You've got mail

THE MANATT pointmen did not sing jingle bells for Solicitor General Douglas Leys last Christmas, but they appeared to be quite familiar with the Jamaican official.

"Hope all of you and your families had a wonderful Christmas," Kevin Di Gregory of the United States (US) law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips said in a December 28 email to Leys, Harold Brady, and Susan Schmidt, also of Manatt.

Di Gregory, in that email, was seeking clearance from Jamaica for a draft press release to be issued.

"Thanks, Kevin," Leys replied.

"Please go ahead with the release. Thanks for your kind wishes at Christmas. Mine was wonderful," the solicitor general wrote.

Schmidt responded to the email saying, "I shovelled a lot of snow". and within less than half an hour, Leys was in playful mood.

"Oh, how awful, Susan! We need to get your family and you in Jamaica next time," the solicitor general wrote.

Press release

Earlier that day, Schmidt had written to say that if the US government agreed, then a press release could be published saying: "Jamaica and the United States are committed to honouring the provisions of those arrangements in order to arrive at a mutually satisfactory conclusion of the matter."

Schmidt also promised that if the US government did not want the Government of Jamaica to speak for it, then the version "we would provide to the US government for its information is: 'Jamaica is committed to honouring the provisions of those arrangements in order to arrive at a mutually satisfactory conclusion of this matter'."

A few days earlier, on December 21, Schmidt wrote to Brady to arrange the next set of discussions.

"Hi, Harold. Hope you made it out before the snow. Would you like to chat on Monday re meetings and next steps?"

Brady responded: "We have to talk on Monday after we have had a chance to brief the PM (prime minister) and the AG (attorney general). I will consult with you on a time convenient to Kevin and you."

-D.L.