It’s been a long while, hasn’t it, people! Happy New Year to you all!!
Well, the State has returned, and it’s time for some good storytelling. This year, we’re starting off with one story which is of a different caliber.
So, 17th December 2020 will forever be one of the best days of my life, as after 6 years of hard work, I finally became a lawyer!
Yes, people, your dear writer is a certified legal practitioner now. All praise and glory to God.
I certainly had the intention to tell my story of how I finally got called to the Bar, but I was initially gonna do it in article form. Then on the day after the enrolment ceremony, an idea came into my head. And that idea is what you have right now.
So get yourself comfy and join the Dolphyne kids (yes, they’re back!) as you get to know just how the boss of Dabar made his way to the Bar.
Of course, the pun was totally worth it. I had to, didn’t I? Haha!
“So guys, it’s a great honour to share my story with y’all. It’s been six years, chale. Six years of hoping and praying I’ll find myself where I finally am today. So many highs and lows in the story, but ultimately, it’s ended in praise. Not in tears!”
“Awesome!”
“We thank God ooo!”
“God is good!”
“Congratulations!”
The Dolphyne offspring erupted with cheers as I sat before them in the living room of their house, a big smile on my face. It definitely feels good to finally be in that position as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Dreams definitely come true.
“It’s really been quite a journey. Well done once again! Great to see it’s finally paid off. So, it all started in 2014, right?” Toby asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. 2014 is when it all began. But there’s a… for lack of a better word, lemme say prologue, to it. So technically, I made up my mind to study law in the year of 2013. At that point, I was doing my national service at Ghana Institute of Languages. The little problem for me was that, I was looking at Legon only. And on top of that, I actually decided on going there too late. I think it was around the end of February or so. So by the time I had made the decision, the deadline for applications had passed. So I decided I’d try next year.”
“Interesting. So what happened after that?” Diamond asks.
“Oh, I finished the national service, then my dad secured a job for me at an insurance company. Ghana Union Assurance. I started that one in September.”
“And how did that go? Was it interesting?” Anasah asks.
I shrug. “Eeh. It was okay. The money I was getting was pretty good, to be honest. As for that place, I’m not gonna lie, they pay pretty well. But… chale, after a while, I started to see that the insurance thing just wasn’t for me. Somewhere in 2014, it really began to sink that insurance industry really wasn’t where I want to spend the rest of my life. So that’s where the desire for the law began to grow.”
“Anyways, so as 2014 came about, this time around, I wasn’t going to slack. I bought the application forms, did all the necessary stuff, then submitted them before the deadline passed. So before February ended, I was done. It was back to the work. Then somewhere in late April or so, I got a text from them, confirming my selection for the entrance exam. Chale, the way I was happy, eh! The door to getting out was closer than I expected.”
Serwaah looked thoughtful. “Ummm, so at that point, was it like… you just wanted to get into law to escape from the insurance place? Was it that bad?”
I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, insurance isn’t the worst thing in the world, and I’d be the last person to slag off the profession, given how my dad is a big man there and all. But chale, I remember seeing one of the senior workers at his desk one morning, and I immediately felt like naaaaa, this is not how I want to be spending the rest of my life. So… even though I really wanted to get outta there and that sorta pushed me… nah. I was already interested in it. And my lack of enthusiasm for where I was just heightened it.”
“So the entrance exam day came around. A nice Saturday afternoon bi like that. I honestly can’t remember what the questions were, but chale, I struggled small.”
“Were they related to legal things?” Anasah asked.
I shook my head. “Nahh, some current affairs kinda questions ooo. I remember signing up for some class bi, where they spoke about some different issues altogether. Chale, cool swerve kraa. If I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted my time mpo.”
“Oh chale! Those things can pain roff!” Oscar sympathized.
“Serious oo! The most annoying thing is how an announcement from the school asked us to disregard those classes. If only I had followed that advice… so yeah, I did the little I could do and just hoped for the best. But chale, when the list for the interview came out a few months later, my name was nowhere to be found. I was really disappointed.”
“Hmmm, I can imagine. The way Maa speaks so highly of the Legon faculty is not a joke,” Diamond said. “She always brags that the killer lawyers all came from there.”
I snickered. “I’m sure she gets into trouble with those from Tech. They too, them dey oo!”
“Hahaha! They are the ones who receive the brunt of her trolling mpo! So, was Zenith your straightforward choice?” Diamond asked. “Or you had other options?”
“I had options. If I can remember correctly, it was between Zenith, Lancaster and Wisconsin. The truth is, I wanted Lancaster. But the fees! Herh! Mad tings oo! And initially, I wanted to force my way, but chale, my dad can’t be pushed around by me like that.”
“Huh. Just like Mr. Daniel Kwadwo Dolphyne,” Toby murmured. “You do not dare try that on him.”
“I know right!” Diamond and Serwaah agreed.
I smiled. “Chale, our old men diɛɛ, saa. But it was good. I couldn’t be unreasonable and force him to pay huge fees like that. So yeah, it was dropped. As for the Wisconsin one, I don’t exactly remember what it was, but that one too was dropped. So we went for Zenith, which as we know, was actually a University of London course. So we bought the forms, paid the fees, all that stuff… then chale, somewhere around September, the acceptance of my application was received, I got the details to the student portal, all those necessary things. And that was it.”
“So it all truly started in September 2014?” Toby asked.
“Yep. That’s when it all started. September 2014 marked the beginning of my journey to the Bar.”