By Grace Q. Bryant
The immediate past president of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA), Taiwan Gongloe, says during his administration, the Bar was an credible voice on all legal issues in the country.
Speaking at the convention in Nimba County over the weekend under the theme “Corruption a threat to peace and the rule of Law, Cllr. Gongloe maintained that the LNBA is no more a begging organization.
“Under my administration, the LNBA became self-reliant in carrying out its activities and implementing its projects,” Cllr. Gongloe noted.
He revealed that it is important to note that for the first time, the LNBA hired an external auditing firm, Mombo and Co. following competitive bidding to audit his administration.
“I have directed the Executive Director of the LNBA to release the report to members of the LNBA online, adding that these are, to borrow the words of the Late LNBA president, TC Gould, non-debatable facts,” he added.
According to him, the Constitution of the Liberian National Bar Association states that a president of the LNBA can only serve one term of office lasting three years.
He also offered praises for th strong support of the Judiciary for the license mandate of the LNBA has greatly helped my administration in getting rid of quacks, who without any form of legal education, were engaged in the illegal practice of law by paying professional license fee at the Liberian Revenue Authority (LRA) performing legal services for gullible Liberians in need of legal services.
“These charlatans who have been parading the corridors of the Temple of Justice, disappeared when we made it mandatory for every lawyer to carry an LNBA issued license,” he emphasized.
He assured that the progress in getting rid of these fake lawyers would not have been made if judges and magistrates had sustained objections made by licensed lawyers against their appearance in court with such pretenders.
“By not allowing unlicensed lawyers to practice law or dismissing cases filed has greatly strengthened the standard of law practice in Liberia,” he expressed.
He then thanked his colleagues for cooperating with his leadership in enforcing the license mandate, the number of lawyers paying dues and attending LNBA activities has greatly increased.
He reported that last year, with the cooperation between the Bench and the Bar on the license, Convention 2020 recorded the attendance of 412 lawyers; an unprecedented number of attendees in the history of the LNBA.
“That record was beaten this, because Convention 2021 has, thus far, recorded 585 lawyers, the highest number of attendees at any bar convention in the history of the LNBA,” he boosted.
Also attending the occasion were the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Francis S. Korkpor, and other members of the Bench including Justices Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie, Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuchi and Honor Yassif D. Kaba.
A marching band and traditional leaders and mask dancers were also on hand to add color to the ceremony and during the program, Cllr. Gongloe was presented a portrait by the Nimba Bar Association in honor for his numerous contributions during his service at the LNBA.
For her part, Associate Justice Wolokolie, urged those who will win the Bar election to coordinate and corporate with the Supreme Court Bench in dispensing Justice and be fair in all they do.