[1991]DLCA245 • July 3, 1991 • Court of Appeal
ABOAGYE da COSTA vs. DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL
The appellant, a lawyer, was charged with grave professional misconduct by the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council following a souring relationship with his former client, Nana Bosompem. The dispute arose from the appellant's alleged conflicting representation involving a land transaction where he initially advised Bosompem but later acted for the vendor, Kwabena Okyere, suing both Bosompem and the Presbyterian Church. The appellant denied a general retainer and claimed limited legal advice was given on a friendly basis. The disciplinary committee found that the appellant acted against his former client, representing conflicting interests, and engaged in conduct unbecoming of a legal professional.
read moreJUDGMENT OF FRANCOIS J.S.C. Francois J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. This is an appeal from the findings and order of a disciplinary committee constituted under the Legal Profession Act, 1960 (Act 32) which found the appellant guilty of grave professional misconduct and suspended him from practice for one year. The charges which the disciplinary committee formulated against the appellant had their genesis from the souring of relationship between the appellant and one Nana Bosompem, the complainant. The two had started out as good friends. Nana Bosompem seemed to have relied on his lawyer friend for assistance in solving his legal problems. A number of situations where this kind of assistance was sought has been narrated. In return, Nana Bosompem claims to have given his solicitor friend princely sums, some even unsought. The appellant rejects the picture of the complainant as a munificent philanthropist to whom he is beholden. He does not accept that he was kept in fu...