The GBA has indeed lost a legal luminary

The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Thursday said it had lost a legal luminary in the person of the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

"The GBA has indeed lost a legal luminary. We will forever remember the role President Mills played in the development of legal education and profession."

This was contained in a tribute issued in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency.

It said "We received the news of the demise of President Mills with shock and it is with a deep sense of loss that we pay this tribute".

The late President Mills was enrolled on the Roll of Lawyers and subsequently called to the Bar in Ghana on October 9, 1969.

He was thus entitled to practice as a lawyer and consequently joined the GBA and remained in good standing till his elevation “to practice in the High Court, above”.

Notable among his mates was the late Dr. Richard Turkson, former Ghana’s Ambassador to Canada.

President Mills later joined the law firm of the late Amissah-Aidoo, where he practiced briefly.

He devoted most of his time as a law lecturer.

He lectured at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, and the Ghana School of Law, Accra.

Several members of the Association, who were his students, would attest to the fact that he was hardworking, punctual, and an excellent lecturer with a great sense of humor.

The late President Mills has numerous publications to his credit. Without a doubt, he made immense contributions to the growth of legal education and profession in Ghana.

He was an esteemed member of the Association, and well-respected. He faithfully discharged all his obligations and made himself available whenever the Bar required his services.

When the association held a Continuing Legal Education Seminar on July 30, 1993, for its members, he delivered a lecture on “Company Law and Practice – The Businessman and the Lawyer”.

"The Bar was also privileged to have him in our midst as a Guest of Honor when the GBA hosted a conference of the International Bar Association in 1999."

When the current executive of the GBA assumed office in September 2009, a courtesy call was paid on the late President Mills and they were warmly received by him and the meeting was cordial and informal.**