IT was her father who inspired her to become a lawyer, given her passionate arguments at a young age, but the road to success for 24-year-old Christal Amsterdam was not an easy one.

As a matter of fact, she battled many personal struggles, including self-doubt that she was not good enough to be a member of the legal fraternity. But on Friday, Amsterdam stood tall in the Family Court in Georgetown as she was finally admitted to the local bar.

Amsterdam, who is a Legal Officer attached to the Guyana Public Service Co-operative Credit Union (GPSCCU), was admitted to the bar by Justice Damon Younge; her petition was presented by attorney-at-law, Collis Baveghems. The new lawyer, who resides at Enterprise, East Coast Demerara, intends to pursue family, civil and corporate law.

When asked what inspired her to become an attorney, she said: “From a very young age my father would always say I never give up in an argument, I’m persistent and even when I think I might lose, I go back, find some other information and bring it back.

“He always admired my persistence and said that being a lawyer would be suiting for me. I began to look into the legal profession with my first exposure being Law and Order SVU. This interest moved from TV shows to movies like Marshall, to Sydney Sheldon books, after which I began to talk to persons I knew who were in the legal profession who advised me on the journey and the rest is history.”

In her admission speech, the new attorney said she is cognisant of the fact that her success is as a result of all the people who sacrificed and poured their love and energy into allowing her to pursue a career in the legal profession.

“People often say that they stand on the back of the great lawyers that paved the way before them, while this is true, I would like to say that I stand on the back of my support system, my family, my church and my friends,” the former St Joseph High student said.

In this journey, she told the judge that there was a lot of doubt about whether she had what it takes to make it in the legal field.

“I have heard people say law is for the brightest of the bright, I heard I was too quiet and too shy and if I wanted to make it I had to be relentless and mean. I even had personal struggles of realising that I didn’t have the confidence that I saw being portrayed by others before me or even some of my peers. While at times this was discouraging, there was the voice inside that told me not to give up. The voice, I later realized, was the voice of God guiding me along the way,” she recalled.

Amsterdam said the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” manifested along her legal journey.

“While I was so scared of stepping out on to my own in Trinidad, I was never really alone. I had my landladies that became my temporary parents, I have my father’s friend being just a phone call away and I even had a third cousin that became like a big brother. I’ve seen my aunts, uncles, grandparents really step up and support my parents in this time. I can say that I was never in need nor want. And to them I would like to say thank you even though thank you seems like such a small word for all they have done,” the attorney said.

She reiterated her intention to serve with professional integrity, respect and dignity.

“I intend to be an asset to this fraternity and by extension my country. I aspire to be a vessel of change and innovation to assist this great land in its continued development, especially now with the new oil and gas sector. It is my hope that every citizen can see the equitable distribution of this new found wealth and know that its surplus is safeguarded for future generations,” she added.