The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice of Ghana, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame says legal education in Ghana needs proper scrutiny of the mechanisms for broadening access whilst safeguarding the integrity and quality of the profession.
According to Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, the increase in the number of Universities offering the Bachelor of Laws programme has made it to become imperative for us to rethink the delivery of legal education in Ghana.
He made the observation during the roll call to initiate the first batch of 66 law students into the Faculty of Law of the Presbyterian University College, Ghana held over the weekend at the Kumasi Campus.
The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice posited that mediocrity, misguided crave for cheap wealth, substandard delivery of legal services and dishonesty have hardly been the hallmark of legal training and the legal profession.
The astute lawyer believes a dedication to excellence in the law, careful and serious training, industry and meticulousness surely, are ultimately rewarding for the lawyer.
Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame cautioned that “a poorly trained lawyer is a danger to society and a threat to the sustenance of our democracy as a nation. Ultimately, a dishonest bar, needless to say, breeds a corrupt bench and affects the core of the society we seek to build.”
The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice said Ghana cannot afford to gamble with its future by sacrificing these noble attributes of the legal profession in the training of law students.
The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice admonished the Law Students to be worthy Ambassadors of the Presbyterian University College, Ghana.
“As pioneering students of this Faculty, you will be uniquely registered in the annals of the University as the first batch of 66 students to be on roll call as Law Students in this University. The burden rests on you to jealously guard this enviable achievement and justify your inclusion.”
A section of the students admitted into the Faculty of Law during the ceremony
Ethical discipline
Addressing the law students, the renowned legal practitioner said the issue of ethical discipline becomes even increasingly important in these modern times.
According to him “every law school has a profound duty and a unique opportunity to inculcate principles of professional ethics and standards in its students.”
The astute lawyer advised that in order to familiarise law students with ethical demands of the professions, law faculties should inculcate moot court practices as veritable part of their curriculum.
In order to reduce the cost of justice to consumers, he posited that “as a profession with a monopoly over the performance of certain services, we have special obligations to the consumers of justice to be energetic and imaginative in producing the best quality of justice at the lowest possible costs for those who use it, and with a minimum of delay.”
Cost of legal service
The Deputy Minister of Justice expressed concern about the cost of legal services to the public. He said a large percentage of the population do not have meaningful access to legal services.
He disclosed that in too many cases, clients are “ripped off” by fees that are greatly out of proportion to the complexity of the transaction or the time spent by the lawyer.
The Deputy Attorney General prescribed alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as a powerful avenue to dealing with the challenge.
Sacrifices
Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame noted that to study law properly, the student must be prepared to forgo the pleasures of private life at the most inconvenient moments and for indefinite periods.
“It is a heavy price to pay but the rewards are great intellectually, and when you are called to the bar, the rewards will be greater financially and spiritually,” he said.
The Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice advised that students, once admitted into the study of the law, should be given copies of the bar association’s rules of ethics of the profession to guide them through their training and professional walk.