This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you consent to our use of cookies. Close

Africa Legal

Africa Legal

  • NEWS
  • JOBS
  • COURSES
  • CLIENTS
    • Sign in
    • Sign up
  • NEWS
  • COURSES
  • JOBS
    • Sign In
    • Sign Up
  • News
  • Courses
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Business A-Z
  • Post a job
  • Contact Us
  • Clients
CLIENT SIGN IN
Country
  • Uganda
  • South Africa
  • Kenya
  • Nigeria
  • Cameroon
  • United Kingdom
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Ghana
  • Tanzania
  • Zambia
  • Botswana
  • Morocco
  • Zimbabwe
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Sudan
  • Rwanda
  • Ethiopia
  • Angola
  • Egypt
  • Togo
  • Mali
  • South Sudan
  • Swaziland
  • Senegal
  • Malawi
  • France
  • Guinea
  • Middle East
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Gambia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Germany
Category
  • Profiles
  • Analysis & Opinion
  • Career advice
  • In-house
  • Latest news
  • Press releases
  • Africa Legal Blog
  • Women in Law
  • Innovation
  • Human Rights
Practice area
  • Agriculture
  • Arbitration
  • Aviation
  • Banking and Finance
  • Capital markets
  • Charties and pro bono
  • Company commercial
  • Competition and antitrust
  • Construction and engineering
  • Consumer products
  • Conveyancing
  • Corporate finance and M&A
  • Criminal
  • Education
  • Employment and benefits
  • Energy and natural resources
  • Environmental
  • Financial services
  • Fraud & white collar crime
  • Funds
  • Governance | risk and compliance
  • Government and public sector
  • Health and safety
  • Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
  • Insurance/Reinsurance
  • Intellectual Property
  • Litigation and dispute resolution
  • Logistics and transportation
  • Manufacturing and Industrial
  • Pensions
  • Personal Injury
  • Private client and family
  • Private equity
  • Professional indemnity
  • Professional support/knowledge management
  • Projects and infrastructure
  • Real estate
  • Regulatory
  • Restructuring | insolvency and debt recovery
  • Shipping and maritime
  • Taxation
  • Technology media and telecoms
  • Travel and tourism
close

Registration

Registered Successfully!!!. We have sent you a confirmation email to your email address.
close


View My Saved News


close You must login to save your news
  • LOGIN
  • NEW USER

Login to your account

Forgotten your password?
or

Create an Account

close


View My Saved News


« Back

Law curricula must adjust to international demands

International legal experts have urged African lawyers to enhance their practices – and law curricula – to adapt to changing legal market demands, writes Paul Ogemba.

May 02, 2023
Paul Ogemba
Share

The experts made the call during a recent webinar organised by the International Bar Association (IBA). Themed “Drivers of change in the legal profession and legal education – Africa focus”, the panel discussion focussed on the reports of the Future of Legal Services Commission: (i) Drivers of change in the legal profession and (ii) Blueprint for global legal education and explored issues affecting lawyers in Africa and ways to make the profession more competitive.

Fernando Pelaez-Pier, a member of the IBA and chair of the Future of Legal Services Commission, disclosed that recent findings in the Blueprint for Global Legal Education report showed two main factors affecting the legal ecosystem in Africa.

“One is about empowerment of the client and the second is about evolution of professionalism through development of technology and artificial intelligence. The competition within the legal ecosystem means that lawyers need to leave the comfort zone they are used to,” said Pelaez-Pier.

Regarding ways in which the internationalisation of legal practice is seen in Africa, Professor Ernest Kofi Abotsi, Dean of Law at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, stated that African lawyers must respond to emerging legal markets and legal education to remain afloat

Abotsi highlighted that global legal firms dominate the legal field, especially in international arbitration where they remain the first choice of call. 

“What we need is to remodel our law curriculum to respond to international demands. We must improve the pedagogical skills and have critical engagement of law students to internationalise legal services in Africa,” he said.

Technology is another challenge the panellists identified as a factor affecting legal practice on the continent, especially when it comes to cost, reliability and data security.

Franklina Gesila Adanu, General Consul at the Africa Arbitration Association in Ghana, said the emergence of digital technology has changed law practice in Africa in the post Covid-19 era.

“Many law firms have had to invest heavily in sophisticated technology which has improved legal practice on the continent when it comes to strategy, time management, tracking of cases, electronic filing of cases and communication with clients,” said Adanu.

She added that many African countries have already adopted e-filing of cases, with the technology extending to law schools and having become part of the teaching curriculum.

The panellists further discussed the skills required by young lawyers to be competitive in the profession, with Caliis Badoo, Chief Manager of the Legal & Enforcement Department of the Securities & Exchange Commission, Ghana, identifying five key skills that define a good lawyer. These, he said, are: good management skills, research skills, technological skills, time management skills and emotional intelligence skills.

“The reality is that law responds to market demands. Africa’s lawyers have to respond to the emerging demands and, since law is a money trade, they have to adapt to market demands,” he said.

Professor Elsabe Schoeman, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria, stated that law schools must provide students with practical skills which can help them solve questions relating to legal practice.

Soledad Ateinza Becerril, Co-Chair of the Future of Legal Services Commission, who moderated the session, concluded that more should be done in Africa in terms of adopting technology, regulating legal education to become more inventive, and checking on the mental and physical health of lawyers in Africa.

 

To join Africa Legal's mailing list please click here

Copyright : Re-publication of this article is authorised only in the following circumstances; the writer and Africa Legal are both recognised as the author and the website address www.africa-legal.com and original article link are back linked. A bio for the writer can be provided on request.

RELATED CATEGORY NEWS

Grow your cultural competence to prosper Read more
Career growth through enriched course Read more
A world of alternative options Read more

RELATED COUNTRY NEWS

New Africa heads for Clifford Chance Read more
Boundless possibilities for Namibian f Read more
Analysing Africa’s Top 50 Read more
Africa Legal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy and cookies policy
Members
  • Find a job
  • Take a course
  • Read news
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cancellations and refunds
Clients
  • Terms and conditions
  • Post a job
  • Host a course
  • Advertise
  • Share news
Connect with us
© Copyright 2023 | Africa Legal. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy