By Vishani Ragobeer

JASON Barnes was admitted to the local bar to practise law in Guyana after his petition was presented by attorney-at-law and President of the Bar Association of Guyana, Teni Housty, to Chief Justice (ag.) Roxane George on Friday.

Barnes, who completed his Legal Education Certificate (LEC) at the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) in 2020, has been working as a Judicial Research Assistant with the local courts. In this capacity, he assists judges by conducting research based on the matters that come before the court in an attempt to help prepare and inform the judge on the matters.

“The benefit in that role is that you get to build on the core skills required for the legal profession, including skills in research, writing and analysis,” Barnes told the Sunday Chronicle in a recent interview.

This is not necessarily the role you might picture a newly-minted attorney-at-law functioning in, but Barnes is a person that has varying interests.

“I don’t believe that I have to have one career which is being an attorney-at-law, I’m also considering a career as a transportation planner and in terms of getting into urban and regional planner,” Barnes said.

And he wants to throw his hat in the ring of developing Guyana since he believes that there should be a “serious plan” guiding how Guyana should be developed, including zoning and land allocation.

Along with his day job at the court, he is also pursuing an online course in sustainable urban land use planning with the World Bank Institute. He believes that this is a ‘starter course’ for him to understand what the relevant policies are and what the framework for implementation of those policies is.

Beyond that, he wants to pursue a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development.

“I want to be able to contribute in a more meaningful way,” he posited.

Part of his future pursuits may have stemmed from his previous exposure to Geography and Environmental Studies during his time at the St. Stanislaus College and then at Queen’s College. In fact, he initially wanted to pursue geography as a first-degree, but thought against it. His mother, Justice Dawn Gregory, suggested that he should give law a try, and as it turns out, he stuck with it. But more than just sticking with it, he said that he found the value of it.

“I discovered how relevant it is and the scope that it covers because the law is really the bedrock of society and it is really fundamental to how we interact not just with each other but also with our environment and technology and so on,” Barnes said.

He first pursued his Bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) at the University of Guyana (UG) and then went onto the HWLS. And at both places, he was able to find support from his friends and colleagues. His family has also been a great support to him.

“My grandmother was a major support to me. She passed in 2019, she was looking forward to seeing me being admitted to the bar,” he said, acknowledging that she would’ve been proud of his journey today.

For other students who might be interested in pursuing law, he said that though an interest in law might be sparked by an article or television show, it would be prudent to do adequate research to understand the scope and purpose of the law.