Ghana School of Law PLC: Law Practice Management (GLC) key terms

A bank account in which a law firm holds money belonging to clients, kept separate from the firm's own funds and used only for the client's purposes or as the client directs.

An individual record within the firm's accounting system showing every receipt, payment and transfer of money held for one particular client, with a running balance that must always be reconcilable.

A control procedure comparing the client account bank balance, the total of all client ledger balances and the firm's own accounting records, to detect errors, omissions or misappropriation of client funds.

An agreement under which a client pays a lawyer a sum in advance or periodically to secure the lawyer's availability and services; it may be a general engagement fee or an advance payment held for future work.

A fee arrangement in which payment depends on the outcome of the matter, typically a percentage of sums recovered, and which is restricted or prohibited in many jurisdictions including Ghana.

An itemised statement of professional fees and disbursements rendered to a client, showing the work done, time spent, charges claimed and any sums already paid on account.

An expense paid by the law firm on behalf of a client, such as court filing fees, commissioner's fees, transport or expert charges, which is recoverable from the client separately from professional fees.

A written understanding concluded at the outset of a matter setting out the basis of charging, rates, billing frequency, payment terms and the consequences of non-payment, protecting both lawyer and client.

A letter sent to a client before work begins confirming the scope of the retainer, the responsible lawyer, the fee basis, the client's obligations and the firm's complaints and file-closure procedures.

A systematic search of the firm's client and matter records, carried out before accepting instructions, to identify whether the new matter would create a conflict between the interests of two clients or between client and firm.

A client's agreement to a proposed course of action given after full and frank disclosure of all material facts, including the risks and the alternatives, and not obtained through pressure or incomplete information.

The duty not to reveal information about a client's affairs acquired in the course of the professional relationship, lasting beyond the end of the retainer and subject only to narrow statutory or ethical exceptions.

The rule protecting confidential communications between lawyer and client from disclosure in legal proceedings, together with documents created for the dominant purpose of litigation or legal advice.

The obligation of a lawyer to act in the client's best interests with loyalty, good faith and full disclosure, avoiding personal profit from the relationship and not placing the lawyer's interests first.

Insurance taken out by a law firm to cover claims by clients for loss caused by negligent advice or handling of a matter, usually required as a condition of practice.

A statutory compensation scheme, funded by practising fees, that reimburses clients who suffer financial loss through the dishonesty of a lawyer in the course of practice.

A working document listing the risks facing a law firm, rating each by likelihood and impact, naming an owner and recording the mitigation measures and review dates for each entry.

The identification and verification procedures a law firm must apply to clients and beneficial owners, together with ongoing monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions, before and during a transaction.

The collection of identity documents, ownership information and source-of-funds evidence kept for each client, showing that the firm verified who the client is and why the transaction is being undertaken.

A policy stating how long each category of file, ledger, contract and correspondence must be kept, the format of storage, and the authorised procedure and approvals required before destruction.

The complete organised record of one engagement, containing correspondence, pleadings, attendance notes, research, accounts and closing documents, arranged so that another lawyer could take over the matter.

A contemporaneous written record of a meeting, telephone call or court appearance, stating the date, participants, what was said or decided and the action to be taken next.

The practice of logging the time spent on each activity in a matter, with a narrative description, so that fees can be calculated on an hourly basis and justified if challenged.

A periodic supervisory examination of a matter file to check that work is progressing, deadlines are met, advice is documented, costs are under control and no conflict or risk has emerged.

An integrated system used by a law firm to manage matters, contacts, documents, calendars, time recording and billing, and to control who may access each record.

Software that stores, versions, indexes and retrieves the firm's documents, controlling access by matter and user and preserving an audit trail of who created or altered each file.

The submission of pleadings, motions and other process to a court through an approved digital portal, with electronic service on other parties and automatic acknowledgement of receipt.

A court's or firm's system for tracking each case by number, parties, judge, hearing dates and orders, generating reminders and enabling users to see the current status of a matter.

The official chronological register of a case or of a court's business, recording every filing, order, hearing and adjournment, and used to verify dates and the state of proceedings.

The statutory time within which an action must be commenced, after which the claim is ordinarily barred; missing it is a common and serious source of negligence claims against lawyers.

The formal delivery of originating documents to a party in the manner prescribed by the rules or ordered by the court, which brings the party before the court and starts time running.

A client's action alleging that the lawyer failed to exercise the skill and care reasonably expected of a competent practitioner, that the failure caused loss, and that the loss is recoverable.

A range of processes, including negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration, by which parties resolve disputes outside ordinary litigation, usually with less cost, delay and publicity.

A voluntary, confidential process in which a neutral third party helps the disputing parties identify issues and reach their own agreed settlement, without power to impose a decision.

A process in which parties refer their dispute to a private tribunal chosen by them, which hears the case and issues an award that is generally final and enforceable like a judgment.

A contractual provision by which parties agree in advance to submit future disputes to arbitration rather than to a court, usually specifying the seat, rules and number of arbitrators.

An offer or admission made in genuine negotiation to settle a dispute, which cannot be put before the court as evidence of liability if the negotiations fail.

Improper pressure or domination by which one person overbears the free will of another so that a transaction or instruction does not reflect that person's genuine independent intention.