LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

WHAT LAWYERS DO – CHAPTER 2

To understand the scope of work of lawyers, it is necessary to go through some basic
terminology.
1. TERMINOLOGY
1.1 Barrister – In some jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, these are lawyers who
appear in court to argue cases for their clients. Their work includes, research,
preparing pleadings, giving professional opinions on the law. A lawyer in Ghana is
able to practice as a barrister and/or solicitor.
1.2 Solicitor – In the UK for instance, solicitors prepare conveyances, draft wills and
other legal documents. They also instruct barristers to act for clients as advocates in
judicial proceedings and in some instances, appear before lower courts. The strict
distinctions between the roles of solicitors and barristers do not exist in Ghana.
1.3 Counsel – A lawyer responsible for the conduct of a case and it is synonymous to a
barrister, advocate, counsellor, trial lawyer, attorney or legal practitioner.
1.4 State Attorney – Is a lawyer in full time employment with the Attorney General’s
Department or any other organization s/he may have been seconded to.
1.5 Senior Counsel – a lawyer who has been on the roll of lawyers in Ghana for at least
ten (10) years.
1.6 Notary Public – Is a fit and proper person appointed by the Chief Justice under the
Notaries Public Act, 1960 (Act 26) to perform duties such as verification of signatures
or validation of copies of documents. An ambassador, diplomatic agent or consular
officer representing Ghana in any foreign country may perform a notarial act a notary
may undertake in Ghana. Currently lawyers who have been practising for a minimum
of ten (10) years are eligible for appointment as notaries.
2. WHERE LAWYERS OPERATE
Lawyers are everywhere and are literally needed wherever people and resources come
together. Lawyers may practice either as private legal practitioners with law firms or as in-
house practitioners with private companies and other corporate bodies. The Attorney-
General’s Department also attracts lawyers who choose to work in the public sector as state
attorneys. In the Attorney-General’s Department they may be assigned to the divisions in

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charge of prosecutions, civil litigation or legislative drafting. Lawyers also engage in full or
part-time teaching in Law Faculties across the country or at the Ghana School of Law.
3. SCOPE OF WORK OF LAWYERS
3.1. Research – reading and learning as a general activity or on specific areas of
the law starts from school and remains a never-ending activity for legal
practitioners. For those in private practice, research will always be on
procedural as well as substantive law. After taking instructions or
conferencing with clients, lawyers are required to identify which law is
relevant or which applies to the facts. It is a good practice to build a checklist
that ensures no vital area or source is over-looked. A typical research
checklist will look like this:
Source/Reference Material Remarks
1. The 1992 Constitution
2. Relevant /Key Statutes
3. The Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459)
3. Constitutional Instruments
4. Regulations (if any)
5. Statute of Limitation
6. Case law
7. Documentary evidence
8. Non-legal subject/technical area
Research must always be aimed at identifying all relevant points of law,
issues on jurisdiction, capacity or statute of limitation. Any legal material that
ensures an expedited decision or ruling must be studied and deployed for the
benefit of the client. Where appropriate, research and investigations into non-
legal or specialized fields such as engineering, architecture, banking, finance,
medicine or pharmacy must be undertaken. To be able to cross- examine an
expert witness giving evidence on a medical issue, the lawyer must
necessarily research and possibly get help from another medical expert.
3.2. Conferencing - Lawyers hold conferences or meetings with clients or their
representatives. It is recommended that the lawyer has foreknowledge of the
issue at stake ahead of the meeting with the client. Advance knowledge of the
facts requires some preparatory steps being taken ahead of the meeting. This
ensures that all relevant questions are identified ahead of the meeting or
during the meeting.

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3.3. Drafting and Conveyancing - Document preparation follows conferencing and
research. Letters and pleadings must be drafted with facts placed in the right
legal context. It is necessary to balance what instructions s/he has taken
against the provisions of the law. When letters or pleadings are carefully
drafted, there is often the potential of resolving cases at an early stage or in a
summary manner. Counsel on the other side or even the judge may be won
over well ahead of the trial of the action.
3.4. Legal Opinions - Clients request legal opinions from lawyers. These may be
needed ahead of a board meeting or before a major decision is taken. Written
opinions are useful tools in the hands of clients who are entering into
negotiations or about to take some major legal step or decision.
3.5. Pre-litigation Advice/Advisory Services - Lawyers generally offer pre-litigation
advice to clients to enable them take an informed decision on whether to
litigate, use ADR or do nothing. Lawyers are bound by ethics to be proactive
in preventing claims which are certain to fail. Lawyers are supposed to
anticipate problems and to offer timely advice to clients on the most effective
course of action to pursue. It pays to keep the client away from court if less
expensive options are available. While an honest advice against litigation may
come with some loss of income, the long term benefits to the lawyer are
immeasurable. Trust and confidence generated by honest advice to the client
will lead to referrals or future assignments from the same client. To the
lawyer, time will be appropriately directed elsewhere.
3.6. Gathering Evidence - Cases in court are won or lost depending on whether
the lawyer has at his disposal the evidence that is required to prove or
disprove claims. Before recommending dispute resolution by trial, the lawyer
will have to do so based on evidence provided or to be provided by the client.
The recommended practice is to view documentary evidence before pleading
facts associated with such evidence. The presence or availability of witnesses
are important questions to be answered by lawyers before initiating an action
or defending one. It is professional misconduct to help the client create non-
existent evidence. Advising against litigation is the most ethical thing to do if
the claims of the client cannot be proven in court.
3.7. Advocacy – this is central to the work done by lawyers. Appearance in court
must be preceded by sufficient preparation on both the law and the facts. It is
recommended practice to prepare your oral arguments in advance. Good

