By Joyce Danso, GNA
Accra, July 2, GNA – Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Acting Chief Justice, has urged lawyers to adapt to evolving global trends to remain relevant and effectively serve clients.
He emphasised that modern legal practice demands not only sound legal knowledge but also speed, efficiency, and awareness of broader business and social contexts.
“This is the lawyer of the future and indeed the lawyer we must begin to become,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said in a speech read on his behalf by Justice Yaa Onyameye Gyakobo at the launch of the Greater Accra Regional Bar’s maiden Law Week,
He noted the legal profession was undergoing rapid transformation due to globalisation, digital innovation, and changing client expectations, and lawyers must evolve accordingly to remain relevant.
Held on the themed “The Future-Fit Lawyer: Embracing Technology, Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Service to the Community,” the Law Week will include pro bono legal services at Nsawam Prison, legal clinics at Afua Sutherland Park and Ashaiman Lorry Station, culminating in a dinner dance.
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie highlighted the Judiciary’s ongoing reforms, including e-justice systems, automated court lists, electronic case tracking, and virtual hearings, aimed at improving efficiency and access to justice.
“These efforts are intended not to improve administrative efficiency but also to enhance transparency, reduce delays and improve access to justice for all,” he said, while cautioning that “technology is only as effective as the people who use it.”
Justice Baffoe-Bonnie stressed that the legal community must fully engage with reforms, adding: “A future-fit lawyer must be efficient in digital tools, open to innovation and committed to continuous learning.”
He encouraged an entrepreneurial mindset, focusing on underserved communities and client-centric solutions without compromising ethics.
Lawyers, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie urged, should engage with emerging issues such as Artificial Intelligence, data protection, cybercrime, and climate law, while maintaining the profession’s core values of integrity, diligence, independence and respect for the rule of law.
Mrs. Afua Ghartey, President of the Ghana Bar Association, commended the regional branch’s contributions and urged members to embrace technology and uphold ethical standards.
Ms. Isabel Boaten, representing the Greater Accra Bar, said lawyers must prioritise self-development and organisational growth to stay competitive and committed to broadening access to justice through continued community engagement.
GNA
