Client Letter Assignment Due at Class Wednesday 5 February

Congratulations!  Today you opened your own law chambers.  You had one visitor to your office today; a man you know from your church named Bulungi Asiimwe who lives at Plot 18 Tank Hill, Kampala.  Bulungi has two matters of concern.

First Bulungi has a fifteen year-old niece named Lillian in jail in Nguru Remand facing a defilement charge.   Bulungi says this case should not be a big deal because everyone knows that girls cannot commit defilement.  He says there must be some mistake.

Bulungi would like to pay you a flat fee of 3 Million UGX to handle Lillian’s case from now through final appeal.  Bulungi says that Lillian is supposed to come to court for something in one week.

Bulungi says that Lillian told him that an attorney from Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity came to see her last week but Lillian does not know if that person is her attorney of not.

Lillian’s Mother is Bulungi’s sister.  According to Bulungi his sister is a drunk and suffers from mental illness.  He says he thinks she suffers from multiple personality disorder.  Lillian’s father died of AIDS five years ago.  Bulungi hates his sister and does not want to speak with her.  He would prefer if you could keep the sister out of this matter by not contacting her.

Bulungi has also asked that you represent him in a marriage matter.  Presently he has a first wife that he married in church.  This wife now lives in Kabale and he never sees here although he supports her financially and lets her live in his home.  The two children that he fathered with this wife are now grown and on their own. 

Meanwhile Bulungi has another woman who he calls his “true wife.”  He has lived with his true wife for 12 years.  He has six school-aged children with his “true wife.   

Bulungi wants you to figure out a way that he can be legally married to both his Kabale wife and his true wife.  He says that both women are simple and will do whatever he tells them to do.   He just wants your help in coming up with a legal strategy that will make his “true wife” an honest woman who will be taken care of if anything should happen to him.

Your task is to write a letter to Bulungi regarding the matters raised in your meeting.  The letter should address general housekeeping and address specific concerns and issues that you believe should be brought to Bulungi’s immediate attention.   In particular you need to focus on issues of establishment of attorney client relationships, definition of the scope of attorney client relationship, conflicts of interest, billing arrangements, ethical issues and important preliminary substantive legal issues that need to be brought to Bulungi’s attention. You need not thoroughly research legal issues that you do not believe you would have time to address in one day.  Instead you may raise them as issues that you will need to spend time researching before you can provide a legal opinion.

The letter may not exceed four pages in length (double spaced, at least 10 point font) and should be typed.  You should write the letter as if you are hand delivering it the day after your initial meeting.  This assignment is due by 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the 5th of February 2014.  The letter may be submitted in hard copy at class at that time or it may be sent by email to dbriandennison@gmail.com