Environment

How Mapp, Walker And Van Beverhoudt Damaged The Reputation Of The Dema Law Firm

"It's the old adage: Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts." Those were the words of John K. Dema, who sat with this publication for an interview on Wednesday following a judge's repudiation of the Mapp administration, its Attorney General Claude Walker, and Inspector General Steven van Beverhoudt, in a 65-page long decision and order that dismantled an audit that Mr. van Beverdoudt conducted against the law firm. Mr. Van Beverhoudt's audit followed remarks made at a February 2015 press conference by Governor Kenneth Mapp, who accused the Dema Law Firm of overcharging the government by collecting more than it was due for a decade-long litigation involving four cases, in pursuit of damages to the South Shore of St. Croix. Mr. Dema, who started practicing in the territory from 1972 and has had a stellar reputation, worked on environmental matters for the Government of the Virgin Islands during the Schneider, Turnbull and...