Shun greed, avarice - CJ

Daily Graphic (spread) Sat. April 17/10

Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Wood, has called on newly qualified lawyers to shun greed and avarice and work honestly to lift the image of the profession.
"My honest advice to you is that you desist from all manner of corrupt influences and practices. Guard jealously your integrity, compromising it is not an option, for I believe that your career will be the richer for having the courage at all times to stand up to what is right," she said.
The Chief Justice gave the advice when she swore in 52 newly qualified lawyers who were called to the Bar at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.
The ceremony, which was organised under the auspices of the General Legal Council, was also attended by the Chief Justice of Uganda, Mr Justice Benjamin Odoki.
"I ask that you remain mindful of the fact that the distinguished profession you have joined is a demanding one. It will demand of you a firm commitment to excellence marked by a zeal for integrity and honest hard work. I am not looking at success in monetary and material terms only," she charged the newly qualified lawyers.
"I assure you that if you do an honest day's work, maintaining high standards of integrity and good faith, you will reap the rewards of a good harvest," she added.
She also called on them to offer free legal services, saying that they should desist from only looking at what they would gain materially, "especially, that which is achieved through fraudulent practices, as sadly, this is the dishonourable path some have chosen for themselves and wreaked their lives".
"I extol the success that derives from professional values and work that impacts positively on society as a whole, particularly, on the lives of the under-privileged, the poor, or the voiceless," she added.
Mrs Justice Wood, who is also the Chairman of the General Legal Council, urged them to endeavour to take their time and study the craft, saying that it would take years of practice, dedication and commitment to learn the procedures of court and the fine nuances of the law.
She also urged them to ensure that they undertook a required six months’ internship under the tutelage and supervision of senior legal practitioners to ensure that they received a good foundation in the practice of law.
"I am very much aware of the many complaints about the appallingly low standards exhibited by young lawyers in the courts. I believe that this is partly as a result of their failure to apply themselves conscientiously to this aspect of legal training.
"I therefore urge you, for your own good, to register with reputable and well-established legal firms and law chambers to undertake your pupilage,” she added.
According to her, the council was in the process of instituting measures that would ensure that in future, law students on the professional law course would be enrolled as lawyers only upon proof that they had done their six months of internship.