Feature: World's longest tenured lawyer still serving Palestinians

After more than 66 years on the job, 91-year-old Fuad Shehadeh, the world's longest tenured lawyer, is still practicing his trade in one of the oldest buildings in downtown Ramallah in the firm established by his elder brother in 1935.

On May 31, the Guinness World Records recognized Shehadeh as the man with the longest career as a lawyer, serving till then 66 years and 187 days continuously, since Nov. 27, 1949.

Shehadeh, born on July 13, 1925, in Jerusalem, said his career actually started still earlier, in July or August of 1948, almost two months after the end of Britain's mandate over Palestine.

Due to the complications caused by the Nakba, or Catastrophe, in 1948, when Israel was established, the Guinness World Records was unable to confirm that as the starting point, Shehadeh told Xinhua in a recent interview.

In the library of the A. F. & R. Shehadeh Law Firm, where volumes of his publications were stored, Shedadeh recalled the early days of his career as an attorney.

"The courts were upside down and I had no files and no office," he said. "Therefore I did not have proof to Guinness that I started my practice in July or August in 1948."

Shehadeh said his parents were politically active during the British mandate of Palestine and that the years and long experience have humbled him, and thatt his youthful sense of humor brought him closer to the people.

"I consider it a good recognition, not an achievement because people expect achievement when they are at the beginning of their business life, but now I'm towards the end, not the beginning," Shehadeh said of the Guinness record. "I have enough achievements during my lifetime."

Over the years, Shehadeh said, he has worked on thousands of cases, representing many people and institutions, both local and international.

His law firm helped draft laws of the Palestinian National Authority, which was established following the 1993 Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, and by-laws and regulations of many government institutions and civil organizations.

Despite the achievements, Shehadeh said, his life was not free of personal tragedies, like the 1978 car accident that cost the sight of one of his eyes right away and the vision in both eyes several years later.

The impairment did not deter Shehadeh from working in the law firm, which was founded by his brother, Aziz, in the coastal city of Jaffa and moved to the family's hometown of Ramallah in 1950.

The firm is specialized in civil and commercial areas, but Shehadeh's commitment to his hometown's public issues remained one of his main priorities, especially at a time of political instability.

One of his assistants, Yazan Al-Masri, joined A. F. & R. Shehadeh five years ago, after he earned his bachelor's degree in law from the local Birzeit University.

Al-Masri said his pride in working with Shehadeh inspires him to dedicate to the legacy of his mentor.

"We usually start our day drinking coffee with Fuad Shehadeh, reviewing our work for the past period, discussing some issues," Al-Masri said. "I think he is really an icon... but he is also a good friend."

Shehadeh, who has turned down many offers to join the judiciary or the academia, said he would continue to come to his office for as long as he lives.

It is hope that has kept him going for these years, Shehadeh said.

"Every day we have hope that there will be a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli problem," he said. "Every day we have hopes that made our career as attorneys going on."

"I had terrible accidents," Shehadeh said. "I always recovered with the hope that I will start my life again for a long time." Endit