Why we insist on court attachment for student lawyers, by don

As part of efforts to deepen knowledge and practice of law in the country, the Godfrey Okoye University has incorporated in its curriculum, compulsory court attachment for its students from 100 to 500 level.

Each student of law in the school is also expected to be attached to a chamber of choice in the course of learning.

The dean, faculty of law of the university, Prof Gozie Ogbodo who dropped the hint in Enugu said the quality of law graduates being churned out by institutions in the country was worrisome, stressing that the time is ripe to change the narrative.

The law teacher who led students of the faculty to the country home of the state chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Ben Nwoye described the legal profession as a noble field that shapes practitioners and refocuses the society.

He identified the inability of lawyers to attend court sittings, indiscipline, greed, and pursuit of money as some of the challenges bedeviling law practice, pointing out that to curb the trend, universities must focus on excellence in practice.

Ogbodo, said institutions that train law students must double their efforts in view of changing circumstances, adding that the practice had changed.

Nwoye, who is also a human rights lawyer, also expressed worry over the poor quality of graduate lawyers being churned out by Nigerian universities, blaming the development on parents and guardians who forced their wards to choose courses.

He lamented that the legal field has continued to experience serious decline in standard due to the fact that most practitioners only ventured into the profession by accident.

He said parents should allow their children to choose courses of their choice, insisting that it was the only way they could excel in their various fields of endeavour.

“We have to give back to society, we have to encourage our students because you see today, we have so many lawyers but the truth is that we have very few good ones.

“Lawyers shape the society, you can’t have a better Nigeria without a better legal system so we have to catch them young and talk to them about their responsibilities”.