Private Law firm, Legal Ink Lawyers & Notaries has come under sharp criticisms over the suspension of two aspiring lawyers for getting pregnant.
Pro-democracy group, FiftyPercent PlusOne has described the action of the law firm as “primitive and a practice that should not be countenanced in modern Ghana.”
The group in a statement Wednesday said: “discrimination against women in whichever form or shape should not be encouraged in this new Century.”
Legal Ink Lawyers & Notaries canceled the one-year pupillage of the two law students after they became pregnant.
It is a requirement for graduates of the Ghana School of Law to undergo a one-year pupillage with a law firm before being called to the Bar.
The private law firm said its decision is consistent with the firm’s established rules and regulations and saw nothing wrong with it.
But FiftyPercent PlusOne said the very decision taken by the law firm is inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution that all Ghanaians, including lawyers are bound to uphold.
“The shocking action of Legal Ink Lawyers & Notaries amounts to a clear violation of the 1992 Constitution which all lawyers by their oath must uphold at all times,” the statement read.
The group is calling on the General Legal Council, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General, Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and other highly recognised institutions in Ghana rally against the action of the law firm.
“The General Legal Council and the Ghana Bar Association (GBC) in particular, need to take a closer look at practices in some law firms across the country in order to purge themselves of recalcitrant,” FiftyPercent PlusOne said.