This note will discuss the meaning of advocacy, the meaning of legal ethics, and the scope of the Law of Advocacy and Legal Ethics.
This note will define the meaning of communication, methods of communication, the persons with whom the lawyer communicates, and the principles of communication for lawyers.
In litigation, the lawyer is expected to elicit relevant information from the client and potential witnesses to enable proper representation. Eliciting relevant information requires an interview. This note will discuss the importance of an interview, the essence of the first interview, the prerequisites for a successful interview, and the principles of interviewing clients and witnesses. Subsequent notes will discuss facilitators and inhibitors of communication, the types of clients a lawyer may encounter, and how to deal with vulnerable clients and witnesses.
This note will define facilitators of communication and briefly discuss the factors that facilitate communication. It will also define inhibitors of communication and discuss the factors that inhibit communication.
This note will discuss the categories of clients a lawyer may encounter during an interview. The categories of clients to be discussed are the passive client, the belligerent client, the dogmatic client, the amateur lawyer, the distraught client, and the client’s friend.
This note will discuss the meaning of a vulnerable witness and how to deal with them.
When interviewing clients or witnesses, the lawyer must listen to them. There are various kinds of listening, each with its merits and demerits. This note discusses the various kinds of listening. These kinds are: passive listening, responsive listening, and receptive listening.
There are various types of questions, including leading, open-ended, closed, transition, point-of-reference, yes and no, alternative, and rhetorical questions. This note discusses each of these questioning techniques, together with their advantages, disadvantages, and appropriate uses.
This note will briefly explain who qualifies as a vulnerable client or witness and the principles that must be observed when questioning them.
Communication can be verbal or non-verbal. This note will discuss non-verbal communication in terms of its meaning, essence, and types.
This note will define preconceptions, highlight how they affect us, outline their benefits and dangers, and discuss how to deal with them.
This note will discuss one of the most important characteristics of an advocate: storytelling. In doing so, the note will briefly explain what storytelling is, highlight its essence and the characteristics of good storytelling, and outline the procedural and ethical considerations when telling stories.
This note will discuss the character and qualities that an advocate must cultivate and possess to represent and defend their clients effectively. These include industry, tenacity, courage, judgement, self-control, honesty, presence, language, and humanity.
Trials typically begin with an opening statement from the lawyer. This note discusses the opening speech, covering its essence, purpose, structure and content, and techniques for delivering it effectively.
This note will explain the meaning of examination-in-chief, its essence and aims, the techniques for achieving those aims, and how to prepare for examination-in-chief.
This note will discuss the meaning of cross-examination, its essence and aims, and how to achieve those aims.
This note will discuss how to prepare for cross-examination. The note highlights the factors to consider before cross-examination. In addition, the note will discuss written preparation.
This note will discuss the order and manner of cross-examination.
This note will discuss the three main techniques of cross-examination: confrontation, probing, and insinuation.
This note will discuss techniques for cross-examining certain witnesses often described as "special". These include expert witnesses, evasive witnesses, argumentative or belligerent witnesses, partisan witnesses, and lying witnesses.
This note will provide an overview of the rules of professional conduct and etiquette governing the legal profession in Ghana. The note will highlight the meaning of ethics, the essence of the rules of professional conduct and etiquette, and the sources of these rules.
In a previous note, it was highlighted that the General Legal Council is the administrative body regulating the legal profession in Ghana. This note discusses the General Legal Council in detail, exploring its establishment, core mandate, and roles.
This note will discuss the main purpose of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423), the provisions relating to the interpretation of the rules, and provide a roadmap for discussing the rules of professional conduct and etiquette.
Rule 2 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423) sets out what a lawyer in practice cannot do. This note will discuss who a lawyer in practice is, what such a lawyer cannot do, and provide a sample question on the topic.
Rule 3 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423), sets out what a lawyer shall not permit to appear on his nameplate or be printed on his professional stationery. This note outlines what is included in a lawyer's professional stationery and the rules on what a lawyer shall not permit to appear on it.
Rule 4 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423), sets out various rules on the naming of chambers and law firms. These rules are discussed in this note.
There are various rules that govern how a lawyer may establish a relationship with a prospective client. These rules include rules against solicitation and advertising, rules governing the taking of instructions from a client for whom the lawyer initially acted as an agent for another lawyer, and rules governing the acceptance of instructions from clients previously represented by another lawyer. These rules are discussed in this note.
In a previous note, we discussed the rules that apply before the lawyer-client relationship commences. In this note, we discuss the rules that apply after the lawyer-client relationship commences and during its subsistence. We first highlight the duties owed to a client and explain that violations of these duties constitute professional misconduct. We then discuss rules on competence, courtesy, communication with the client, independent professional judgement, encouragement of settlement and communication of the terms of settlement to a client, safekeeping of client property, and prohibited dealings in the lawyer-client relationship.
This note will explain the meaning of conflict of interest and discuss the rules on conflict of interest under Rule 20 of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423).
This note will discuss the rules that bind a lawyer after the termination of his professional relationship with a client. The note begins by outlining how the lawyer-client relationship may be terminated and the duties owed to a client after termination.
In previous notes, we discussed the duties owed by the lawyer to his clients. In this note, we will discuss the duties owed by the lawyer to the court. The note begins with an overview of these duties and then examines them in three key areas: pre-court, in-court, and post-court.
Lawyers owe duties to the legal profession. This note will briefly highlight the fact that all lawyers, whether in practice or not, owe a duty to the legal profession. The note will then examine the duties owed by lawyers in practice and by those not in practice.