The Head of Ahmed Legal Consult, Musah Ahmed, is advocating for the General Legal Council to consider exceptions to the approved fee charging of legal practitioners.
The Ghana Bar Association has established fees that clients are expected to pay its members based on the type of case and the years of experience a lawyer has among other factors.
Legal practitioners are required to adhere to these approved charges strictly. Overestimating fees is considered misconduct, and lawyers can risk losing their licenses. Conversely, undercharging is deemed detrimental to the legal profession.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law on March 24, Mr Ahmed asserts that although the rules are intended to benefit the legal profession, they cannot always be strictly adhered to.
Mr Ahmed clarified that in some instances, the relationship with the clients can influence the fee charged. As such, he could not always apply the approved fees.
“You see that is why I said initially that we should not simply remove the profession from the normal law of contract. You see we talked about consideration, what is the value of the consideration. We cannot adhere strictly to this,” he said.
“If for instance, I have a client who has known me for many years and I have known him over 20 years. Within that period he has been of value to me in terms of assistance. He has given me several things that I cannot quantify in money. If he comes to me with his case shouldn’t I have the discretion to slash the fees for such a person?
“Shouldn’t that be within the sphere of law of contract such that I have the right to determine what comes to me? Forget about the integrity aspect of it. Certain factors must be considered. For me, we should have exceptions to the general rule,” he added.
myjoyonline.
