The Ghana Law Society (GLS) says its emergence is intended to provide an additional platform for lawyers, particularly in addressing members’ welfare, rather than to compete with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA).

The society is developing a welfare package under which 20 per cent of members’ dues would be set aside to finance a life insurance policy. The initiative is part of what the GLS sees as a stronger focus on the professional and personal welfare needs of its members.

The development comes as Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor pursues a Supreme Court case challenging the legal basis of the GBA’s claim to exclusive representation on certain statutory bodies.

He has stressed that the case does not seek to question the existence or relevance of the GBA, but rather the interpretation of constitutional provisions that specifically refer to the association.

Mr Dafeamekpor has argued that references to the GBA in the 1992 Constitution should not be interpreted as giving the association exclusive representation, saying such provisions should also be read alongside the constitutional guarantee of freedom of association.

Speaking in an interview with Channel One TV on Wednesday, October 7, Mr Dafeamekpor said the GLS was not positioning itself as a rival to the GBA, insisting that its priority was the welfare of its members.

“We’re not in competition with the Ghana Bar Association. I’m saying that as a law society, our focus has been on the welfare of our members, which the GBA doesn’t do,” he said.

He also called for tolerance of differing political views among lawyers, saying the GLS would not adopt an anti-NPP posture simply because some of its members belong to the party.

“We are lawyers. We should be tolerant of opposing views. That’s our training,” he said.

The Ghana Law Society was inaugurated on September 30, 2026, during its maiden bar conference.