This is the statement delivered by the President of the Gambia Bar Association on 30th July 2022 at the Enrolment Ceremony of Legal Practitioners at Court No 1. Below is the speech delivered by Lawyer Salieu Taal Esq.
By Salieu Taal, President of Gambia Bar Association,
Times and Season, Tis the time and season for the enrolment of 46 additional Gambian Legal Practitioners on the last day of term and coincidentally this is the 10th enrolment ceremony. As fate would have it, Our own Attorney General &Vice Chair to the GLC and the able Secretary to the GLC were part of the first cohort to be enrolled by the GLC at the first enrolment ceremony back in January 2013. We have really come a long way and I am indeed honoured to witness this historic moment.
It gives me great pleasure to deliver the first statement to mark this milestone not only for the newly enrolled legal practitioners but for the entire legal fraternity and country at large.
It has certainly not been an easy road and rests assured the journey is just beginning. You have signed up for a noble profession, a profession that comes with a lot of privileges and also a lot of responsibilities, duties and expectations beyond your clients or employers as the case may be. The profession is called noble because we are expected to conduct ourselves with nobility, dignity, decorum and honour at all times. You are privileged to be called learned friends or counsels by your colleagues in recognition of your erudition and as a testament to the camaraderie at the bar. This is a tradition that we must nurture and foster in the profession. As lawyers, you have signed up for a life of eternal learning but hopefully, you will find this lifelong journey rewarding and fulfilling.
The demands of the profession does not just stop at you being learned or knowledgeable, but more importantly, your conduct as a legal practitioner must be guided by the ethics of the profession.
ETHICS
ETHICS is the cornerstone of the profession and I urge each and every one of you to be conversant with the Code of Conduct for Legal Practitioners in spirit and in substance. I advise you to pay particular attention to
Section 8 which reads as follows ;
“A Legal Practitioner shall at all times uphold the DIGNITY, HONOUR and HIGH STANDING of the profession and shall desist from dishonest, unjust and disreputable conduct whether in his or her professional life or OTHERWISE ”.
Learned friends, digest each and every one of these words. Let this be your guide or mantra every step of the way as you embark on a legal career.
Professional ethics is the foundation of legal practice and in the absence of professional ethics, the entire profession is brought to disrepute. As legal practitioners, we will not enjoy the confidence of our clients, the general public or the citizenry if we fall short of the ethical standards of behaviour or conduct expected of a legal practitioner. As we grow as a profession, maintaining professional ethical standards, values and the traditions of the bar becomes increasingly challenging. Whilst we must embrace change and adapt to our fast-changing environment, the core values of the profession must be jealously guarded.
IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Today, one of the greatest opportunities and threats to the future of the bar is the advent of information technology, particularly social media. On one hand, technology has enabled us to work and collaborate much faster and efficiently. On the other hand, we have seen how social media is impacting every facet of our lives and the legal profession is not an exception. We have seen how cases become sensationalised and the court of Facebook republic directing populist narratives potentially exposing and endangering judges, and lawyers and undermining confidence in the administration of justice. The private bar, bench and state law office have a collective duty to address this menace. At the individual level, I will urge my colleagues, and learned friends to be very mindful in their social media engagements to ensure that the integrity and standing of the profession is not undermined in the process. It is time that both the Bar and the bench develop a social media policy to guide legal practitioners and judges in the use of social media. I will go further to recommend a stakeholder engagement with media including the online media platforms to sensitise them of the workings of the courts, the legal profession and the justice sector as a whole.
OFFICERS OF COURT-
Learned friends, finally I wish to remind you that as legal practitioners, you are first and foremost officers of the court and therefore duty bound to promote justice and uphold the rule of law. This is a responsibility that you must not take lightly. As we forge ahead to consolidate our democratic gains from 2017 to date,
lawyers have a very important role to play in shaping our governance institutions and in rebuilding our democratic culture. To this end, we must jealousy guard and protect the independence of the judiciary and continue to uphold the rule of law. I urge you to take a keen interest in understanding how the three arms of government work and be familiar with the constitution regardless of what area of law you may find yourself practising.
On behalf of the entire legal fraternity, I congratulate and welcome you all to our noble profession. I wish you all a successful and fulfilling legal career. You are all welcome to join the Gambian Bar Association and our Secretary General will arrange a zoom meet and greet session with the GBA executive.
Salieu Taal
President
Gambia Bar Association
