Vincentian legal scholar featured by U.S Library of Congress

By Admin. Updated 12:18 p.m., Sunday, September 29, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Vincentian legal scholar Jai-Len Williams has been featured by the U.S. Law Library of Congress which is considered the largest library in the world.

Ms. Williams who has experience as a legal officer in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), has served as a foreign law intern with the Library of Congress’ Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress in the U.S.

Ms. Williams received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2023, and earned an LL.M. in international law and justice from the Fordham University School of Law in New York recently, the Library of Congress in Washington DC said.

The Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress focuses on providing comprehensive legal analysis and research on comparative, foreign, and international law, the Library of Congress said.

Ms. Williams shared her experience of her post degree academic training.

“As a foreign law intern at the Global Legal Research Directorate of the Law Library of Congress, I assist my supervisor Ruth Levush in providing legal information on domestic, international, and comparative law as it relates to the Caribbean jurisdictions, with emphasis on critical regional organizations such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ),” Ms. Williams said in an interview with the U.S. Law Library of Congress.

“Additionally, I write articles for the Global Legal Monitor, an online publication of the Law Library of Congress that covers legal news and developments from around the world, and for the In Custodia Legis blog,” Ms. Williams told the U.S Library of Congress.

In the interview the scholar said: “I always wanted to become a lawyer because I do not like injustice and l love helping people. As a national exhibition scholar, I completed my studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, where I obtained an LL.B. I also attended the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica where I earned an L.E.C. (Legal Education Certificate). I was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in SVG, and practiced law as a legal officer.”

“Additionally, I was admitted to practice law in Montserrat. At the UWI, I also obtained an LL.M. in legislative drafting with distinction.
Most recently, I earned an LL.M. in international law and justice from the Fordham University School of Law in New York, as a Fulbright scholar. I was a board member for the Fordham International Law Association (FILA), as a co-chair for international criminal and environmental law issues. I also received the Archibald R. Murray Public Service Award for community service work,” she said.

During the interview, Ms. Williams also spoke about her love for research in her younger years and how it influenced her decision to excel in Law.

She said: “As a teenager, I spent a few of my summers working at a local bookstore in SVG, volunteered at the Logos Hope Book Ship, and helped to organize my church’s library. I developed a love for books, bookshops, libraries, and the art of organization. I love researching and finding answers to problems. As a result, my interest was piqued to complete my post-degree academic training as a Fulbright scholar at the Library of Congress—considered the largest library in the world!”

The Library founded in 1800 is the oldest federal cultural institution in the U.S., the Library says on its website.

See: Publication about La Soufrière 1902 eruption at U.S Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.destructionofstp00morr/?sp=3&st=pdf&r=-0.331%2C-0.083%2C1.661%2C1.661%2C0&pdfPage=39

“The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, including one of the world’s best rare law book collections and the most complete collection of foreign legal gazettes in the United States. The Law Library contains United States congressional publications dating back to the nation’s founding,” the Library said on its website.

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