If ever there was a time when events and symbolism became compellingly intertwined, August 1 is that day for lawyers in Ghana. As we set down the weighty tomes and silence the courtrooms for legal vacation, fate or perhaps providence aligns our respite with the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the lawyer-turned-saint whose story quietly reverberates through legal corridors far beyond Naples. The synchronicity is not lost. Here, at this unique intersection, we reflect on why his life matters now more than ever for Ghana’s legal fraternity.
Saint Alphonsus, as established, was a man who strove for justice and compassion his contributions transcending the letter of the law and touching the very heart of its spirit. His legacy, couched in notions of moral balance, mercy, and humility, finds unwavering relevance in our legal system. It is not exaggeration to say that the values he advocated echo robustly through the corridors of Ghanaian law, and nowhere is this resonance clearer than when we peep into our own case law and jurisprudence.
Alphonsus: The Original Scholar-Advocate
Naples, 1696: the air was thick not only with the aroma of salted sea but with possibility. Into this world, Alphonsus Maria de Liguori arrived a child swaddled in privilege, but also in expectation. His father, a nobleman, nursed dreams of greatness for the boy, and Alphonsus did not disappoint. From an early age, he sparkled with a distinct kind of brilliance that, let’s be honest, would make even the keenest Ghanaian legal prodigy tilt their wig in respect.2
By sixteen a tender age when many are still fumbling with adolescence Alphonsus had already secured his doctorate in civil and canon law. Imagine that! Books that would make others cower became stepping stones for him, and the legal world beckoned. He could have stopped there, sunk gratefully into the comfortable chair of Neapolitan legal practice, and let the world’s compliments drift his way like confetti. But life, mischievous and unpredictable as ever, had other plans.
Picture the scene: years of success, and then, out of nowhere, a loss in court. One ill-fated case, a miscalculation perhaps, or simply the cruel hand of fate; whatever the detail, the outcome was shattering. For Alphonsus, that courtroom defeat was more than a dent in his professional record it was a seismic jolt, one that rattled him right down to the foundations of his calling3. He famously walked out, burdened by defeat and muttering words that have echoed through the centuries: “World, I know you now!” Bit melodramatic, perhaps, but in the aftermath, he found a wisdom that thousands of victorious moments could never have taught.
That pivotal moment did not break him it opened him. Wrestling with humiliation and defeat, Alphonsus heard what he later described as a deeper call; a kind of summons that bypassed the ordinary ambitions of a legal career. He pivoted, astonishingly, towards the priesthood a move that must have raised eyebrows from Naples to the Vatican. Yet, for Alphonsus, the transition was no mere career switch; it was a seismic reordering of priorities, a move from the legal bench to the altar, from the pursuit of temporal justice to the more inscrutable pursuit of the soul’s good3.
So, what does this mean for Ghanaian lawyers, particularly now as August 1 ushers in legal vacation? Frankly, quite a lot. In Alphonsus’s journey, a lesson glimmers—a warning against letting legal work become an end in itself, a sterile exercise concerned more with status or technical victory than with service or self-awareness. Yes, he showed us that law is a noble calling, worthy of sweat and midnight oil, yet nobility strains and cracks when it isn’t leavened with humility.
For Alphonsus, the legal profession was not a sign-out but a sign-in a first step on a staircase that led deeper, to richer worlds of reflection and compassion. Stepping away from briefs and judgments wasn’t an escape from responsibility; rather, it opened space for something higher, more enduring. Like him, perhaps, today’s Ghanaian barristers and solicitors might use this respite not merely as a vacation but as a time to recalibrate, to ask themselves uncomfortable questions: What is this career for? Whom does it serve? Does my pursuit of justice include mercy? Am I, in fact, as humble as I am skilled?
No one is saying you need to trade in your legal robes for a cassock; that’s a leap few are called to make. Yet Alphonsus’s example suggests that the true heft of legal work lies not only in sharp argument or legal erudition, but also in a willingness to be changed to let loss, or even failure, open up interior rooms previously unvisited.
Legal vacation, then, becomes more than just a seasonal pause. It is, if we allow it, the quiet entryway to deeper vocation. In the silence left behind when the last file is closed, there’s room for the uncomfortable, beautiful business of self-scrutiny a tradition as old as Alphonsus and as pressing as tomorrow’s docket.
Let the pause become, as it did for Alphonsus, the birthplace of something altogether transcendent humility, renewed conscience, and a wiser, more compassionate advocate for justice.
Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibilities
Ghana’s bar is not a mere collection of legal technicians. The ethical fibre of our profession has, time and again, been woven by guiding decisions emphasizing duty to client and court alike. Cases such as Fodwoo v. Law Chambers remind us that lawyers are answerable for negligence, not just in codes but in courts1. Others, such as Watalah v. Ghana Primewood Products Ltd, emphasize the sanctity of decorum courtesy not just to the Bench but to opposing counsel and witnesses. The echoes here harken to Alphonsus’s own warnings against the rigid or mercenary application of law, urging us instead to let humility guide our advocacy and respect be our anchor2.
