Efua Ghartey, the President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), has cautioned newly enrolled lawyers against filming their first appearances in court or engaging videographers to record their entry into the courtroom.
According to the GBA president, such conduct is not permitted, adding that lawyers who disregard the directive risk being summoned for disciplinary proceedings.
The GBA president expressed concern over the growing practice of newly enrolled lawyers recording their first steps into the courtroom and sharing the moments on social media.
She urged lawyers not to hire videographers to follow them into court to capture their entry, stressing that the courtroom is not a place for such recordings.
Speaking in a video shared on TikTok, Efua Ghartey said, “We’ve seen some people take videos of their fresh legal steps into court. Please, it’s not allowed, it’s not allowed. So please don’t find a videographer to follow you as you enter the courtroom”.
Efua Ghartey, however, acknowledged that senior members of the legal profession had been enjoying the excitement surrounding the trend but added that some newly enrolled lawyers had gone beyond acceptable limits.
“And you know, as seniors, we are enjoying what is going on, but some people have crossed the line. And we don’t want to start calling you in for disciplinary matters,” she indicated.
In other news, Former Ghana Bar Association (GBA) President Yaw Acheampong Boafo has alleged that Ghana is currently training lawyers in a manner that is contrary to the law.
According to Mr Boafo, recent reforms in legal education were pushed largely by individuals outside the existing system, resulting in those within the system being sidelined during the reform process.
Yaw Acheampong Boafo argued that although legislation has created a statutory body to oversee legal education, the body has not yet been formally established.
He claimed that the Chief Justice and the Attorney General have instead assumed powers that should ordinarily be exercised by the yet-to-be-established body.
“Currently, we are training lawyers contrary to the law. It is not about disagreement with the current system. You can do the right thing the wrong way,” he said.
Mr Boafo further alleged that a pre-bar course had been introduced and institutions accredited without the necessary legal foundation.
“The push for reforms came from people outside the system, and they made those within the system enemies of the process,” he stated.
The former GBA President further warned that training lawyers outside the framework of the law could create a troubling precedent.
“Now, when we start training lawyers illegally, what we’ve told them is that it is convenient for you to displace the law,” he warned.
He further attributed the situation to what he described as the exclusion of experienced stakeholders from the reform process.
“Those within the system were seen as enemies of the state. So, when the law was being reformed, those in the system were sidelined, and people sitting in Florida woke up one morning and, writing in big English, were telling us how to run the system,” he added.
Watch the video below:
@dadzietv President of the Ghana Bar Association, Mrs Efua Ghartey, has cautioned newly enrolled lawyers against filming their first appearances in court or engaging videographers to record their entry into the courtroom. She stressed that such conduct is not permitted and warned that lawyers who disregard the directive could face disciplinary action. @younglawyersforum ♬ original sound – Dadzie TV
@ghnow_ Business mogul Sir Samuel Esson Jonah departs The TrueLife Experience, held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – DiamonnatrØ👣🦅
@ghnow_ Business mogul Sir Samuel Esson Jonah departs The TrueLife Experience, held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – BLACK MAN ✪
