The Ghana Law Society is proposing that every lawyer in Ghana provides a minimum of 10 hours of free legal services each year as part of efforts to improve access to justice.
President of the Society, Rockson-Nelson Etse Dafeamekpor, announced the proposal at the maiden Annual Bar Conference of the GLS on September 30.
“We are proposing a minimum of 10 hours annually for every lawyer to be able to provide pro bono legal services,” he said.
Dafeamekpor argued that many relatively simple disputes escalate because ordinary citizens either lack access to lawyers or cannot afford professional legal assistance.
He cited disputes involving tenancy, property and basic agreements as cases that could sometimes be resolved earlier with access to proper legal advice.
According to him, the proposed mandatory pro bono requirement would place a responsibility on lawyers and law firms to dedicate part of their professional time to citizens unable to pay for legal representation.
The proposal forms part of a wider package of reforms being pursued by the Ghana Law Society to extend legal services beyond Ghana’s major cities.
Dafeamekpor said the profession must rethink its relationship with the public if legal reform is to have practical meaning in the lives of ordinary Ghanaians.