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 anticipation and quick thinking on your feet are possible if the lawyer’s
preparation is adequate and the level of concentration in the court room high.
Statements coming from the bench and from the opposing counsel require
due consideration.
3.8. Strategy - Lawyers must not only be focused on research, evidence gathering
and oral arguments in court. A good lawyer must take a strategic view of
cases s/he is managing having regard to the overall objective of his/her client.
Who to join as a party to a suit and who to call as a witness may be dictated
by strategy. The approach and steps being taken by the lawyer must always
be consistent with both the short and long objective of the client. A client who
is seeking recovery of debt that is well-documented may be advised not to
plead fraud as an additional claim, since that may necessitate a trial and also
disable the lawyer from seeking summary judgment. An agent acting without
authority is sufficient ground to vitiate a contract, introducing fraud provides a
second ground but it imposes a much higher burden of proof on the claimant.
3.9. Compliance Duties - Lawyers also take care of compliance duties imposed on
their clients by law. The Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) and the Ghana
Investment Promotion Centre Act, 2013 (Act 865) impose legal and regulatory
duties on clients who rely on their internal or external lawyers for guidance
towards full compliance.
3.10. Due Diligence – this activity precedes every major or significant transaction to
be entered into by clients. These may involve purchase or sale of land or
business, mergers/acquisitions, joint ventures, etc. Due diligence exercise is
best discharged with a tailor made check-list to ensure that all critical
questions are checked and answered. All regulatory approvals or third party
consents must be identified and noted for action. It is important to note that
due diligence may end the acquisition process or guide the client towards
negotiating for the best possible deal based on the findings made by the
lawyer.
3.11. Corporate Advisory Services - Legal professionals may provide corporate
services to directors and shareholders of a company. They may sit on boards,
commissions or committees. When they do, their principal role is to give
advice and to ensure compliance with the law generally, and the
establishment legislation in particular. Their role is mostly advisory and they

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 are tasked with steering the entity away from non-compliance and away from
needless litigation.
3.12. Administrative or Managerial Duties – these duties are required of lawyers at
all levels and in their day-to-day activities. Management, supervision,
coaching and administration are central activities performed by lawyers.
Billing clients, collections, business development, clients’ care, etc. call for
lawyers’ attention every day.
3.13. Business Development – Lawyers are generally not allowed to advertise their
services or solicit for business. Lawyers have to be creative in the way they
make themselves noticeable and attractive to potential clients. Branding,
client care, excellence, dedication, regular reporting to clients and many other
business development activities can be pursued within the rules.
3.14. Networking is a crucial activity every results-oriented lawyer must be
interested in. Access to information, knowledge about other professions and
job opportunities are dependent on the kind of relationships lawyers form and
maintain. People tend to recommend professionals based more on trust than
actual ability. It is therefore, important that a lawyer relates to efficient people
in a way that brings out the best in him.
4.0 PRACTICE AREAS
Lawyers in private practice may be providing full service but under carefully organized
practice areas, which may include the following:
4.1. Litigation/ADR;
4.2. Conveyancing and drafting, due diligence on land transactions;
4.3. Commercial law, due diligence on commercial transactions;
4.4. Oil and gas, upstream or downstream, power generation;
4.5. Banking and Finance;
4.6. Real Estate, Construction, Infrastructure, and Project Management;
4.7. Corporate law, Corporate Governance;
4.8. Legal Compliance;
4.9. Labour/Employment law;

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 4.10 Entertainment/Sports/Media law;
4.11 Family law, Wills and Administration of Estates;
4.12 Criminal law and Public law;
4.13 Tax law and tax management;
4.14 Maritime law;
4.15 Investment law, Immigration, etc.;
4.16 Mining/Environment law; and
4.17 Constitutional law/Human Rights law.

Questions:
1. What will you include in the job description of a lawyer who has just completed
pupilage with a law firm? How different will his/her job description be from that of a
lawyer who has been in practice for seven to ten years?
2. After you have been called to the Ghana Bar, the practice options available to you
include in-house practice with a private company, private practice with a law firm or
employment in the public service either at the Attorney General’s Department or the
Judicial Service. Give reasons for choosing one of the options and why not the
others.