59 New lawyers called to the Bar
The Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, has urged lawyers to adhere to the highest form of professionalism when dealing with their clients.
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She said lawyers were usually people’s first point of contact with the law and, thus, a client’s experience with a lawyer went a long way to determine whether he or she would uphold or discard the law.
Addressing a ceremony in Accra yesterday where 59 newly qualified lawyers were enrolled and called to the Bar, Mrs Justice Wood added that the advice lawyers gave to their clients should be thoughtful and accurate.
“The advice should also be those that encourage obedience to the law and engender confidence in the judicial system,’’ she said.
The ceremony was attended by the Attorney-General, Mrs Brew Appiah-Oppong, the President of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr Benson Nutsukpui, and other members of the General Legal Council.
Rule of law
The Chief Justice said the importance of lawyers in society could not be underestimated owing to the fact that the country’s political, social and economic advancement was based on the rule of law.
“Based on the legal knowledge acquired, a lawyer is expected to be a repository of a nation’s laws, and more importantly a nation’s conscience, I repeat a nation’s conscience. This is what distinguishes the lawyer from other professionals,” she added.
Professional ethics
Mrs Justice Wood further advised the newly enrolled lawyers to adhere to the ethics of the profession to ensure that society derived maximum benefit from their services, adding that “the values and principles that will anchor your work as a lawyer and your impact on society, whether positive or negative, will redound to honour or dishonour”.
“Make no mistake about this: you can neither thrive nor succeed without morality,” she added.
