While we continue to engage the persons clothed with power within the legal establishment and the executive to do right by the 499 LLB students who have unjustifiably been denied admission, it's also appropriate we congratulate the hundreds who made it into the Ghana School of Law ('GSL') for the practice course beginning this 2021/2022 academic year.
Here are some practical tips on how to sail through Part 1 of the practice course. These tips/strategies—some of which I learned from my seniors—worked for me. It's my hope current Part 1 students would find them useful as well.
1. Give all courses ample study time. Law of Evidence is as important as Civil Procedure; Company and Commercial Practice is as important as ADR and Criminal Procedure. Law Practice Management (LPM) and Legal Accountancy are equally important. Avoid spending too much time on one and neglecting another. The School's repeat policy (you fail 3 or more, you repeat the entire course) is unprogressive. But until it's abolished, please avoid being caught in the web. Do not rob Peter to pay Paul.
2. Start drafting as early as you can. You'd find lots of drafting in civil procedure and criminal procedure. You'd find a few in company and commercial practice, and ADR. Best to start rehearsing them early so you can remember all essential features of relevant processes. If you wait and cram just a few days ahead of the exam, you'd be hot and it may not end well for you. Practise at least one draft a day (I wish I did!). Take tutorials seriously. I cannot emphasise this enough.
3. There's a saying in the legal fraternity that a good lawyer is one who knows his civil procedure and evidence. This statement is largely true. How well you know both would impact your future practice. Read the rules as well as you read your cases. Think of the rules as bones and the cases, the flesh. The cases would deepen your understanding of the rules. They would shape your thinking and help you critique the rules as you go along. For civil procedure, you'd have to memorise the rules at some point. Develop a mental map of the rules from commencement to execution. It will serve you well. Develop flashcards where necessary. Take turns in your study group to test one another on the rules.
4. Seek help early. Don't be shy to ask for help. Don't feel too big to ask for advice. If you fail to ask for help in a course you're struggling with, you may end up struggling in the exam. Ask for help. Legal accountancy is usually a challenge for neophytes. But it's doable. You'd definitely have colleagues in your class who are quite familiar with accounting. Worry them. Ask questions. Try your hands on tutorial/past questions and have them scrutinise them. If you need an extra class, go for it. Attend Senior Kwadwo Gyan's Civil Procedure tutorial (usually online). I found it very helpful. I hope you would too. Don't wait and panic at the exam hall. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
5. You'd have a lot to read for Law of Evidence; cases, text books and the Evidence Act. It's not a difficult course. However, what makes it challenging is the need to assemble ALL the relevant laws in a given question and APPLY them as required. Here's where the tutorial would be most helpful. After taking notes at a tutorial, spend time and read extensively on the given topic (applicable constitutional and statutory provisions, cases, etc.) and SCRIPT YOUR ANSWER to the given question. Do so for every tutorial question discussed. Ask your tutor or any senior to look over your draft scripts for you. If you're able to do this religiously, you'll be alright.
6. Join a workable discussion group (a group of 4/5 members is ideal). Iron sharpeneth iron. You'll find the peer review of your answers to tutorial/past questions useful. It might also be useful to compare notes with your contemporaries from other GSL campuses.
Best wishes.
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