FULFILLING a promise he made several years ago on her 16th birthday, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., on Friday presented the petition of Attorney-at-Law Paneeta Persaud.
Persaud, 24, was admitted to the local bar to practise law in Guyana by High Court Judge Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court.

The Attorney-General, in presenting a brief biography, said that the young attorney comes from a family which has a “reservoir of talent, industry, dedication and diligence”.
In 2019, Persaud graduated from the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen Campus with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Later that year, she commenced the first academic year of the two-year course of studies, assignments, examinations and practical training for her Legal Education Certificate (LEC) at the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) in Trinidad. Finally, in September 2021, Persaud was awarded her legal certification.
During the period 2018-2020, she was a legal intern at Mohabir A. Nandlall and Associates and Christopher Ram and Associates.

“There is always space at the top for good lawyers,” the Attorney-General told Persaud in court.  She is expected to join the legal team of the State.
In accepting the petition, Justice Singh advised the young attorney to always remember her oath, and to uphold the ethics of the profession.

He also cited a quote from former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Superior Court, Bartlett Andrews, who, in 1891, said: “It is not enough for an attorney to be honest. He must be that, and more; he must be believed to be honest. It is absolutely essential to the usefulness of an attorney that he be entitled to the confidence of the community wherein he practices… A lawyer needs, indeed, to be learned.

“But all these may exist to a moderate degree, and yet he may be a credible and useful member of the profession, so long as the practice is, to him, a clean and honest function. If once the practice becomes to him a mere ‘brawl for hire’, or a system of legalised plunder, where craft and not conscience is the rule, and where falsehood and not truth is the means by which to gain his ends, then he has forfeited all right to be an officer in any court of justice, or to be numbered among the members of an honourable profession.”

It was a sentimental moment for Persaud when she addressed the court for the first time as an attorney.
She told the court that eight years ago, on her 16th birthday, the Attorney-General, who is a close family friend, made a promise to her that he would present her petition to the bar whenever that time should come.

PRAISE
“I don’t recall at that time fully knowing whether I wanted to be a lawyer or an accountant, but, somehow, he had the foresight that I’d be a lawyer one day,” she said as she thanked the Attorney-General for believing in her.
She also credits her success to her law lecturers at UG, especially prominent Attorney-at-Law Teni Housty, who, she said, had been a great professor, mentor and friend throughout her journey.

While paying gratitude to her parents, Persaud said: “As I was preparing this address, I reflected on every moment leading up to this day. I recalled the day I found out I got accepted to read for my Bachelor of Laws, and how excited I was to share the news with you. I even remember the tough days.

“There was one day in particular my dad texted and said, ‘I saw your texts to your mom. Why are you letting trivial things distract or frustrate you?’ I told him, ‘Dad, I am so overwhelmed.’ He quickly referenced my late Aja, Ganesh Persaud, in his reply, ‘NOT for my Champion! Remember that! You are on the path of taking this family to the greatest academic heights. A cane and rice farmer, labourer, son of a poor pandit and his humble new wife living in a rented bottom house with one wall missing to whatever they gave to us to where you are taking us, my champ,’” Persaud said as she reflected on the conversation.

The young attorney said every time she felt like giving up, she would remember that message from her father.
“I was reminded of all of the sacrifices our foreparents, grandparents and parents made for us to have a sound education. I was reminded of my Aja, especially, who made me feel like the most special girl in the world. The hardest part about today is that I wish he was alive to see that his loving granddaughter is the first lawyer in our family,” she said.

Persaud admitted that becoming a lawyer seemed impossible at first, and when she started UG, she did not think she would have been among the top 25 to attend HWLS, but she worked hard, prayed and persevered.
“Today, I feel so proud of who I’ve become, because I learnt to be resilient, and I persevered through all the challenges that came in my way. Everything that I’ve done thus far, including volunteering with various humanitarian organisations, stems from my core belief in Seva (selfless service),” the young attorney said.