We need good lawyers, not lots of lawyers – Chief Justice hits back

The Chief Justice has reiterated her stands on legal education in Ghana, JoyNews’ Maxwell Agbagba has reported.

According to Sophia Akuffo, it is better to have few qualified lawyers to many with compromised quality.

Speaking on the topic ‘Questing for Excellence’ at the 2019 University of Ghana Alumni Lectures, Justice Akuffo told the gathering “a good lawyer for each Ghanaian is what we deserve. Not lots of lawyers.

For emphasis, she added, “I will stand here again and say we need quality lawyers, not mass-produced lawyers.”

This was the third time ( in less than three months), the Chairman of the Ghana Legal Council, the body responsible for regulating the legal profession in the country, has expressed her convictions publicly on the vexed issue of legal education.

The first was at the Bench, Bar and Faculty Conference at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on July 2019.

There, she told lawyers and lecturers “who are busy advocating free scale, mass admissions into the professional law course, and mass production of lawyers, (to) be careful what they wish for.”

According to her “so long as (she) has anything to do with it (legal education), it won’t happen.”

“Just like you can’t mass produce doctors and surgeons, Ghanaians must not have mass-produced lawyers imposed on them,” the Chief Justice added.

To further drive home this point, on Friday, October 4, 2019, at a ceremony to enrol newly qualified lawyers into the Bar, Madam Sophia Akuffo said although plans are far advanced for the commencement of the construction of a larger campus for the Ghana School of Law, it will not translate into mass admissions.

“Plans have been made for the creation of new and other campuses away from the hustle and bustle of central Accra for which land was acquired some years ago. The plan for the execution of this project is expected to be captured in the 2020 budget which is being prepared now.

“But, however much available space is increased, the GLC [General Legal Council] will never relent on its commitment to assure us of the production of quality lawyers through the observation of highest standards,” she told the gathering.

Source: Myjoyonline.com