Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood has cautioned newly qualified lawyers against the tendency to turn the legal profession into a gold mine. She told them to desist from all manner of corrupt practices and “build for yourselves high standards of integrity and you will reap the rewards of a good harvest”. The Chief Justice gave the advice when she administered the Oath of Office to 52 newly qualified lawyers in Accra yesterday. “I expect each and every one of you being called to the bar today to excel in whatever field you choose to practice the profession...There is certainly no reason why you cannot achieve this goal,” she said. Justice Georgina Wood said the legal profession would demand of them a firm commitment to excellence marked by zeal of integrity and honest hard work. She said it would take years of practice, dedication and commitment to learn the procedures of court and the fine nuances of the law. “However you must start this by pursuing a pupilage programme which is mandatory for all new lawyers,” she advised. The Chief Justice said she was aware of the many complaints about the appallingly low standards exhibited by young lawyers at the courts and urged them to apply themselves conscientiously to this aspect of legal training. She noted that the decentralization programme has suffered partly because of the lack of such skills, as legal practitioners do have, "therefore the country’s democratic development stands in great need of this caliber of lawyers to man some of these offices,” she said. She urged the new lawyers to work hard to entrench democratic principles and values, “so that we will witness significant socio-economic growth and development”. The Chief Justice also asked them to always remember that they have a crucial role to play in maintaining the highest professional standards at the bar and in shaping the future of the nation. “Your training must be a credit to your parents and the society,” she said adding they have no excuse to resort to the use of indecent language, show of arrogance and other forms of loathsome behavior in and out of court. Source: The Ghanaian Times/Ghana