'You hear some people are called to the Bar and you wonder' — Thaddeus Sory questions Ghana’s legal education system
Private legal practitioner and law lecturer, Thaddeus Sory, has questioned the transparency and fairness of Ghana’s current legal education system, describing the admission and qualification processes at the Ghana School of Law as opaque and inconsistent.
Speaking in an interview with Joy TV on October 20, 2025, Mr. Sory alleged that some individuals are being called to the Bar even though they did not meet the mandatory attendance and participation requirements of the Ghana School of Law.
“You suddenly hear that someone has been called to the Bar, and you wonder when that person actually went through law school,” he said. “Some of these people have work schedules that make it practically impossible to attend classes regularly. Yet, they still end up being called to the Bar. How does that happen?”
Mr. Sory argued that such irregularities undermine the credibility of Ghana’s legal education system and erode public confidence in the process of becoming a lawyer.
To address these issues, he proposed the introduction of a single, national bar examination that would serve as the sole determinant of who qualifies to practice law in Ghana.
“The Ghana School of Law can continue to train lawyers, but instead of relying on separate entrance exams and interviews, all law graduates from accredited universities should sit for one national bar exam,” he suggested. “That system would be fairer and more transparent.”
He added that the introduction of a national bar exam would also relieve the General Legal Council (GLC) of unnecessary administrative burdens, allowing it to focus on its primary role as a regulatory body.
“The GLC has a lot of responsibilities, and they should concentrate on regulation, not managing the entire education process,” Mr. Sory emphasized.