The learned Justice of the Court of Appeal and former Director of Legal Education, His Lordship Justice Nana Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong has admonished practicing lawyers against attacking their learned friends and a Judge sitting on a matter at the Court below when they appeal a case before an appellate court.

His Lordship Nana Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong offered this advice at a bootcamp organised by Robert Smith Law Group on the 22nd day of September, 2025 for graduates of the Ghana School of Law who are soon to be called to the Bar.

His Lordship who has decades of practice experience before joining the Bench advised that lawyers appealing a decision of a Court should make reference to the Court rather than name a Judge in submissions for an appeal. He advised that the name of Counsel in the matter should also be ommitted and rather, the party referred to in the appeal processes.

Judges as mentors

In his short but insightful sermon to the soon-to-be-Lawyers gathered in the Methodist Church Ghana Conference Office of the Wesley Towers in Accra, His Lordship said "as a lawyer your bigger mentor is the judge." He added that a great lawyer is a lawyer whose own colleagues agree generally that the lawyer is a great lawyer and not the media or journalists.

As part of his guidance to the gathered participants of the Bootcamp, Justice Yaw Oppong advised that modesty and humility should be guiding traits of a lawyer in life at the Bar.

Mastery of civil procedure

His Lordship Yaw Oppong, respected for his glowing life in litigation and text writing intimated the need for a lawyer to learn the ropes of civil procedure as a necessary element for greatness at the Bar. He said, "you cannot be a great lawyer without mastering civil procedure and cases that come with it. You can never make it."