Global law firm White & Case LLP, Fordham Law School, and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Law Faculty have partnered with the Judicial Service of Ghana to create The Legal Ethics Training Programme, which launches today at the Judicial Training Institute in Accra.
Modelled on a legal ethics program White & Case helped launch in Russia, this four-day, interactive course will teach law students the main principles and rules central to professional legal practice. It covers a broad range of issues, including the Ghana Code of Ethics, regulation and enforcement, the relationship between attorneys and judges, confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest. Using practical exercises in small group sessions, the law students will learn how ethical rules are implemented in commercial law practice in Ghana and in other jurisdictions.
Fifty-six law students from schools across Ghana have been selected to attend the program, based on an essay contest and participation in internship programs.
With the support of Her Ladyship Georgina Theodora Wood, chief justice of the Republic of Ghana, the program offers law students an opportunity to discuss legal ethics and standards of practice with some of the leading lawyers in Ghana. Speakers include Justices William Atuguba, Jones Dotse and Joseph Akamba of the Supreme Court, Judges Dennis Adjei and Gertrude Torkornoo from the Court of Appeal, Benson Nutsukpui, president of the Ghana Bar Association and Dean E. Kofi Abotsi of GIMPA Law Faculty as well as other lawyers and law professors from Ghana and around the world.
The first program of its kind in Ghana, the course builds on Fordham Law’s ongoing partnerships with key stakeholders in the Ghanaian justice system. In collaboration with Ghana’s judicial service, police service, prison service, attorney general’s department and law faculties, Fordham Law has been working for more than a decade to support Ghana’s efforts to strengthen its justice sector. Fordham Law Professor Paolo Galizzi, director of the Sustainable Development Legal Initiative at Fordham’s Leitner Center, has been instrumental in bringing the program to fruition and is also serving as faculty.
“It has been wonderful working with Fordham Law School on so many programmes,” said E. Kofi Abotsi, dean of the faculty of law at GIMPA. “The faculty of law at GIMPA is also excited to have White & Case join the growing network of partners collaborating to promote good governance and rule of law in Ghana.”
White & Case is one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono legal services. Its pro bono practice includes extensive capability building and legal education for students, lawyers and judges around the world.
“Lawyers must deal with issues of professional ethics on an almost daily basis,” said Jennifer Paradise, partner and general counsel at White & Case, and one of the faculty members and helped design the program’s curriculum. “Teaching law students how to identify these issues and provide guidance on the proper way to manage them is very important. We have received great feedback on the program in Russia, and we look forward to bringing this training to Ghanaian law students.”
Paradise is joined by White & Case partners Thomas McDonald, Jason Yardley, Josh Siaw, and Global Manager of Social Responsibility Elizabeth Black.
Visit the program website for additional information.
