A 41-year old Liberian and former paralegal at a 50-attorney Washington, D.C. law firm has been appointed the Liberian Inspector-General by President Sirleaf.
According to allafrica.com, Marc Amblard faced tremendous criticism about questionable skill sets necessary for the position. His background includes a degree in Agriculture in 1992 from the University of Illinois. He also studied at the University of Minnesota between 2008 and 2009 in National Security Policy, Leadership for the Common Good, Strategic Human Resource Management and Global Commons Seminar.
While undergoing his Humphrey International Fellowship Program provided by the University of Minnesota, Amblard enjoyed a training affiliation with the Brooklyn, Minnesota Park Police Department (BPPD) where he studied processes and methods of policing and law enforcement, thus "imbibing a holistic understanding of working in a Liberia type environment since Liberians in this part of Minnesota are approximately 22,000".
In response to the criticism, research conducted by a staff writer at The Analyst regarding Amblard's background emphasized Amblard's paralegal experience as a perfect qualification for the position. "The Analyst show that before the Police Director-Designate returned to Liberia in 1998, he worked for three years as paralegal at one of USA 's leading law firms, Jackson & Campbell Law Firm, situated in Washington, DC. Amblard's service at the law firm provided him ample experience in legal research and investigations and preparing legal briefs for lead lawyers for the firm. Earlier media publications glossed over substantive information on the professional and academic standing of the new police director now pending confirmation before the Liberian Senate."
And you thought that paralegal skills and abilities weren't transferable to other industries……….