respect which is afforded to you."

Priscilla Banner, Senior Counsel
"An attorney has a lot of responsibility to their clients, they have a responsibility to the court to ensure that the court can trust the way you present yourself and the cases that you argue. They have a responsibility to their clients to ensure that they treat their clients reasonably but integrity in profession is foundational. It is almost a situation where you are in a position to create a great impression on your client and you want to guide your client to the best decision. You want to be honest with your client about the strength and weaknesses of your case, all of that goes back to integrity, it goes back to ethics, it goes back to practicing properly and reasonably with your clients."

The attorneys were all called to the bar between the years 2004 to 2007.