Georgetown : A new face has been added to the judicial system in the person of former Town Clerk of the City of Georgetown, Ms. Beulah Williams. Williams was admitted to the Bar on November 25
th last in the High Court before Justice Dawn Gregory Barnes and a number of other legal personalities.
Williams who has been indulging in law studies at the University of Guyana since 2007 was able to graduate in 2009 with a Bachelors of Law (LL.B) before heading to the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad. She graduated on October 1 last.
The decision to enter the legal feel was however not spontaneous as according to Williams from a very young age she had envisioned becoming a lawyer. The desire would remain with her even after she assumed the position of Town Clerk. “The closest I got to doing law then was in Local Government where I was exposed to some law…I did some drafting…when we (City Council) had to change our fines I was involved and that got me more interested so I decided to pursue law.”
The decision was also premised on the need to be integrally involved in something meaningful even after retirement, Williams revealed. She is of the firm view that Guyana has a lot of scope where lawyers can be of service, despite the fact that there are yet limitations. She explained that in Trinidad, for instance, there is a judicial research programme which allows young lawyers to work along with judges. As a result that island permits a number of young lawyers to delve into administrative positions in a number of areas. “Guyana doesn’t have that…there isn’t that much scope for the lawyers right now but I am hopeful that Guyana would open up and make room for lawyers to do certain work.”
She is also optimistic that in the near future the complete law programme would be offered right here in Guyana. At the moment individuals pursuing the law programme at the University of Guyana are only able to c read for the LL.B and not the Legal Education Certificate (LEC) which is required to become a lawyer. “I think that the LEC can be completed right here; we can use it to bring in foreign currency by attracting overseas students. More than that it can save our students a lot of money because it costs to go to Trinidad to complete this programme…”
While she is not oppose to doing work for her former place of employ (City Hall), Williams noted that wherever possible she has her heart set on doing Pro Bono work. Her legal passion at the moment lies in the area of drafting with which she was able to gain much experience over the years but Civil and Criminal Law will certainly be ruled out, she noted.
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