127 trainee lawyers from the Legal Training Institute got admitted to the bar on Friday to practice law in the country.

Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika who was present to hear the admittance of 29 trainee lawyers in court room 1 of the Waigani National Court House congratulated each and every one of those present.

“On behalf of the court, I congratulate you on being admitted as lawyers of the Supreme and National Court, you are now lawyers and from the moment you walk out you are a lawyer and for that you must take pride in the fact that each of you after years of study, sweat and tears have finally joined the ranks of the Papua New Guinea legal community,
Before you step outside the door and get yourselves into your aspiring careers, you should remember that although you are admitted today, your admission today is a culmination of years of your personal efforts, you would not be here today but for the people around you
so do not ever forget that.”

Sir Gibbs told the newly admitted lawyers to consider themselves like athletes in a race, “athletes train very hard, the hardest race to run are the sprints.

The 100m is the hardest race to run and you must prepare yourself very well to run thoseraces, mentally physically, as well as your entire body you must brace yourself for those nine or ten seconds.

For that very short period but you are spending hours and hours trying to get yourself ready for that race.”

“The elite athletes have been devoting their time to do that after devoting your time to your studies and culminating up to today, you’ve done all those things today and now is another race which you are starting today again and another race that you have to prepare for again, I don’t know if this will be the hardest race or the harder races you have already ran.”

He added that each education level was a hurdle that they had to overcome, the last being the Legal Training Institute, “now here as a lawyer you have to train yourself as well and condition yourself so that you continue to be a fit and proper person in the practice of the law, I hope you take the same attitude that you’ve had in trying to get yourself across those hurdles those that you have undergone already.”

Sir Gibbs shared that in athletics, athletes get local and sometimes international recognition however the same can’t be said for the practice of law, “in athletics you either get a gold, bronze or silver medal, the fact of being a participant today is a very highly competitive sport is in itself.

“In the practice of the law though unlike athletics, you are not going to receive any gold medal, or silver or bronze, you will probably will not receive international recognition like athletes do, those who become world class sprinters, like Usain Bolt.

Well, you will not get recognition like that with the practice of the law in PNG, but you could get recognition as a top legal practitioner in PNG by your peers and the courts and the people around you so strive for those,” Sir Gibbs challenged the new lawyers.