Pereira
After working as a teller at the Bank of Nova Scotia, Odean Williams said he was eager to make a career change. The profession he chose was law.
"I always liked it, so it seemed only natural," Williams, 26, told The Gleaner.
The holder of a degree in economics and management studies from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Williams decided to apply to the University of Technology's (UTech) law faculty which opened in September 2008.
He said cost was a critical factor.
"When I did my research and compared the fees at UWI and (the University of) London, I found that UTech was cheaper," he said.
It costs students $330,000 a year to attend UTech's law faculty but, although that fee is cheaper than other institutions, there are problems.
Recently, he said, UTech terminated its extension arrangement for students who make monthly payments.
Williams said it has been a tough ride so far. Himself and several colleagues have dropped out due to lack of funds.
"It has been a real grind. I've had to make a lot of sacrifices like selling my car," he said.
Financial obstacles
Williams' story is not unique. Many aspiring lawyers in the Caribbean face several financial obstacles pursuing the five-year course for admission to the Bar.
At the UWI, things got tougher this year when Government announced a significant cut in subsidised tuition - from $7.59 billion in 2008 to $6.9 million starting last September.
Freshmen are now required to fork out US$10,000 (about J$890,000) to cover their full economic costs.
This new regime will see 80 applicants benefiting from Government's subsidised fee of J$201,011 per year. Of the 200 students expected to register with the faculty, 120 are required to pay the full cost.
Students with the highest grades usually qualify for subsidies, while the economically strapped are favoured for bursaries which vary from a minimum of US$1,000 to a maximum of US$4,000.
It gets even more challenging for Jamaicans who move on to the Cave Hill campus in Barbados where they study for the next two years to earn the LLB degree. Because the Barbadian currency is competitive to its US counterpart, getting by in a foreign land makes beating the books extra hard.
Debbiann Livingston, currently in her first year at the Norman Manley Law School, can attest to that. The daughter of a small farmer and teacher from Endeavour-Gibraltar district in St Ann, Livingston said she paid J$260,000 for each of her Cave Hill years. She was assisted by a scholarship worth $125,000 from the law firm of DunnCox, but said it still put a strain on her parents, who are senior citizens.
"You also have to consider accommodation and other incidental fees such as amenities, and it's higher now. For my three years, it ran us over J$800,000," she said.
Like Williams, Livingston knows of students who have either dropped out or skipped a year to earn money before moving on to Cave Hill. Some who stay the course sell phone cards on campus to help raise funds.
Relief
It is the UWI law faculty's Mona campus expansion project that may provide the biggest relief for many of the region's budding lawyers. The new-look faculty is scheduled to be ready by the next academic year.
Joseph Pereira, deputy principal at the UWI Mona, said 98 first-year students have already registered to do their second year at Mona.
He said regional administrators have discussed expansion for over 20 years. The Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago and the Eugene Dupuch Law School in the Bahamas were established primarily to allow students to complete their studies at home, thus easing their financial burden.
Williams is confident he will be one of the first batch from UTech's law faculty to get an LLB in 2011 and go on to the Norman Law School. He is already eyeing a career in the sport and entertainment fields.
Livingston hopes to practise conveyancing law.