Guyana’s Deputy Chief of Mission to the United States of America and former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, Zulfikar Ally was recently admitted to the local bar and can now practice law in Guyana.
Ally made his petition before High Court Judge, Priya Sewnarine-Beharry and among other things, the new member of the legal fraternity, said he was in full support of passionate efforts to establish a law school in Guyana.
See the full statement read by Mr. Ally below:
May it please Your Honour, permit me to express my profound gratitude to you for hearing and accepting my petition to practice law in the courts of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. I am humbled and privileged to stand for the first time as the newest member of the legal fraternity.
Your honour, I take this moment to thank you for your invaluable advice, the sharing of materials during the course of my legal studies of which it undoubtly played a great role towards my admission today.
I wish to thank Attorney-at-law Devindra Kisson my petitioner who has inspired in me the confidence to pursue this field to the end, and whose consul and guidance not only in the field of law but in general is greatly appreciated and respected
Your honour, I do not wish to take up this privileged moment you have afforded to me to relay to this honourable court what many new attorneys before me would have expressed as the journey of becoming an attorney at law. I concur wholly and fully with their explanations of the scrifces, the dedication, the patience and the perverance that were required to have gotten to where we are today,
With your permission your honor, I would like to focus on those that have encouraged, supported and had the faith in me over the years.
My father who is a firm believer in education and who has throughout my life believed even when i had doubts of my potential to succeed in whatever I set out to do. My late mother, also an educator whose upbringing has molded me into what I am today. My sister who I believe is the first in the extended family to have entered this noble profession and to signal how rewarding but also how possible it is to make it a reality.
To my extended family who have also checked up and provided encouragement over the years. My partner who has literally stood by me and have also provided encouragement and support throughout this journey.
Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of meeting but most importantly learning from a lot of people. I do not think that we sometimes look back at how those persons, their actions and mere presence in our lives contributed towards our success. And there have been endless, from teachers who do everything humanly possibly to prepare you for the world, our bosses and collegues, whose exemplary leadership provided that inputus to continue striving to be better. I wish to acknowledge Dr. Ashni Singh and Mr. Balgobin from the Ministry of Finance, my first place of employement, and Former Pesident Donald Ramotar, also Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop, who have all supported, encouraged and have given me opportunities to grow. I hope that I have not disappointed.
To my friends in the private sector who have accepted me with open arms, I thank you for your friendship and guidance, for also showing me a different perspective on issues of national importance. Your honor, law is about seeing issues from different perspectives and leaving with the understanding that sometimes not everyone is right and sometimes not everyone is wrong and it depends on the perspective it is looked at. I value those conversations and discussion with my collegues in the private sector greatly.
To my former and current staff whom have all stepped up willingly as a show of support and reduce my workload, I owe you a debt of gratitude. To my collegues in the diplomatic circle, notably ambassador lynch, thank you for always checking in on my progress.
To my classmates, I thank you for the lively discussions, the sharing of materials and constant support and I wish all of you success as you embark on your career as an attorney-at-law.
To my friends, thank you for understanding why I was not available for the past five years, and thank you for remaining my friend. To dave narine, dhani narine, shyam, Indar, clairmont and Iman, I appreciate your show of support today.
Your honor by now I know that attorneys in waiting will have a fairly good idea as to what field of law they would be specializing in, and this question has been asked of me frequently as of recent. While I am not sure as I stand before you, what I do know is that I entered into this profession to contribute towards supporting the court as an officer in ensuring that social justice is dispensed with, that basic principles of fairness, equality and human rights are maintained and not trampled upon, that the poor and those that are disvantaged are afforded the opportunity of a hearing, and more importantly that democratic principles that we have embraced as a country continues to be observed.
I am aware that as an officer of the Court, i shoulder a heavy responsibility to uphold and support the rule of law and I commit to ensure that our freedoms as citizens of a democratic community are properly protected, regardless of the legal field i choose.
I am cognizant of the fact that the jurisprudence in Guyana is undergrowing a rapid transformation, it will require legal skills of the magnitude that we are not accustomed to but of which the legal fraternity in Guyana is more than capable of meeting. I know the honourable attorney general and Minister of legal affairs and his team are up to that challenge, and I support his passionate efforts of ensuring that Guyana has its own law school, since I have seen many colleagues and friends who are brilliant prospective lawyers not qualifying for an already highly competitive top 25 space to attain a legal certificate.
Your honor, as I take my leave from this courtroom today and officially begin my career as an Attorney-at-law, I vow to uphold the principles and other tenets of this profession, including but not limited to adherence to the Legal Practitioners Code of Ethics, and serve dutifully, fairly and justly as is expected of any Attorney.
With that being said, and if I could be of no further assistance to your honour, that is the extent of my response.
Thank you.
Congratulations to you Mr, Ali and thank you so much for making us all proud. Do keep up the good work as a lawyer and as out Minister of Agriculture .