Agbemashior v. SIC establishes that a solicitor’s influence should never be abused; honest dealings, skill, and care remain immutable duties3. Reforms in legal education and conduct, as emphasized in judicial pronouncements and Bar Association ethics, harden this message law is a vocation whose demands go deeper than black-letter prowess4.
Mercy and Discretion: Law as an Instrument of Justice
Alphonsus was famously wary of both excessive severity and laxity an equilibrium many Ghanaian rulings have sought to maintain. Consider the Supreme Court’s authoritative stance on the prerogative of mercy under Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution, which found voice in the suit of Elikplim Agbemava v. Attorney-General.5 Here, the court grappled with the president’s authority to remit sentences, holding that discretion must be exercised judiciously, transparently, and in the public interest not as caprice, but as an act of grace within structured bounds. The parallels with Alphonsus’s doctrine balancing law’s firmness with the gentle hand of mercy are uncanny.
Humility and Social Justice in Legal Practice
The Bench and Bar persistently sound the clarion call for humility. Just recently, Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie urged new lawyers to resist the commercialization of justice and instead embrace integrity, modesty, and lifelong learning, echoing Alphonsus’s lesson that true greatness lies in service, not status6. This is not mere rhetoric. Judicial admonitions in Ghana such as in Ayarna v. Agyemang, where overcharging and procedural shortcuts were rebuffed remind us that humility is more than a virtue; it is a professional imperative7.
The judiciary also celebrates barrier breakers, as shown in the story of Juventus Duorinaah, Ghana’s first deaf lawyer a living testament to the spirit of humility and determination that Alphonsus embodied. His journey, marked by perseverance and vulnerability, is a clarion call for inclusion and the breaking of professional silos8.
Legal Fees and the Discipline of Restraint
Saint Alphonsus advocated for restraint and due process in all spheres lessons not lost in our statutes and precedent. Section 30(1) of the Legal Profession Act requires that lawyers serve clients with a bill of fees one month before commencing legal action for recovery, a statutory measure against overreach, reaffirmed in T. T. Nartey v. Godwin Gati. The courts have been unyielding: non-compliance renders legal action a nullity9. Once again, the spirit is to remind us: justice is as much about the means as the ends.
In This Moment—A Call to Reflection
The convergence of legal vacation and Alphonsus’s Memorial is not an invitation to mere rest rather, it is a challenge to infuse our break with introspection. To look beyond metric achievements and into character. To bind duty with mercy, ambition with humility, and advocacy with service.
As Ghanaian lawyers, let us rekindle our highest ideals this August: to be “lion-like” in our pursuit of justice, yet “lamb-like” in our dealings with clients, adversaries, and the poor in spirit. For in that delicate balance, Alphonsus assures us and the law confirms we find not only professional excellence, but a justice that serves the whole person.
Footnotes
2. J.F. Kent, ‘The Life of Alphonsus Liguori’ in Catholic Historical Review (1937) 23(4) 315–335.
3. D.S. MacDonald, ‘Saint Alphonsus and Moral Theology’ (2010) Theological Studies 71(3), 523–540.
1. Fodwoo v. Law Chambers GLR 363 (A lawyer is liable in damages for negligent conduct of client’s case).
2. Watalah v. Ghana Primewood Products Ltd 2 GLR 126 (Emphasizing courtesy and professionalism); P. Baffoe-Bonnie, “Don’t Commercialize Justice,” The Chronicle, 9 May 2025.
3. Agbemashior v. SIC 2 GLR 65 (Uberrima fides and solicitors’ duties).
4. Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, “Law school can’t be free for all—ethical lapses must be tackled,” BusinessGhana, 28 July 2025.
5. Elikplim Agbemava v. Attorney-General GHASC 52 (Interpretation of the president’s prerogative of mercy under Article 72).
6. P. Baffoe-Bonnie, “Don’t Commercialize Justice,” The Chronicle, 9 May 2025; J. Duorinaah, “Special Feature: Ghana’s First Deaf Lawyer,” University of Ghana News, 18 Nov 2024.
7. Ayarna v. Agyemang 1 GLR 306 (On legal fees and integrity).
8. J. Duorinaah, “Special Feature: Ghana’s First Deaf Lawyer,” University of Ghana News, 18 Nov 2024.
9. T. T. Nartey v. Godwin Gati (Application of Section 30(1), Legal Profession Act 1960 (Act 32)); see also JUDGMENT, GHASC 2016/13, 21 April 2016 (on strict statutory compliance and discipline).
Let this season be not only about stepping away from our chambers but rising, like Alphonsus, renewed in the nobility of our calling.