INTRODUCTION
The legal profession is experiencing dramatic changes in the 21st Century namely, increase in commercial activities, advanced technology, climate change and environmental impact, demographic changes and emerging new rights are influencing the legal profession and shifting the parameters of the practice of law. The law, therefore, ought to be looked at again in the 21st century Africa. This two-part series paper seeks to briefly highlight what the 21st Century African lawyer needs to know, in the changing face of the legal profession. Part I focuses on ethical responsibilities and indispensable business skills that the 21st century African lawyer needs to know to remain relevant; and Part II, which will be released next week, will consider the need for innovation and the threat to the legal profession in this era, where technology seems to be taking over the legal space.
Ethical Duties
The complex nature of socio-economic change in the 21st century continues to push the boundaries of the regulatory regime governing the legal profession. This calls for a broader look at the ethical responsibilities or duties of the 21stCentury lawyer. Harvard Law School’s publication titled: “Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key Roles and Responsibilities in the 21st Century” identifies four main ethical duties of the lawyer in the 21st Century, they include:
1. Duties to clients and stakeholders: this is described as responsibilities to the people and organizations that the lawyer’s own institution serves such as corporate stakeholders, law firm clients, law students and the faculty of law. This duty, for instance, requires lawyers to have the best interest of their clients at heart whenever their services are needed.
2. Duties to the legal system: this is described as responsibilities to the legal system and rule of law that are the foundation of our political economy and constitutional democracy, including contributing to access to justice, strengthening the rule of law and legal institutions.
3. Duties to employer: this is described as the responsibilities to the lawyer’s employer e.g., corporations, law firms, and law schools, and to the people employed by such institutions, such as a corporation’s workforce or a law firm’s or law school’s diverse employees.
4. Duties to the broader society or the public: this is described by the above-mentioned Harvard publication as responsibilities to secure other broad public good and enhance sound private ordering complementary to the rule of law in order to create a safe, fair, and just society in which individuals and institutions operate. It is interesting to mention the Ghanaian example on the duties to the legal system and the public, as was discussed in the landmark case of Martin Kpebu (No.2) vs. Attorney-General [2015-2016] 1 SCGLR 171, where the effort of the Plaintiff, a legal practitioner, resulted in a change in the law on bail. This is what the Supreme Court speaking through Georgina Wood CJ (as she then was) said about the Plaintiff; “this case marks a watershed in the history of our criminal jurisprudence. I commend the Plaintiff, a private legal practitioner for his industry in initiating this judicial review litigation in the public interest, giving us the opportunity to examine bail law in the light of our constitutional framework”. Similar remarks were also made about another Plaintiff, also a legal practitioner, in another public interest case of Ahumah-Ocansey vs. Electoral Commission; Centre for Human Rights & Civil Liberty (CHURCIL) v. Attorney General & Electoral Commission (Consolidated) [2010] SCGLR 575 permitting prison inmates to exercise their franchise by voting in public elections and referenda.
There cannot be a discussion on ethical standards and responsibilities without the mention of the term integrity, which is identified as the drive behind the requirements of ethical standards. Integrity is defined in the above mentioned publication to mean, “ensuring robust adherence to formal rules, establishing binding ethical standards, advocating balanced public policy and fair political processes and instilling the value of honesty, candor, fairness, reliability, and trustworthiness…” These ethical requirements should be the guiding light for every 21st century lawyer.
The Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 (L.I 613), the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) and the Ghana Bar Association Code of Ethics are examples of ethical standards and responsibilities regulating the practice in Ghana. It must, however, be added that the statutes and regulations governing the legal profession in Ghana need some form of amendments in order to be in tune with the inescapable influence of social media and other technologies that are impacting the legal profession.
Indispensable Business Skills
Business skills are critical to survival as a 21st Century African lawyer. They are key to understanding the needs of clients, the management of law firms or legal departments and other institutions. It is an obvious truth that law and business blur in many ways, therefore, understanding the tools that business executives and managers use to evaluate business, opportunities and risk are critical for the advancement of the legal profession in an era of a changing legal landscape.
According to the 2015 edition of The Practice, educating the 21st century lawyer requires integrating business skills with legal knowledge; the 21st century African lawyer should, therefore, be equipped with essential business skills that are key to the management of law firms and the practice of law.
Professor Kathryn E. Spier, of Harvard Law School, on the inclusion of business courses in law schools had this to say, “As an associate at a law firm, you are going to have to hit the ground running. If you don’t know the basic language of business, you are going to be at a disadvantage. Being at a law school that offers these courses provides a perfect opportunity to get the skills early, and that will help students later on when they are working.”
Business courses including; Accounting and Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance, Negotiation Workshop, Business Strategy for Lawyers, Analytical Methods for Lawyers, Leadership in Law Firms, and Statistical /Quantitative Analysis are now offered by leading law schools as part of their approach to equipping the 21st century lawyer.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, law schools, faculties and law firms in Africa should be encouraged to integrate business literacy and ethical standards in the training of the 21st century African lawyer. Ethical training should, however, go beyond the sayings in the Rules of Professional Conduct take into consideration the impact of globalization on the legal profession. Law schools, faculties and law firms owe this responsibility, not only to the students, but also to the legal system, their employers and the public at large.
By: Peter Amissah