New Legal Education Reforms: “We Won’t Sacrifice Quality for Quantity” — Rtd. Justice Delali Douse

Retired judge, His Lordship Justice Delali Douse, has expressed strong confidence in Ghana’s new legal education reform, insisting that the country can expand access to legal training without compromising standards.

Speaking on the newly introduced Legal Education Reform on Kessben TV’s PUNCH, Justice Douse said Ghana’s legal profession remains relatively small despite the long history of the Ghana Bar Association.

According to him, the Ghana Bar Association, established in 1877, currently has fewer than 10,000 lawyers on its roll, although the actual number of active, living lawyers may be far lower.
“The legal system is such that even if a member dies, their name remains on the register or the roll. So the question is, how many living and active lawyers do we currently have in the country?” he questioned.

Justice Douse explained that many lawyers do not practice litigation in courtrooms, as several professionals in the legal field work in banks, security services, ministries, departments, and other public institutions.
He further noted that, unlike in some jurisdictions where solicitors and barristers operate separately, Ghana has merged the two systems, making the legal profession broader and more demanding.

The retired judge also stressed that legal practice goes beyond courtroom eloquence, stating that some lawyers who may not be outstanding litigators still make significant contributions in other sectors.
“Some are very eloquent and admired by society, while others may not be eloquent in court but are very useful in other fields,” he stated.

Justice Douse welcomed the reform’s emphasis on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), saying the new training model would not focus solely on courtroom litigation but would also equip learners with broader conflict resolution skills.
He blamed challenges under the previous legal education system largely on inadequate logistics and infrastructure, citing a situation in which 499 students who genuinely passed the legal education examinations reportedly failed to gain admission due to a lack of space and facilities.
“I am very optimistic that we will not sacrifice quality over quantity, judging from the crop of people involved in the training of learners,” he added.