A lawyer, Amanda Clinton, has jumped to the defense of the former Vice-Chancellor of the University for Professional Studies (UPSA), Prof. Joshua Alabi, regarding an Auditor-General report that requested the former to refund some almost GHs300,000 it paid to private legal firm, Lithur Brew and Company.
In a response on his Facebook page, Prof. Alabi wrote, “Tonny Lither did a lot of work for Upsa including court appearances. He was also on retainer where at any point in time we call him for legal advice Interestingly, they never call on me or Tonny for any clarification. They are in a hurry to find faults even where there is none. We shall respond.”
Commenting on the matter, Amanda Clinton said that if it is confirmed as stated in the above post by the former Vice-Chancellor, then he did not in any way err in relation to the legal fees as confirmed under the Ghana Bar Association scale of fees.
“If as confirmed in Dr Larbi’s statement that Tonny Lither did a lot of work for UPSA including court appearances. (And) He was also on retainer where at any point in time the school could call him for legal advice, the auditor general should have called to seek clarity on the fees before asking the former rector to refund with interest the amount advanced under a retainer,” she said in an email to GhanaWeb.
She explained the circumstances that pertain to the payment of fees by clients to lawyers, in accordance with the GBA scale of fees, adding that not every lawyer gets paid fully for their services.
“Some people don’t pay their lawyers what is required and listed out clearly under the Ghana Bar Association scale of fees so therefore a lawyer can only dedicate the amount of hours paid to them whilst also focusing on other cases retained on. That’s why certain lawyers choose to focus on international clients,” she wrote.
The Founding Partner of the Law Office of Clinton Consultancy, Amanda Clinton further explained that had the Auditor-General cross-checked with the fees from the GBA, it would not have passed such a rushed judgment.
“The Ghana Bar Association scale of fees which is available online is also very clear as to fees and perhaps the Auditor-General should have looked at that scale of fees and sought clarity on the actual work done.
“For a long and defined tenure including multiple court cases and other work, less than $60k is as you will see under the Ghana Bar Association scale of fees on the conservative side,” she concluded.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
