The Court of Appeal has set July 11 to commence the trial of the case in which human rights lawyer, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has sued the General Legal Council (GLC) over his three-year suspension.
The lawyer dragged the GLC before the court seeking to overturn the ban imposed on him by the Council.
According to him, the sentences imposed on him are harsh and excessive.
At the hearing yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, ordered Samuel Cudjoe, lawyer for the plaintiff, to consolidate their case.
In the view of the court, the plaintiff had filed two separate writs, over-charging and touting, which emanated from the same case.
Kizito Beyuo, lawyer for the GLC, said he had been served with a document which he had to respond to because specific allegations had been made against some officers of the Council.
The lawyer, in a notice of appeal filed at the court dated June 7, 2017, stated that the GLC erred in convicting him because there is no law specifically making overestimation of legal fees a “grave misconduct in a professional respect.”
Vague Laws
“The offence of overestimation of legal fees as contained in Rule 9(9) of the Legal Profession [Professional Conduct and Etiquette] Rules 1969, LI 613, is vague and or overboard and is inconsistent with Article 19 (1) of the 1992 Constitution.”
Mr. Sosu, who contested in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primary at the Madina constituency ahead of the 2016 elections, said the GLC, which is not a court of competent jurisdiction, erred in convicting him of the criminal offence.
The lawyer was found guilty of professional misconduct by GLC.
A statement issued by the GLC said, “The disciplinary committee of the General legal Council formally charged Lawyer Sosu under Rule 2(4) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 LI 613 and that he, while acting as council for Torgbui Afede XIV in a matter between Torgbui Afede and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Minister of the Interior, Attorney General and another, took to Facebook with pictures of the parties and comments on the case to the public with his firm’s name, address and telephone numbers attached, with the primary motive of personal advertisement and touting.”
Offence
It further stated, “He was further charged under Rule 2 (4) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rule, 1996 LI6 13 that he, while acting as counsel for Reynolds Yeboah, in the matter between Patrick Reynolds Yeboah and M.DEX Company Limited in Accra, Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly, Accra, took to Facebook posting the writ of summons in the said case and made comments to the public with the firm’s name, address and telephone numbers attached, with the primary motive of personal advertisement.”
In another case, Mr Sosu was said to have charged one Francis Agyare GH¢20,000 extra in legal fees.
He was also charged under Section 19 (5) of the Legal Profession Act that he, having been duly notified, failed to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council on 9th June, 2016.
Agyare was jailed for 14 years without trial but he was released through the help of Mr Sosu. He subsequently sued the state for wrongful imprisonment and succeeded in securing GH¢204,000 as compensation.
Defence
At the GLC hearing, Mr Sosu reportedly indicated that he was not aware Agyare was going to pay any amount into the accounts of his chambers but agreed that what was paid was more than necessary.
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