Nazeera Ali tells us about her exciting career in Trinidad and Tobago since completing her Corporate and Commercial Law LLM in 2013.
I graduated from Queen Mary with a Master’s in Corporate and Commercial Law in 2013. My experience was a short but intensive one. Lectures and tutorials covering a multitude of modules, group presentations and dissertation preparation were juxtaposed with university arranged tours and sightseeing the beautiful city of London. Extra assistance in the form of LLM tutors and QM Careers were great resources during the course of my study, with my commercial internship at the International Bar Association (IBA) London a testament to that. At the IBA I was fortunate to be able to work alongside a diverse set of students ranging from Egypt, Australia and the USA. The supportive attitude of staff, the diversity of the student body, as well as the University’s convenient locations, certainly made my Queen Mary experience an unforgettable one, and indeed the ‘best kept secret in London’.
After attaining my LLM, I eventually returned to the infectious world of litigation in my country of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2015, I entered the realm of child protection and two and half years later, I was sworn in as a Master of the High Court at Trinidad’s newly established Children Court. I therefore preside over cases involving minors (persons below the age of 18 years) in conflict with the law, as well as cases where minors are viewed as being in need of care and protection.
I function in quite a dynamic work environment. It requires an intuitive skillset combined with a balance of exercising compassion while complying with the law. I am often faced with challenges relating to a lack of resources to achieve maximum efficiency, commensurate with a developing nation like Trinidad and Tobago. However, the tiny successes achieved through the Court’s interventions are not only professional but also personal wins for me. My ultimate aim is that the Children Court will make a sizeable dent on the gravity of the country’s crime situation, where minors are often used by adult lawbreakers in an effort to attract more lenient sentences.
I believe Queen Mary has contributed to the passion I have for my current role. The analysis required in my dissertation of reforming Caribbean Company Law, perhaps stimulated my interest in critiquing and comparing regional legislation in children law. My hope is that I will eventually be able to transition into academia where I can provide an insightful contribution based on my invaluable experiences in this area of the law.