Jose Elmano Coelho Pereira outlines his journey from practicing in the early 70s to being Advocate General of Goa, two terms in a row; and his recent election as President of High Court Bar Association
Jose Elmano Coelho Pereira, a designated senior advocate, was the Advocate General for the State of Goa, twice; and has recently been elected as President of the High Court Bar Association.
Born during the Portuguese rule in Goa, Coelho Pereira completed his education from the Lyceum, and when Goa was liberated he went to People’s High School in Panjim. He did his higher secondary from the CBSE Board, and graduated in the 70s with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dhempe College, Miramar.
Coelho Pereira always had the intention and ambition to become a lawyer. He studied law for the first year from Indian Law School in Pune and then shifted to the Government Law College in Bombay. He enrolled himself as an advocate later in the 70s and began his practice. He began his career as a junior in the chambers of P. A Balu Desai, who in turn was a junior of the famous barrister, Rajni Patel, (who went on to become the MLA of Mahalakshmi in Bombay.) After 9 months, Coelho Pereira came down to Goa and began practicing with Dr. Athaide Lobo. In the 80s he began his independent practice and was designated senior advocate in the year 1991.
Coelho Pereira’s parents had a great influence on his professional life. They taught him to be honest, truthful, work hard and respect values that he has carried with him throughout his career. His seniors followed the same teachings, which Coelho Pereira made sure to pass on to his juniors, as well. When Coelho Pereira started his practice, he followed four rules which he practices till date, which is “Duty to be honest to yourself, your clients, your cause and the court.”
Coelho Pereira was the Advocate General of Goa in the year 1994 and later again in the year 1997. During his tenure, he tried his best to be dutiful to his post and gives credit to his team who assisted him ably. He acknowledges the help of his juniors especially Adv. Joaquim Godinho, and the contribution of Adv. Somnath Karpe, who ably assisted him. Coelho Pereira’s work as the Advocate General involved a lot of searching in Government dossiers and looking into constitutional matters. Coelho Pereira was not alien to these subjects but he had to be up to date with the developments in law. He continued with his pursuit of honesty and keeping up with his integrity as a lawyer, which helped him out in discharging his duties as an Advocate General.
Over the years, Coelho Pereira has handled many cases some of which he considers as memorable and out of these, he lists two as his favourites. The first was a matter of land acquisition at Miramar, on which stands the science museum today. This was possible due to Coelho Pereira winning the case. The next was a matter of tender for the Secretariat Complex at Patto Plaza, in which he succeeded in winning the case.
Coelho Pereira is currently the President of the High Court Bar Association. His plans as President is to look into the interests of advocates vis a vis the Bench and the Bar. Apart from this, Coelho Pereira intends on sorting grievances of junior lawyers; making sure that younger advocates do get to avail the library facilities at the new complex of the High Court Bar Association while looking into the welfare activities of lawyers. Coelho Pereira also plans to conduct regular debates, inviting senior advocates and retired judges to hold lectures and symposiums, so that junior lawyers benefit from the knowledge and experience of their senior counterparts.
Coelho Pereira has been a member of many associations and committees in the past. He was a member of the Town & Country Planning Board, and was also appointed by the Government in a committee to draft amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act.
Coelho Pereira was the Chairman of the Semana Da Cultura, for a number of years. Literally translated as the Indo-Portuguese cultural week, the festival was first started in 2008 to celebrate the unique Goan fusion culture and identity honed over 450 years of Portuguese rule in Goa. The festival was a yearly ritual to encourage Portuguese culture and sustain its influence in Goa. Coelho Pereira had many creative and constructive programs during his tenure as Chairman. There were interactions between Portuguese artists and Coelho Pereira used Semana as an instrument to promote Goan art and artists by holding painting exhibitions and other activities. Coelho Pereira was also responsible for hosting a fado competition and used Semana to develop the fado culture in Goa.
Regarding his future plans, the senior advocate intends to continue working as long as he can. “I feel like I am twenty-five and I will work as long as I can,” he adds with a smile.
