Oudit Narine Rai, a Guyanese-Canadian, who formerly served as a Deputy Judge in that North American country was admitted to the Guyana Bar on Wednesday, bringing with him over 20 years of experience in the legal profession.
His petition for admission to the Bar was presented by Attorney-at-Law Sase Gunraj, who outlined Rai’s slew of academic and professional achievements to Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Demerara High Court.
He hails from humble beginnings, having been born and raised in Canal No. One on the West Bank of the Demerara River. He is a former student of the West Demerara Secondary School and the St Rose’s High School, having completed his “A” Levels examinations at the latter.
Rai completed two undergraduate degrees from the University of Toronto in Political Science, and a specialist degree in International Relations. He is also the holder of a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Policy Development.
He completed the first year of the University of Guyana’s Bachelor of Laws programme and then proceeded to the University of the West Indies where he obtained his LLB in 1994.
In September of that year, Rai commenced further legal studies at the University of Toronto where he attained his Canadian LLB equivalency, completed his articles, and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1997. He also obtained a Master’s in Law from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. He then completed the Legal Education Certificate (LEC) programme at the Eugene Dupuch Law School in The Bahamas which entitles him to be admitted to the Guyana Bar.
Gunraj informed the court that Rai has been practicing law for the past 26 years in Canada and during this period, he was appointed as a Deputy Judge for the Superior Court of Justice.
After his stint as a Deputy Judge, he was appointed as a member (Administrative Judge equivalent) of the Appeal Division of the Social Security Tribunal in Canada heading appeal cases that were previously heard by panels of three Judges from the Federal Court of Canada.
Attorney Gunraj told the court that not only is Rai a fellow lawyer but he is also a family member, as he, along with businessman Suresh Narine, has traced and documented every member of his family from indentureship to the present.
After accepting Rai’s Bar petition, Justice Kissoon commended him for his well-written judgements and expressed the hope that he will bring to the local jurisdiction this same level of high competency.
In response, the newly called Attorney-at-Law shared that his call to the Guyana Bar has been a long process and that he is proud to be practising in the country where he was born and raised.
Rai shared that although he practised law one hour away from Toronto where no one looked like him, through professionalism and hard work, he was able to quickly attain the admiration of his peers and the local Judges.
As a result, he was recommended to be appointed as a Deputy Judge and also served for 10 years as a Director of the local Bar Association.
As part of his civic responsibilities, he was a Professor at Durham College, Ontario, Canada, where he taught insurance law and administrative law.
Rai also has competencies in a diverse area of law including civil litigation, international taxation and double taxation avoidance, international tax treaties, international tax risk, transfer pricing, mergers and acquisitions, risk management and regulatory compliance.
