Legal education bill incomplete, troubling — Ansa-Asare calls for total reform

Veteran legal academic and former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, has strongly criticized the Legal Education Bill currently under parliamentary consideration, arguing that it fails to tackle the core issues affecting the training of lawyers in Ghana.

He took particular issue with the bill’s title, insisting that legal education is not just about theory and that it encompasses both academic instruction and the practical training required for legal practice. 

Speaking on PM Express on Joy News, Ansa-Asare described the bill as “incomplete” and “troubling,” warning that its current structure narrowly focuses on academic legal instruction while ignoring the professional competencies needed for legal practice.

In his view, the bill’s scope must be broadened if the government intends to decentralize legal education and empower law faculties across the country to train aspiring lawyers. 

Ansa-Asare expressed concern that Ghana’s legal education model remains rooted in an outdated colonial framework. He lamented that students spend their first three years focused purely on legal theory, only to be rushed through two years of professional training at the Ghana School of Law.

He contrasted Ghana’s approach with the integrated structure of legal training in countries, indicating particularly that in a country like the United States, legal education is combined into a professional doctorate—the JD. He said that students there learn legal theory alongside practical skills like negotiation, opinion writing, and legal drafting from the beginning.

The consequences, he explained, are evident in how new lawyers struggle in court. 

For Ansa-Asare, the solution lies not in piecemeal reform but in a comprehensive overhaul. He urged lawmakers to rethink the bill entirely and ensure that it addresses the full cycle of lawyer training.