Your success lies in promoting peace – Chief Justice to new lawyers

The Chief Justice (CJ), Justice Anin Yeboah, has charged new lawyers called to the bar to desist from fueling rancour among litigating parties and be ambassadors of peace as they discharge their duties in and out of court.

According to him, lawyers should neither take undue advantage of innocent clients nor fuel hatred and anger where there should be none.

The Chief Justice, speaking at a ceremony to call new lawyers to the bar at the Accra Conference Centre said that, “always remember that, a lawyer’s real success lies in bringing peace to the [feuding] parties and doing that which is fair”.

Also, he asked the newly called lawyers to conduct themselves properly and further discharge their four-fold duties to the clients, courts and the community at large in a manner that even if a litigious client lodges a complaint against them [lawyers], they would not be anxious because they haven’t erred.

Justice Anin, who is also the Chairman of the General Legal Counsel (GLC), noted that the Disciplinary Committee of the GLC “will continue to ensure the proper conduct of all lawyers whiles ensuring that the clients of lawyers receive the required standard of work”.

He added that the ethics of the legal profession must be taken more seriously at the early stage of their career by developing good habits.

While urging the lawyers to eschew the use of offensive language or untoward behaviour in courtrooms, his Lordship Justice Anin warned that, “the practice whereby some lawyers also engage the media to aerate and argue the cases of their clients using abusive language even when such cases are subjudice must stop”.

In all, a total of 424 trained lawyers were certified by the GLC to commence their legal profession in the country.

The lawyers are being called to the Bar, at the 57th anniversary in the history of the enrolment on the roll of lawyers.