Tamika Bent was born in Kingston, Jamaica. After migrating to the U.S., the proverbial land of opportunity, she planted her roots in the Bronx and has been a resident of New York since then.
As an undergraduate, Bent studied at the State University of New York at Albany and in 2002, graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor’s of Arts in English.
She pursued legal studies at Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York, and Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris, France, earning, as part of a four-year dual degree program, both a U.S. Juris Doctorate and a French Master en Droit. She has the education required to be licensed to practice law in France.
In 2007, on the cusp of the global financial crisis, Bent started her legal career in the New York office of Allen & Overy LLP, a preeminent London-based law firm.
While at Allen & Overy, she was seconded to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, an experience that provided invaluable client-side exposure.
Bent is an associate in the New York office of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, LLP, an elite New York-based law firm.
In her current role, she represents large global financial institutions in connection with a wide range of derivative transactions and the global regulatory reforms affecting both over-the-counter and exchange-traded derivatives.
Bent said she has a “deeply entrenched interest” in working on matters related to Jamaica, whether on a billable or volunteer basis.
While at Allen & Overy, the company represented the government of Jamaica in its bond offering in the U.S. and Luxembourg capital markets and its registration of securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
On a volunteer basis, Bent led a task force in drafting the bylaws for the entire U.S. Jamaican Diaspora organization; was a delegate at the biennial Diaspora conference in Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and attended the northeast arm of the organization’s regional conference in Hartford, Connecticut
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Jamaica
EDUCATON”
Cornell Law School and Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris, France, Juris Doctorate and a French Master en Droit, respectively
OCCUPATION:
Lawyer
PERSON I ADMIRE MOST:
“I admire the resilience and tenacity of my parents, which they imparted to me in many ways, but, most importantly, by instilling in me the most life-altering lesson I have ever learnt – there is no such word as can’t,” Bent says.
BEST QUOTE/GOAL:
“My goal is to broaden and deepen my involvement in the development of the Jamaican public and private sectors, which, admittedly, is a tall order,” Bent says.
