How many lawyers does Ghana need?

Seeing people you once taught put on their wigs and gowns brings a special satisfaction. You remember their questions, their struggles, and their determination. Their achievement becomes part of your reward for teaching.

Around this time, a familiar question returns to the public space: “Are we producing too many lawyers?” It is a fair question. What is curious is how readily we offer answers without establishing the context or examining the data. Too many lawyers for which roles, in which locations, and measured against what demand?

Over two decades ago, as I prepared to enter university, my brother-in-law, Kofi Agamah, connected me with Mr Egyir Croffet at the University of Ghana’s Counselling and Placement Centre to help me decide what to study. One of the tools Mr Croffet and his colleague, Mr Wiafe, used during that process was the United States’ Occupational Outlook Handbook. Published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Handbook explains what people in different occupations do, their working conditions, the education and training typically required, median earnings, and projected employment prospects over the coming decade. It also points readers towards similar occupations.

Its value becomes clear when you consider the decisions a young person must make. What will the work actually involve? What qualifications will I need? What might I earn? What are my employment prospects? What related careers could suit my abilities?

The Handbook allows users to compare occupations by factors including education, pay, training requirements and projected employment growth. It gives students, parents, teachers and counsellors a practical basis for discussing the future.

Ghana should develop an accessible occupational outlook resource grounded in our own economy.

My view is that the Ghana Statistical Service could coordinate the statistical work, drawing on employers, educational institutions, professional bodies and relevant public agencies. An initial edition could cover a manageable selection of occupations, with coverage expanding as the evidence improves.

Each occupational profile should answer a consistent set of questions: What does the work involve? How does someone enter the occupation? What additional training or professional admission is required? Where are people employed? What do the available earnings data show? What skills are employers seeking? What can reasonably be said about future demand?

The resource should be freely accessible online, usable on a mobile phone and supported by simple career guidance materials for schools. It should carry clear publication dates, explain its sources and acknowledge gaps in the evidence. Where the data cannot support a credible employment projection, it should say so.

We could begin the legal profession’s contribution with a graduate destinations survey. The Council for Legal Education and Training, the General Legal Council, Law faculties, the Ghana School of Law, the Ghana Law Society, and the Ghana Bar Association could collaborate to establish where graduates and newly qualified lawyers go. Follow-up surveys at one, three and five years would help show how their careers develop over time.

Employers should also be surveyed. What responsibilities do they recruit legally trained people to perform? Which skills are difficult to find? What experience do they expect? Where are there opportunities for supervised entry into the profession?

Together, these findings would give us a firmer basis for discussing the number of lawyers we train and how we prepare them and where they can serve.

They would also help us explain career possibilities more honestly. A law degree may be useful in compliance, public administration, business or research, but students need to understand the requirements of those roles. Some demand professional admission; others require additional technical knowledge, qualifications or experience. Naming possible careers is only the beginning of useful guidance.

We must also examine access to legal services carefully. A community may need legal assistance while its residents cannot afford commercial fees. That unmet need does not automatically create a sustainable livelihood for a young lawyer. Evidence could help us determine where legal aid, institutional funding or other arrangements are necessary.

For law schools, the findings could inform electives, internships, practical training and employer partnerships. For students, they could guide choices about specialisation and further study. For policymakers, they could reveal gaps between education, employment and public need.

The benefits would extend well beyond law. Families investing in agriculture, engineering, nursing, teaching, the creative arts and technical training deserve the same quality of information.

Our task would be to build a resource that reflects Ghana’s circumstances, including the realities of self-employment and informal work. Such a resource would offer guidance, not guarantees. Employment projections remain estimates, and a growing occupation does not assure every applicant a job, but young people would have a stronger basis for making decisions that carry substantial personal and financial consequences.

Career counselling should then become a continuing part of education. Students should encounter this information before choosing a programme and revisit it as their interests, abilities and experience develop.

Massive congratulations to my former students. Your call to the Bar is an achievement worth celebrating.