LAWYERS, THE 1960s LAWS AND THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

The legal profession in Ghana is regulated by 1960 and 1969 rules whose application against a popular human rights lawyer have got tongues wagging. My intention here is to introduce you to a couple of these rules without commentary. The licences for the operation of law firms are subject to renewal each year just as each lawyer is required to obtain a licence each year to be able to practice. People and compers took up those cases when they didn’t have a licence to practice for the particular year.

Some lawyers are getting suspended and others getting barred from practising for the rest of their lives. These are the two classes of sanctions the 1960 law prescribes for lawyers found guilty of professional misconduct by a disciplinary panel of mostly very senior judges and lawyers. Section 16 of the LEGAL PROFESSION ACT, 1960 ACT 32 says “[a] lawyer who is found guilty of grave misconduct in a professional respect, including a conduct which, in pursuance of the Rules is treated as grave misconduct in a professional respect, is liable (a) to have the name of that lawyer struck off the Roll of Lawyers, or (b) to be prohibited from practising as a lawyer for a period specified in the order of suspension.”

The Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council has the powers of the High Court for limited purposes especially to summon witnesses, or subpoena witnesses and compel the production of documents. In fact, a lawyer appearing before it could end up paying a fine or having to serve up to a year in jail for conduct including willfully disrupting the inquiry or insulting a member of the panel or refusing without reasonable excuse to answer questions or produce documents.

Check what a lawyer faces if he/she got into trouble and were prosecuted for certain criminal offences – Section 16A provides that “[t]he Council may direct the Judicial Secretary to strike off the Roll of Lawyers, without holding a disciplinary enquiry, the name of a lawyer who is convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, and the Judicial Secretary shall comply with the directive.”

If you are aggrieved by their decision, you may get a review leading to a withdrawal of a prohibition handed you or you may appeal to the Court of Appeal and even up to the Supreme Court.

The 1969 rule – the LEGAL PROFESSION (PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETIQUETTE) RULES, 1969 (LI 613) prohibits advertising and publicity. It says “[a] lawyer shall not directly or indirectly apply for or seek instructions for professional business, or do or permit in the carrying on of his practice any act or thing which can reasonably be regarded as touting or advertising or as calculated to attract business unfairly.” It continues that [a] lawyer shall not volunteer advice to bring a lawsuit except in the exceptional cases where ties of blood relationship or trust make it his duty to do so.

Accordingly, a practising lawyer shall not employ agents or runners for the purposes of instigating litigation or pay or reward directly or indirectly those who bring or influence the bringing of such case to his chambers or remunerate Policemen, Court or Prison officials, hospital attaches or others who may succeed under the guise of giving disinterested friendly advice in influencing the criminal, the sick and the injured, the ignorant or others to seek a lawyer’s professional services. Every lawyer having knowledge of any such practices on the part of another lawyer owes a duty to the public and to the profession immediately to inform thereof to the end that the offender may be disbarred or otherwise dealt with by the appropriate authority.”

The GHANA BAR ASSOCIATION CODE OF ETHICS also echoes some of these rules by providing that “[a] lawyer commits misconduct if - (a) he does or causes or allows to be done anything with the primary motive of personal advertisement or anything calculated to suggest that it is so motivated; or (b) he publishes, circulates or knowingly permits to be published or circulated anything in the nature of an advertisement of his or his firm’s services otherwise than in a legal directory, legal journal or other legal publication.” The rule however “does not prevent the use of simple visiting cards stating the name, address, and academic or other lawful qualifications of a lawyer.” On publicity, it says “[a] practicing lawyer commits misconduct if he gives any interview to a representative of the press on any matter on which he is or has been engaged as counsel.”

It is important to stress that these regulations impose a four-fold duty on lawyers – duty to the profession, duty to the courts, duty to the client and duty to the public. And here is a bonus provision from the 1969 rule: “A lawyer is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services, but he shall avoid charges which either overestimate or undervalue the service rendered. When possible he shall adhere to established tariffs. The client’s ability to pay cannot justify a charge in excess of the value of the service, though his poverty may require a less charge or even none at all.”

Dear GBA, the crusade to amend these rules certainly must move beyond the longstanding talk about the need to do so. The proposals the GBA made and which were adopted by GLC in 2013 should immediately guide an extensive review of the rules. A critical portion of these guidelines permitting lawyers and law firms to create websites is reproduced below.

1. An intended internet profile, must include the following:

a. The full name of the legal firm or lawyer.

b. The location address and postal address.

c. The particulars of telephone contacts.

d. The email address

e. The passport pictures of the partners, associates and juniors.

f. The history of the firm.

g. The profile and areas of practice of the firm and or individual members of the firm.

2. The firm or lawyer may subject to the approval of their clients list the names of former and current clients in the profile.

3. Firms and lawyers cannot add phrases, adjectives and description such as “best”, “expert” among other such phrases,

4. Firms cannot add statements which are inaccurate or likely to mislead, diminish public confidence in the legal profession, the administration of justice or otherwise bring the legal profession into disrepute.

5. Firms cannot criticize other legal firms or lawyers.

6. Firms cannot put out statements about their success rate.

7. Firms cannot put statements which are obtrusive as to cause annoyance to those to whom it is directed.

8. A portal will be opened at the GBA website for firms who want to put in their profile at a discounted rate to do so through the GBA. Individual firms will also be permitted to create their own websites.

9. The breach of these guidelines to internet profiles would amount to misconduct.