A case of good Judgement

The story of twenty-six year old Karimah De Four is a simple and straightforward one “Don’t judge a book by its cover!”  Her interesting rise to the top as a young, esteemed attorney makes her a role model to those around her, having graduated with Honours when pursuing her LLB, and topping her class after finishing her post- graduate diploma in Legal Practice in London. A past pupil of St. Joseph’s Convent, De Four was not initially sure about her legal career that she ultimately pursued. “I started out with A Level Law at K. Beckles and I moved on to the Law Degree. Initially, law was something that my mother encouraged me to pursue. After the second year of my LLB, I fell in love with the academics of it” she said. At that time however, paying for her law education was quite expensive, so with the help of her mother and her involvement in party promotions, she was able to bear the costs. “I started party promotions when I was really very young, around the age of sixteen. I did everything from modelling to product promotions” she said.  “I used to the money I made from promotions in conjunction with the help from my mom to pay for exams and any additional books” she stated.

De Four has worked with Starhouse Entertainment, Base Committee, Old Spice along with a number of companies and brands as a young law student, however, she emphasised that her commitment to her academics was always top priority. “For the first two years, I did school in the day and promotions in the night, especially around Carnival time. However, I never missed a class and was always on time.” She said. Although she was a “working” student, Karimah says that the flexibility of working at night made it easier to balance with school. After successfully completing her law degree, Karimah attended Manchester Metropolitan University to pursue a ten month post graduate diploma in Legal Practice. At that time, she no longer did promotions and was able to enjoy an eye-opening experience pursuing Law in London. “It was such an excellent experience. I was in class with Europeans, Oxford graduates and Cambridge graduates. It gave me real exposure to the legal world and living in Manchester was awesome” she said. According to De Four, the school encouraged academic excellence and decided to challenge herself to graduate with a distinction which she eventually accomplished.

On returning to Trinidad, De Four joined the Athena Chambers in Port of Spain where she works while deciding on her course of direction in the future. “I want to pursue several different aspects of law with an emphasis on corporate, criminal and family” she said.  In the meantime, she is also pursuing another passion within the same legal field- lecturing. De Four, who contacted the principal of her erstwhile law school after returning from London, was given an opportunity 2nd year law students, a profession she would like to continue in the long term. “It became an excellent pairing because my students did really well” she said.  Karimah also has plans to return to England at some point, to explore a legal career there also. Though her days as a party promoter and model are long over, De Four has no regrets. She credits her mother for her unwavering support along with her focus and driven mentality even while working at night. Her success today, together with many who are involved in entertainment can be seen as a catalyst to remove the stigma placed on girls who work as promoters. Karimah De Four’s story may very well help to eradicate the negative perception of part promoters who are often perceived as simply ‘winer girls’ who wear skimpy costumes for a salivating public at many fetes and events. “I definitely think my story raises awareness because there is a negative connation that you are a party girl and you are withering your life away” she said. “Entertainment is a huge, thriving industry. I never judge people who are into promotions because many girls end up being very successful in the corporate world. I was once there, so I can’t judge them.”