THE LAW SCHOOL OF TANZANIA

LS 102: PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS

(1st Cohort, April 2008)

SEMINAR QUESTIONS

QUESTION ONE:
(For serial Numbers 36-45 on the list)

“Lawyers tend to see rules as things to be circumvented in the pursuit of the client’s
interests. They may be honoured in the letter but ignored in the spirit. This is a
potentially dangerous situation, for if lawyers approach codes of professional ethics
in the same way they approach, say, revenue law, then the underlying aim soon
becomes avoidance rather than compliance.”
— K. Crispin

Discuss the above statement in light of your understanding of lawyers’

professional ethics.

QUESTION TWO:
(For serial Numbers 46-56 on the list)

Only a year since your admission to the Roll of Advocates, you have made a name for
yourself as a criminal lawyer in Arusha. You are assigned a dock brief by the
Registrar of the High Court, to represent Ahadi Malale, a.k.a. Mtu Pori, who is
accused of the murder of a prominent businessman who was killed at his residence
at Tengeru on the night of 12th January 2007. The post-mortem report shows that
the deceased cut in the throat by a sharp object.

The file consists of statements of witnesses, including Mtu Pori’s own statement
made before a Police Officer, where he admits being a member of a gang of bhang-
smoking youths in Arusha, who have been behaving wildly in the outskirts of the city,
especially around a suburb called Unga Limited. He admits that the other suspects,
one of whom was killed in a shoot-out with the Police a few weeks after the killing,
and the other two who are still at large, are both his friends. Some eye witnesses
claim that there were four culprits who participated in the crime, and that Mtu Pori
was one of them. Some even went to the extent of saying that they had seen him
running away from the scene with a “sime” in his hand. Police records also show that
Mtu Pori had once been convicted of theft and served a six-month jail term.

You pay a visit to see Mtu Pori in remand prison. The moment you set your eyes on
him, you feel a pang of revulsion towards him. The man’s looks really terrifies you.
“He looks capable of anything”, you tell yourself.
 Well, Mtu Pori has a different story to tell: The relevant conversation with him goes
like this:

Mtu Pori: You know, Advocate, I am completely innocent. I was not even at the
scene of the crime at the material time. I was at home in Unga
Limited, suffering from a severe bout of malaria. My younger
brother Zima will testify to that effect.

You: Do you have any other evidence to prove what you say, such as
medical evidence, a doctor’s prescription may be?

Mtu Pori: “No, I did not see any doctor. I simply took some anti-malaria tablets
and went to bed very early. When I woke up the next morning, a
friend told me that my friends had killed somebody while trying to
steal from a certain businessman in Tengeru. One of them was in
custody, and the Police were looking for the others, including myself.
I was shocked, and told him I was not in any way involved. Sensing
that the Police would find me and lock me in for a long time, I
decided to flee to Dar es Salaam. Unfortunately, however, they
caught up with me two months later.”

Mtu Pori pleads with you to assist him. However, your opinion of him, from his looks
and the evidence available and even the nick name he has adopted, you are having
second thoughts. Deep inside, you believe that the man is guilty.

Discuss the ethical problems arising out of the above fact situation. What
would you do?

QUESTION THREE:
(For serial Numbers 1-12 on the list)

The Senior Partner in the law firm you have just joined asks you to write an opinion
for a client. Upon seeing the client, Ms. Sura Minara, she narrates her story to you.
The story goes:

“I am the only child of a marriage between my late father, Mr. Dad Minara and
my mother, Mrs. Mum Minara. Both my parents died in a tragic accident three
years ago. I was only 16 at the time. However, my father also left a son, Baya,
from a previous marriage, who was much older than me. In fact, some people say
Baya was actually not my father’s biological son, but the product of an
adulterous association.

“My father left behind two valuable properties in the city centre. However, Baya
wanted to take everything. He was about to sell the two properties when I
 contacted a lawyer, Mr. Wakili, who agreed to represent me in the
administration proceedings in the High Court. He promptly obtained an injunction
against the intended sales, and the case continued.

“However, since I had no money at the time, Mr. Wakili offered to work for a
percentage of the value of the property. He drew up an agreement, which we
both signed, that he would take 40% of the value of whatever I will be entitled
to after the case is finalised. He was generous enough to agree not to charge me
anything if we lost the case. There is a clause to that effect in the agreement.

“The case went on until four months ago, when the judgment was delivered in my
favour with costs. The Court ordered that each one of us (my bother any
myself) would take one of the properties. I got mine, and I am now the
registered owner.

“Three weeks after the settlement, Mr. Wakili called me to say that according
to a valuation he had done, the property is worth TShs. 500million/=. He
suggested that I should either pay him Tshs. 200m/= being 40% of the value of
the property, or sell the property and give him the said sum being the
professional fees as agreed. I would want to pay him, but it is not my intention
to sell the property. I want to continue owning it, instead of selling. But I do not
have 200m/= to pay him off. I asked Mr. Wakili to accept payment by
instalments, but he would have none of that. He insists that if I do not pay him,
he would sue me. In fact, he has written me a Notice to Sue. Here it is.”

Sura shows you all the documents relating to the case, the contract between her
and Wakili, and the Notice to Sue.

Sura goes on to tell you that her problem still persists: She does not have ready
cash to pay advocates fees. So, she comes up with an idea on how she would pay your
firm for the legal services you will provide her. She would agree to give a 20% share
of the rent she would get from the property during the first two years, so that she
does not have to pay you now.

Prepare a well-reasoned legal opinion for the Senior Partner, discussing the
various options available for Sura.

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