– as Parika-born President’s College ‘alum’ is now a lawyer

OCTOBER is surely the Christmas season for the legal profession, as quipped by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George on Wednesday during the Call to the Bar ceremony of Nicklin Belgrave, a proud native of Parika who stood in the company of her colleagues, friends and family to TAKE her oath as a newly-minted Attorney-at-Law in Guyana.
Presenting Belgrave’s petition was attorney-at-law, Emily Dodson, a woman Belgrave celebrated for affording her the “opportunity to get acquainted with the law outside of the classroom.”

Belgrave’s journey was certainly not without its challenges. She, however, told the court of the relief that came from her social support system, especially her mother and sister.
“Thank you for waking me whenever I would fall asleep with my books, for listening whenever I needed to vent about a class you know nothing about, and for everything else that you have been doing throughout my life. It has been quite a lot,” Belgrave said about her mother and sister in remarks following the acceptance of her application by Chief Justice George.

A moment was also spared to extend gratitude to her colleagues at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). Eight attorneys packed the courtroom of Chief Justice George on Wednesday morning, an overwhelming show of support.

The newly-minted attorney imagined that her life would have taken another path if not for the chances that came her way. She explained that in 2016 upon completion of her Bachelor of Laws, financial constraints almost dampened her prospects of attending Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) to acquire her Legal Education Certificate (LEC), which is required for practising law in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Belgrave is now part of a fresh batch of lawyers and law school graduates awaiting their calls, who were largely confined to their home and office spaces during the lockdown periods brought on by the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

For these fresh legal minds, the HWLS campus would hardly have memories for them as their first interaction, if by chance, would have been while attending their graduation ceremony days ago in the twin-island republic, Trinidad and Tobago.

For her part, Chief Justice George, following her acceptance of Belgrave’s application, told those gathered that although the legal profession is moving apace with technology, there is still a tradition of honesty, integrity and ethical conduct that must be preserved.

That commitment to the ethical standards of the profession, Chief Justice George continued, must include frankness and fairness to clearly indicate to clients when proposed courses of action cannot be pursued.
Turning her attention to the applicant, Chief Justice George recognized Belgrave’s commitment to both academic excellence and volunteerism, and urged her to maintain those interests.

Reflecting on her own journey as a lesson to the new counsel, Chief Justice George said she learned many things over the last five years, noting further that when decisions are written, they are written not only based on the wisdom of judges, but on the wisdom of counsels which has a direct bearing on the legal knowledge that is created moving forward.

Chief Justice George advised Belgrave that the legal profession is filled with many challenges, notwithstanding those challenges, she remained confident that the new attorney will overcome those challenges.
Quoting Langston Hughes against the backdrop of her own story, Belgrave ended her remarks to the court with the guidance to “hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
“Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go, life is a barren field, frozen with snow.”