HOW SIERRA LEONE CAN STRENGTHEN LEGAL EDUCATION BY BALANCING ACADEMIC LEARNING, PRACTICAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY.
A Reflective Piece by Mohamed Muctarr Sow Esq., Legal Practitioner and Public Policy Scholar.
INTRODUCTION: A PROFESSION WE MUST PROTECT
Despite the challenges facing the legal profession today, it has long been regarded as one of Sierra Leone's important and respected professions. Lawyers are entrusted with protecting rights, advising clients, interpreting the law, representing individuals, and supporting the administration of justice. When people face criminal charges, family disputes, property-related problems, or other legal difficulties, they turn to lawyers for knowledge, guidance, and professional judgment. This responsibility begins long before a lawyer enters the courtroom. It starts in the classroom, where aspiring lawyers develop the knowledge, skills, and values that will shape their professional lives.
The Sierra Leone Law School was established on 23 February 1990, following the enactment of the Council of Legal Education Act No. 1 of 1989. It began with 26 students drawn from the 1987, 1988, and 1989 graduating classes of the Faculty of Law, Fourah Bay College. These students became known as the pioneering class.
In recent years, legal education in Sierra Leone has expanded beyond the traditional role of the Law Faculty at Fourah Bay College. More universities, including Njala University, the IMATT College, and the University of Makeni, have introduced law courses, alongside the University of London’s online law programme. This expansion has created greater opportunities for students to pursue legal education within and outside the country.
While this growth is a positive development in terms of access to legal education, it has also resulted in an increasing number of law graduates seeking professional legal training at the Sierra Leone Law School before they can be called to the Bar. This raises important questions about whether the existing capacity of the Law School, its teaching methods, practical training arrangements, and professional standards are sufficiently equipped to respond to the growing number of students entering the legal profession.
Who should train the lawyers of tomorrow, and what experience should they bring into the classroom? This is the central question of my reflection. It is not an attack on young lawyers, universities, or individual lecturers. Rather, it is a call for a more thoughtful approach to legal education.