Success of student from IAFL programme

23rd September 2020

Image: Myell outside the Royal Court, Jersey

In summer 2019 Corbett Le Quesne hosted a young trainee lawyer called Myell Mergaert from San Francisco. The trip was arranged through the International Academy of Family lawyers (IAFL) Studentship Programme. We are delighted to tell you that he has just passed his Washington bar exam. He was an absolute pleasure to spend time with and wrote a very interesting post about his time here, which you can read here.

He said “Coming from the United States, I did not know what to expect from the Jersey legal system. In the weeks leading up to my Studentship, I questioned how dynamic family law on a small island like Jersey could be. However, Corbett Le Quesne over the last two weeks exposed me to cases I would not see in my home state of California. I quickly saw that the firm’s work expanded beyond Jersey’s borders. In my short two weeks with Barbara Corbett, I saw South African divorce petitions, a Hague convention application, a dispute in Egypt over vaccinations, and the distribution of a Maltese property! The team at Corbett Le Quesne showed me the diversity of family law in Jersey.”

Myell was very much hoping to visit again but with the pandemic raging and the problems that is causing with travel, he knows it will not be possible for some time. Myell is grateful to have been able to obtain employment in these particularly challenging times and we are sure that is because of his incredible work ethic, engaging personality and the fact he goes the extra mile in everything he does.

Nicholas Le Quesne commented “we were so lucky that Myell was able to join us last year, he was a really gifted student and he engaged with everything Corbett Le Quesne and Jersey had to offer. Myell was surprised at how beautiful the Island was, and at the variety and complexity of the work we do here. He was our second IAFL student, after Anyoli Martinez from Puerto Rico joined us in 2018. We benefit from these interactions as much as the students do, and when people can travel freely again we very much hope we can continue to invite students to join us through this programme.”

Myell reflected on his time here “Outside of the office or courtroom, the staff encouraged me to explore the island. Within the first week, I watched Lizzie’s mother skydive for charity, Nicholas invited me over for a BBQ in his childhood home, and Barbara properly introduced me to mushy peas at the local Fish and Chips shop. Nicholas taught me that swimming in the ocean is an absolutely acceptable and encouraged after work activity. On my lunch breaks, I ate my way through St. Helier’s town centre. I am particularly fond of the £3 sandwiches from the Market, which I miss dearly. On my weekends, I walked to new parishes and enjoyed the beach when there was nice weather. Any time they took me to court, Barbara or Nicholas taught me a new piece of Jersey history. The history on some parts of this island is older than the United States! Lizzie took me to help her parish decorate their float for the Battle of the Flowers, a huge Jersey summer event. We even had a firm sunset picnic at St. Ouen’s Bay! The island is filled with so many activities I could not do them all within my two weeks.”

For more information about IAFL click here.

We want to wish Myell the best of luck in the future and hope that he will be able to visit again very soon. Well done Myell!