The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, has called on student lawyers to work hard and strive for academic and professional excellence in the legal field.
He said Ghana had produced renowned legal luminaries who had worked in various fields globally and received international recognition for their outstanding contribution to legal practice.
It was, therefore, important for student lawyers to take their studies seriously and create a name for themselves in the legal profession to be able to follow the footsteps of great men and women in the legal field.
Justice Anin Yeboah made the call at the induction ceremony of 84 students who have been given admission to undertake the professional legal course at the Kumasi campus of the Ghana School of Law.
Justice Anin Yeboah pointed out that, the legal profession played a critical role in society, and it was incumbent on practitioners to have a thorough understanding of the profession to be able to contribute to solving emerging law issues that confronted society.
Dr. Chris Adomako Kwakye, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Law of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), who spoke on the topic ‘Importance of Ethics in the advancement of legal education’ observed that, the intensification of competition in legal practice, which was driven by profits dynamics, had led to “dishonesty, incivility and acrimony in the legal profession.
He said most practitioners engaged in all sorts of actions and behaviours to survive in the marketplace.
Dr Kwakye said the study of ethics was important in the curriculum of law schools and commended the Ghana School of Law for introducing ‘Law of Advocacy and Legal Ethics, in its curriculum.
This, according to him, would enable graduates from the school to be mindful of the ethics in the profession in their practice.
He stressed the need for the students to think ethically and extricate themselves from the dilemmas that might come up during their legal practice.
Dr Kwakye also charged legal educators to prepare students for professional life devoid of controversies and breaches of legal ethics.
“This is a wake-up call to both students and law schools that without teaching legal ethics, the profession stands the danger of being ruined”, he stated.
Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong, Director of Legal Education, said the Kumasi campus reflected the Ghana School of Law’s intention to expand legal education.
He said extending legal education to the doorsteps of many people to train more lawyers was the surest way to bring and deliver justice at the doorsteps of the people.
