Prof.
Shazeeda
Ali

Job title: 
Professor of Corporate and Financial Law, Dean
Education: 
LL.B. (Hons) (UWI) LL.M. (Cantab) Ph.D. (Lond)
Professional Affiliation: 
Attorney-at-Law
Telephone: 
876-927-1855
Email: 
shazeeda.ali@uwimona.edu.jm

Staff Profile Tabs

Overview

Professor Shazeeda Ali ‘91 has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from The UWI, a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Cambridge and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London. She is an attorney-at-law who was called to the Bar in Jamaica and Guyana.

She teaches the LLB courses Introduction to Offshore Law and Caribbean Securities Regulation, as well as the LLM course Legal Aspects of Corporate Misconduct. Prof. Ali supervises MPhil/PhD students at MonaLaw and is an Associate Tutor in Ethics, Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession at the Norman Manley Law School (NMLS).

Research Interests: 
Financial Crime
Financial Services Regulation
Legal Professional Ethics
Courses : 
Caribbean Securities Regulation
Introduction to Offshore Law
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Globe icon Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IlZ3GvUAAAAJ&hl=en

Profile

Prof. Ali is a regional and international expert in the areas of financial crime, financial services regulation and legal professional ethics.

From 2003 to 2009, she served as a technical advisor in the Attorney General’s Chambers of Jamaica. In that position, she played an integral role in the drafting of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2007 and the Financial Investigations Division Act 2010. Since 2012 she has served on the Proceeds of Crime Act Sub-Committee of the General Legal Council of Jamaica, which has had responsibility for publishing the Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Profession.

Prof. Ali has served as a member of the Editorial Board of the West Indian Law Journal and is the editor of the Journal of Law, Governance and Society. She is currently the President of the Cambridge Society of Jamaica.

Research

Prof. Ali has published widely in areas of financial crime, financial services regulation and legal professional ethics, including her books, Money Laundering Control in the Caribbean (Kluwer Law International, 2003), and Proceeds of Crime Act: Taking the Profit out of Crime (2014).  She is also the editor of the 2010 book, Risky Business: Perspectives on Corporate Misconduct (Caribbean Law Publishing). Her 2014 article in the Journal of Money Laundering Control, “The Civil Law: A Potent Crime-Fighting Device”, received the 2015 Outstanding Paper award in the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence and the 2015 UWI Principal’s Research Award for the Best Research Publication (Article). Her 2021 article in the Journal of Financial Crime, “Criminal Minds: Profiling Architects of Financial Crimes” received the Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper award for 2022 and the UWI Principal’s Research Award for the Best Research Publication (Article) in 2022.

Prof. Ali is the editor of the book The Ethical Lawyer: A Caribbean Perspective (Sweet & Maxwell, 2015) which is the core reading for students in the compulsory course, Ethics, Rights and Obligations of the Legal Profession at the NMLS and has been cited in decisions of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council of Jamaica. In 2018, it was featured in the UWI 70th Anniversary Celebration of Books by UWI Authors Exhibition that was compiled by the libraries of The UWI.

The book, Proceeds of Crime Act: Taking the Profit Out of Crime (2014), was commissioned by the National Integrity Action (NIA). It involves an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), which is a lengthy and complex piece of legislation that creates extensive powers for the investigation and prosecution of money laundering and other related financial crimes, as well as provides a framework for the recovery of illicitly obtained assets.

The book was subject to peer-review by a UK expert, as a pre-requisite to publication, and has been distributed by the NIA to financial investigators, prosecutors and the judiciary, in an effort to bolster their understanding of POCA, with a view to improving and increasing the implementation of this important law.

As a result of this publication, and related training, there was a recognition that financial investigators in Jamaica require additional intensive instruction that is specifically designed to fulfil the requirements of their tasks. As such, a UK Department for International Development (DFID)-funded project was established by the Financial Investigations Division to design a course tailored for this purpose. Professor Ali was the lead local consultant on the project which involved the publication of a course manual, the production of lesson plans and presentations, as well as the initial delivery of the Financial Investigation Training and Accreditation Programme (FITAP).

Publications
Books: 

Editor: S. Ali, The Ethical Lawyer: A Caribbean Perspective (Sweet & Maxwell Limited, September2015) 600 pages.

Editor: S. Ali, Risky Business: Perspectives on Corporate Misconduct (Caribbean Law Publishing Company, Kingston, July 2010) 394 pages.

S. Ali, Money Laundering Control in the Caribbean (Kluwer Law International, London, May 2003) 310 pages.

Chapters in Books: 

S. Ali, “Economic Crime and Terror: Spinning a Web of Greed and Fear”, in B. Rider (ed.) Research Handbook on International Financial Crimes (Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2015).

S. Ali, “Money Laundering in Jamaica: Risks, Challenges, Response” in Ali, S. (ed.), “Risky Business: Perspectives on Corporate Misconduct” (2010, 262-295).

Articles: 

S. Ali, “Micro-credit legislation for a macro-economic concern” (2022) 7 The Company Lawyer 224.

S. Ali, “A Conflict…of Interest” (2012) West Indian Law Journal 139.

S. Ali, ‘Market Abuse: It’s Not Just a Wall Street Thing The Company Lawyer’ (July 2006, 222-224).

S. Ali, ‘Jamaica: “Shhh…it’s Secret Money”: Lawyers, Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Journal of Money Laundering Control’ (Volume 9(3) 2006, 272-280).

S. Ali, ‘Controlling Serious Financial Crime: A Jamaican Perspective Economic Affairs’ (Vol. 27(1) March 2007, 14-17) 3.

S. Ali, ‘Trouble in Paradise? Combating the Scourge of Financial Crime in Jamaica’ West Indian Law Journal Special Issue on Financial Crime in Jamaica (Vol. 36(2) October 2011, 29-43).

S. Ali, ‘Re-Defining Stewardship? Journal of Financial Crime’ (Vol. 19 (2) May 2012, 225-226).