Michaud completed her A Levels at International School Seychelles in June 2011. Thereafter she proceeded to the University of Kent, Canterbury in September 2011 for her undergraduate degree in Law.
She was instantly fascinated with public law in the first term, although very homesick. “At times I felt like I wanted to drop out but my parents pushed me and I grew to enjoy my undergraduate degree very much,” she states. “In my 3rd year I decided to take the following modules, Medical Ethics, Human Rights and English Law and Family Law which has in a way driven me to be who and where I am today.”
During her degree course she took up a mini-pupilage with the Attorney Generals Chambers in 2012 for about 3 months. This encouraged her to proceed to the Bar.
In July 2014, Michaud graduated with a Bachelor of Laws.
Following her undergraduate degree at the University of Kent, Michaud took up the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) at City University of London in September 2014. She did not complete her bar course immediately; she completed all her exams in July 2017 and was admitted as a Barrister to the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and called to the Bar of England and Wales in March 2018.
Kelly Louise completed her A Levels at International School Seychelles in June 2011. Thereafter she proceeded to the University of Kent, Canterbury in September 2011 for her undergraduate degree in Law.
Louise was instantly fascinated with public law. In her 3rd year she decided to take the following modules, Medical Ethics, Human Rights and English Law and Family Law which has driven her to be where she is today.
During her degree she took up a mini-pupilage with the Attorney Generals Chambers in 2012 for 3 months. This encouraged her to proceed to the Bar.
In July 2014 she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws.
Following her undergraduate degree at the University of Kent, she took up the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) at City University of London in September 2014. She completed all exams in July 2017 and was admitted as a Barrister to the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and called to the Bar of England and Wales in March 2018.
Louise worked as a Legal Officer at the Mauritius Commercial Bank for a brief period between 2017-2018.
After being called to the Bar of England and Wales she commenced her pupilage with Kieran Shah’s chambers soon after in April 2018.
During her second year of pupilage a vice-chairperson position on the Family Tribunal of Seychelles opened up. She decided to take on a this challenge as she had studied family law both at undergraduate level and during the BPTC. She was appointed as one of the vice-chairpersons in April 2019 and remain a vice-chairperson three years on.
Her time on the Family Tribunal has at times been trying as she deals with cases involving very emotional matters, rarely rewarding, however she has gained patience and experience from it. She decided to attempt to take on a new role when she saw the post of Magistrate open up in late 2021.
“I think it is important as a young Seychellois to contribute to our society,” Louise states. “It is so easy to sit on the sidelines and criticise what goes wrong in Seychelles today, but I’ve always wanted to be part of the solution. I want to make a positive impact, make a difference however by upholding the laws of Seychelles and giving fair judgments.”
Kelly Louise is presently undertaking a part-time masters program with the University of London in Human Rights Law.
Emily Gonthier
Emily Gonthier completed her A-levels in English literature, French literature and Biology at the School of Advanced Level Studies (SALS) in 2008. She also completed her DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) in 2007. In 2012 she graduated from the University of Mauritius with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Law and Management and joined the Attorney General’s Chambers as Assistant State Counsel and Assistant Official Notary.
She undertook Master of Laws degree online with the University of London and earned her LLM in International Business Law in 2016. That same year she attended the IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta as an International Maritime Organisation scholar, from which she earned with an LLM in International Maritime Law with Distinction in 2017.
She passed the Seychelles Bar Examinations in 2018 and her pupillage period began at the Attorney General’s Chambers. In June 2019, she joined the Judiciary as a Legal Researcher. She resumed her pupillage at the Chambers of Kieran B. Shah from March 2020 until she was called to the Seychelles Bar in August 2021. She continued part time as a Legal Researcher while practicing as an Attorney-at-law within Shah’s Chambers until her appointment as Magistrate in June 2022.
Gonthier has been a member of the Maritime Accident Investigation Board since 2013, where she has also held the posts of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. She is also a member of the Seychelles Medical and Dental Council. She is also a lecturer of Family Law for the Bar Vocational Course since 2020 and an Associate Lecturer with the University of Seychelles’ law programme since 2019.