By Blossom Ukoha
“Today, I speak not as a woman who is a lawyer, I speak as a lawyer who happens to be a woman. I am proud of us.” Those words capture the professional identity of Charlyne Mnamah-Mar Brumskine, a Liberian lawyer whose career has now taken her into one of West Africa’s most important judicial institutions.
Brumskine has made history as the first Liberian woman appointed as a Judge of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, beginning a term that will run from 2026 to 2030. Her appointment represents a significant milestone for Liberia and for women’s representation within regional judicial leadership.
A Historic Seat at the Regional Bench
The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice serves as the judicial organ of the Economic Community of West African States, handling matters involving member states, community institutions and human rights issues within the region.
Brumskine joins the Court at a time when questions of constitutional governance, human rights, regional integration and the rule of law remain central to West Africa’s future.
Her appointment therefore carries significance beyond her personal achievement. It places a Liberian woman at the centre of regional justice and gives Liberia a stronger voice within an institution responsible for interpreting and upholding the legal framework of ECOWAS.
Born Into a Legacy of Law and Leadership
For Brumskine, law and public service are deeply connected to family legacy.
She is the daughter of the late Charles Walker Brumskine, a prominent Liberian lawyer, former President pro tempore of the Liberian Senate, founder of the Liberty Party and multiple-time presidential candidate.
His influence on Liberia’s legal and political landscape was considerable. Yet Charlyne has built a professional identity of her own, developing a career that combines corporate law, academia, politics, governance and advocacy.
Her roots extend to Liberia’s Bassa community, with family ties to Buchanan in Grand Bassa County and Yekepa in Nimba County.
From Barnard to the Bar
Brumskine’s academic journey took her from Liberia to the United States.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University, in 1997, before obtaining her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law in 2002.
She also holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia and has continued to expand her legal education, pursuing an LLM in Corporate and Commercial Law at King’s College London.
Her academic record reflects the international dimension of her professional career, combining Liberian legal training with extensive exposure to American and British legal institutions.
The Lawyer Building Her Own Institution
Brumskine established herself as a prominent corporate and commercial lawyer through her leadership of CMB Law Group in Monrovia.
As Principal and Managing Counsellor/Partner, she has represented multinational corporations, international NGOs, development agencies, Liberian businesses and the Government of Liberia.
The firm is also recognised as one of the few women-established and women-led law firms in Liberia, giving Brumskine another platform through which to create opportunities for women within the legal profession.
Her practice has demonstrated that women can not only participate in sophisticated commercial legal work but also build and lead institutions within the sector.
From the Courtroom to the Classroom
Brumskine has also invested in the next generation of Liberian legal professionals.
As a former Assistant Professor of Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, she combined legal practice with teaching and mentorship.
Her commitment to legal education became particularly visible in 2022 when she emerged as Valedictorian, or Dux, of the Liberia Supreme Court Bar Examination.
Addressing fellow women lawyers at the time, she declared that she was proud to be “a lawyer who happens to be a woman”—a statement that reflected her belief that professional competence should stand at the centre of women’s advancement.
A Lawyer Who Entered Politics
Brumskine’s leadership journey has never been confined to the legal profession.
She gained grassroots political experience as an elected city councillor in Buchanan before becoming involved in the leadership of the Liberty Party following her father’s death.
She later served as Chair of the party’s Advisory Council and played a role in reconciliation efforts within the political organisation.
In Liberia’s 2023 general election, she became the Vice Standard-Bearer of the Collaborating Political Parties, running alongside Alexander B. Cummings Jr.
Her political experience gave her another perspective on governance, public institutions and the relationship between law and political leadership.
A Voice for Women and Governance
Beyond her legal and political work, Brumskine has been active in initiatives promoting women’s leadership and institutional reform.
She serves as Chair of the Governance Pillar of the African Women Leaders Network, Liberia Chapter, and has held board positions in institutions including IB Bank, MNG Gold and Harvest Intercontinental American University.
She was also selected for the EJS Center’s Amujae Leaders programme, which supports African women in public leadership.
Her advocacy has focused on constitutional law, gender rights, access to justice, governance reform, girls’ education and greater political participation for women and young people.
“My Father Did Not Get It”
Her ECOWAS appointment carries a deeply personal dimension.
Reflecting on the achievement and her late father’s own ambitions for a senior role within the ECOWAS Commission, Brumskine said: “My father did not get it. You can imagine how proud I feel to have been able to achieve that.”
The statement captures the intersection of family legacy and personal accomplishment.
While her father’s public career undoubtedly influenced her path, her appointment represents her own achievement after years of building credentials across law, academia, politics and governance.
A New Role, A Wider Responsibility
As an ECOWAS Court judge, Brumskine enters a regional institution whose decisions can have implications for governments, citizens and community institutions across West Africa.
Her background in corporate and commercial law, constitutional issues, governance and public affairs gives her a diverse professional foundation for the role.
More importantly, her presence adds to the visibility of women within West Africa’s judicial and legal institutions.
Her appointment demonstrates that women can move from private legal practice and academia into the highest levels of regional judicial leadership.
Changing Liberia’s Trajectory Through Law
Brumskine has previously challenged lawyers to see the law not merely as a profession but as an instrument for national transformation.
In her 2022 address as Bar Examination Dux, she issued a call that remains relevant to the next chapter of her career: “We must use the law to modify the trajectory of this great nation. We must and we can!”
Her new position gives her an opportunity to extend that philosophy beyond Liberia.
At the ECOWAS Court, the law becomes a regional instrument—one through which questions of rights, accountability, governance and justice can be addressed across national boundaries.
A New Chapter in Regional Leadership
Charlyne Brumskine’s journey from Liberia’s legal profession to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice is a story of professional ambition, public service and historic representation.
She has built a career that crosses corporate law, education, politics, governance and women’s leadership. Now, as the first Liberian woman to serve as a judge of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, she carries both a personal legacy and a national milestone onto the regional stage.
Amazons Watch Magazine congratulates Cllr. Charlyne Mnamah-Mar Brumskine on her historic appointment to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. We celebrate her remarkable journey, her contribution to Liberia’s legal and political landscape, and her emergence as a powerful example of women taking their rightful place in regional judicial leadership.
Her story is a reminder that the law can be more than a profession—it can be a pathway to influence, institutional change and a more inclusive future for Africa.
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