The rule against touting: Ghana goes the American way

Rule 2 of the now “revoked” Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 1969 (L.I. 613) of Ghana, provided in part as follows:

Rule 2 – Advertising, Touting and Publicity

(1) A lawyer shall not directly or indirectly apply for or seek instructions for professional business or do or permit in the carrying on of his practice any act or thing which can reasonably be regarded as touting or advertising or as calculated to attract business unfairly.

(3) It is contrary to professional etiquette for a lawyer to do or cause or allow to be done anything for the purpose of touting directly or indirectly or which is calculated to suggest that it is done for that purpose.

In the USA, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC), promulgated by the American Bar Association (ABA) and amended several times, are not binding in themselves but with the exception of California, have been adopted, with additions and variations, as the standard by the States.

In light of this, the New York Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), provide under Rule 7.3, as follows on “Solicitation”:

A lawyer may not solicit clients by in-person, telephone, or real-time or interactive computeraccessed communication unless the recipient is a close friend, relative or former or existing client (RPC rule 7.3 [a][1]).

Rule 15 of the extant Legal Profession (Professional Conduct and Etiquette) Rules, 2020 (L.I. 2423) of Ghana provides:

Solicitation of Client

15. (1) A lawyer or a law firm shall not personally or through other means of communication solicit for professional employment from a prospective client where the motive for the solicitation is the pecuniary gain of the lawyer or the firm unless the person contacted

(a) is a lawyer; or
(b) has a family, personal, or prior professional relationship with the lawyer of the
firm.

Thus like the USA, Ghana now uses the term “solicitation” and permits lawyers to personally solicit for professional engagement from prospective clients with whom they have a certain degree of relationship.

In New York, published, broadcast or internet advertising by lawyers is broadly permitted as long as it is truthful and not deceptive or misleading (Rule 7.1 of the RPC).

In Ghana, lawyers or law firms are permitted to create websites but the rule states that this “does not include social media.” (Rule 15(4) to (8)).

Robert Nii Arday Clegg

The writer is the Founder & Head at CLEGG LAW, a law firm based in Accra-Ghana. Clegg is a graduate of the Harvard Law School Class of 2014 and is both an Attorney & Counselor-at-Law (New York State) and a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court (Ghana).