Sophia Akuffo backs legal education reforms but says focus must be on quality lawyers

Former Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo, says Ghana’s new legal education reforms must prioritise the production of competent and ethical lawyers rather than focusing only on increasing access to legal training.

In an interview with Asaase News on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Advisory Board of the Central Law School at Central University here in Accra on Tuesday (26 May), Justice Sophia Akuffo said the reforms can help strengthen the country’s justice system if implemented properly.

“The most important thing is that people should not be looking at the numbers. We should be looking at the calibre, the quality, the standards, the ethics and so on and so forth,” she said.

Her comments come just two weeks after President Mahama signed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2025 into law, ending the Ghana School of Law’s 66-year monopoly on professional legal training in the country.

The new law allows accredited universities and institutions to offer professional legal education programmes.

Justice Sophia Akuffo, who now chairs the eleven-member Advisory Board of the Central Law School, said the institution is prepared to work within the new legal framework to produce lawyers who will contribute positively to Ghana’s justice delivery system.

“What we want in Ghana is quality justice administered by competent people efficiently and effectively,” she stated.

She also stressed the need for integrity within the legal profession.

“If your motivation is, ‘I want to become a very rich lawyer,’ forget it. Ghana can do without you,” she said.

According to her, the focus of the Advisory Board will be to help shape the curriculum and ensure that Central Law School produces lawyers who are professional, ethical and committed to serving the nation.

Vice-Chancellor of Central University, Professor Kwesi Dartey-Baah, said the university is repositioning itself to align with the country’s legal education reforms.

“Legal education is taking a turn that requires tertiary institutions to align with the direction of the new legal reforms,” he said.

Professor Dartey-Baah added that the university expects Central Law School to become one of the institutions that will meet the requirements of the new reforms while giving students quality legal training.

Dean of the Central Law School, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, said the Advisory Board would help the school implement reforms aimed at improving student outcomes and strengthening professional legal training.

“We want to reposition Central University to become the go-to place for legal education and professional training in Ghana and the sub-region,” he said.

The eleven-member Advisory Board is expected to support the law school in enhancing scholarship, strengthening ethical legal training and preparing the institution for accreditation under the new legal education framework.