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Covid-19, Legal Practice and its implications for Judicial Decision-making
Source: JUSTICE DENNIS ADJEI
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INTRODUCTION
Legal practice as understood in Ghana is about the work done by lawyers who have been called to the Bar in Ghana and are entitled to prepare legal documents and make legal representation for their clients in the courts. A lawyer in Ghana cannot practise law unless that lawyer has been issued with a Solicitor’s Licence or that lawyer is the Attorney- General or a lawyer from the Office of the Attorney- General. The present position is that a pupil shall not practise law, cannot make a representation in court and is not competent to execute legal documents such as conveyances which are to be prepared exclusively by lawyers. The settled position is that for a person to be eligible to practise law in the jurisdiction, that person should have been enrolled as a lawyer, his or her name is registered in the Roll of Lawyers and has a valid Solicitor’s Licence. The Supreme Court in a majority decision has settled the matter that a lawyer without a valid Solicitor’s Licence shall not practise law and cannot make representation on behalf of a client in court.
There is no distinction between solicitors and barristers in Ghana as practised in some jurisdictions including England. In England, a solicitor is a lawyer whose main business is to prepare legal documents on behalf of clients but does not have audience in the Superior Courts or in the case of Scotland, Session of Court unless specifically licensed for that purpose. Thus, in England, barristers practise law in the courts while solicitors consult with their clients and prepare all legal documents including pleadings for advocates to represent them in court.
The Roll of Lawyers in which the name of every person who is called to the Bar in Ghana is entered does not draw a distinction between a solicitor and a barrister. In Ghana, a lawyer may be called a solicitor or barrister but the Roll of Lawyers recognises them as lawyers who
can practise law in every respect. A lawyer with a Solicitor’s Licence may, therefore, decide the type of practice that lawyer would like to engage in. A lawyer may decide to be an in house-lawyer and also practise law in the courts or may be an advisor who counsel clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business and personal matters.
A lawyer may decide to be in-house and at the same time represent his/her establishment or the entity or institution he/she works in court. Some staff of the Office of the Attorney-General including those at the Legislative Drafting Division, Council for Law Reporting and Law Reform Commission practise law but do not appear before the courts. Some legal academics also appear in court to represent their clients while others do not appear before the courts but practise law by way of teaching. Legal practice therefore goes beyond the practice in the courtrooms, however, the topic under discussion requires a discussion on the court room practice and the effect COVID-19 has on it.
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