Former Mackenzie High student admitted to Guyana Bar

Jan 29, 2023 News

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– Plans to focus on justice for disadvantaged groups

By: Vanessa Braithwaite

Kaieteur News – From a tender age, Tschika McBean knew she wanted to become a lawyer. Though her parents supported her exploring various career options, she finally settled on law, because of her innate desire to establish rules, find order in chaos, and solve puzzles. Those are things she said she naturally enjoyed. She attributed her academic success to the way she grew up in Linden, Guyana, with academia playing a pivotal role in her upbringing, as well as her religious and cultural diversity. Her mother was Baha’i and her father was Christian. “My parents were the epitome of great parenting and grounded me in maintaining high principles, morals, and goals, especially regarding education and gaining knowledge. Reflecting on my childhood, I grew up surrounded by religious and cultural diversity, primarily due to the Baha’i Faith, which promotes unity in diversity, oneness, and service to your neighbours and community.”

From a young age, she believed she could serve her community through a legal career and throughout her school life, she worked hard to achieve academic success. “My academic career started at the One Mile Primary School, followed by McKenzie High School, where I spent all my time studying and always placing first in my class at the end of the term, and in 2001, I was Best Performer for CSEC – Region#10.”

Her legal career officially started at the Ithaca College where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in Legal Studies, a Juris Doctor at Loyola University New Orleans: College of Law, a Master’s in International Law at Albany Law School, and a Legal Education Certificate at Hugh Wooding Law School. During her academic studies, she received a number of academic awards, including graduating Magna Cum Laude and being inducted into the Justinian Society at Albany Law School. In addition to being admitted to the Bar in her homeland, she is also licensed to practice law in New York State.

“I became an attorney to pursue my desire to advance justice for disadvantaged groups and support global justice, international cooperation, and accountability mechanisms,” she proudly said.  Currently, McBean works as a Human Rights Officer, advocating religious freedom for persecuted Baha’i communities in Iran, Yemen, and Qatar. Her work also allows her to support the advancement of the institution of the International Criminal Court.

Her desire to create change using her legal platform, could not allow her to settle to become just an ordinary lawyer and even when she was a defense lawyer, she worked to remove barriers to reintegration for formerly incarcerated individuals and prosecuting child abuse and maltreatment cases. “I always say that the critical thread that runs throughout my career choices and issues I continue to care about is finding opportunities to utilize the rule of law to advance justice for groups that experience prejudice due to culture, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, gender, and other immutable characteristics.”

Her inspiration comes from action-oriented idealists who believe that humanity can create better systems of justice, governance, and international cooperation, to allow everyone to thrive. Some of these idealists left their impact during high school such as Sir Cleveland Thomas from the Mackenzie High School.

In this regard, McBean is passionate about giving back to her Region 10 community by establishing a non-profit law clinic in Linden which will also create employment for legal practitioners and enable better access to justice for residents, particularly those who cannot afford same. “Access to justice is fundamental to a thriving society. Lack of access to justice remains one of the critical barriers to ensuring accountability and restitution for human rights violations, domestically and internationally,” she explained.

Her advice to up-and-coming attorneys is to keep their eyes on the prize. The journey is challenging but doable and becomes more manageable with a solid support system. “Choose your community of supporters wisely and when the journey gets tough, remember that society needs your brilliance to keep improving; never give up; change directions if you must, and create a path forward if you have to because the next idea might be only one second away.”

She expressed gratitude to her parents, Lloyd and Barbara McBean, her husband, Ferdinand, her son Benson and other family members and friends who have stuck with her from the beginning of her academic career.

 

 

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• Bachelor of Arts, Christian, My academic career, Tschika McBean

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