Legal Council will not close its eyes on infractions of lawyers – Chief Justice
Ms Sophia A.B. Akuffo, the Chief Justice, on Friday said the General Legal Council (GLC) would not close its eyes on any infractions on the part of lawyers if its attention is drawn to it.
Justice Akuffo therefore cautioned lawyers against indiscipline and the desire to get rich in pursuit of their legal profession.
According to her, the increasing number of disciplinary cases before the GLC against younger lawyers was as a result of lack of self-discipline and the desire to “get rich quick”.
She was speaking at the enrolment of 208 lawyers at the Banquet Hall, State House, in Accra.
Mr Isaac Danso Egyiri was adjudged the overall best student and winner of the John Mensah Sarbah Memorial Award.
Ms Akuffo, who admonished the newly trained lawyers with Biblical quotations from: I Timothy 6:10 and Proverbs 22:1, tasked the young lawyers to allow the two biblical texts to be their guiding principles.
The Chief Justice took them through their undertaking and said the study of law had no end because every day the law develops and changes. She urged them to research in order to be abreast with the developments in all fields of the law.
“Do not delude yourselves into thinking that your education is over, this is the beginning of your career and you cannot predict the destination of your journey,” she said.
According to the Chief Justice, as newly trained lawyers, they would soon realize that they would not be able to rely exclusively on the legal knowledge acquired during their training.
“To prove yourself worthy of the study of law, you need to read on a wide range of topics and develop a legal mind that can be very incisive to help solve problems of the community in which you live.
“This has become imperative in our contemporary world characterized by new evolving technologies, challenges and opportunities,” she added.
She said as they were being called to the Bar, it was important that they play a crucial role in the maintenance of law and order as well as rule of law in whatever endeavour they found themselves.
“I remind you of your special duty to the legal profession, to the court, to your clients and to the country as a whole. You have to be disciplined, truthful, diligent, courteous and humble in all you do.
“As new lawyers, you are the eyes of the communities in which you live and the society’s expectation of you to live beyond reproach cannot be overemphasized.’’
Ms Sophia A.B. Akuffo, the Chief Justice, Justices William Atuguba and Sophia Adinyira, both Supreme Court Judges, Ms Gloria Akuffo, Minister of Justice and Attorney General and Mr Emmanuel Kofi Diaba, President of the Western Regional Bar Association, took turns to present certificates to the newly enrolled lawyers.
Source: GNA