The Chief of Staff Julius Debrah has warned professional associations of lawyers against allowing partisan politics to shape their conduct.
He cautioned that they risk losing credibility when they become extensions of political contests.
Speaking at the maiden Annual Bar Conference of the Ghana Law Society, Dr Debrah said the emergence of another professional lawyers’ body should expand opportunities for scholarship, mentorship and policy engagement rather than deepen political rivalry.
“It loses when professional associations become extensions of partisan contests,” he said on September 30.
He urged the Ghana Law Society to build its credibility through consistency, service and fairness.
“This society will therefore be judged by its conduct. It must welcome intellectual disagreement, resist political capture, and apply the same standards of fairness regardless of who holds power,” Dr Debrah said.
He also acknowledged the historical role of the Ghana Bar Association, insisting that the Ghana Law Society does not need to diminish the older body to establish its own relevance.
Dr Debrah said ordinary citizens have little interest in institutional quarrels and are more concerned about whether the legal profession helps justice to work.
