Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says 101 lawyers in Fiji are currently unemployed out of the 894 valid practising lawyers.
While speaking at the Fiji Law Society and International Bar Association Convention at Sofitel Resort and Spa in Denarau, Sayed-Khaiyum says there are about 137 lawyers in independent institutions like Parliament, Office of the DPP, FICAC, Fijian Elections Office and Reserve Bank of Fiji.
He says there are 71 lawyers in government departments like the AG’s Chambers, Fiji Police Force, RFMF and other ministries.
Sayed-Khaiyum says there are also 71 lawyers in statutory organisations like the Consumer Council of Fiji and LTA.
The Attorney General says there are 425 lawyers in private practice while 68 are in corporate organisations.
Sayed-Khaiyum says out of the 161 law firms in Fiji, only 14 of them have websites.
He says the Fiji Law Society includes about 20% of all the lawyers that have practising certificates.
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there have been discussions about increasing the period for which a person can become a sole practitioner.
He says at the moment that period is three years and there are discussions about increasing it to five years given the quality of lawyers.
The Attorney-General says perhaps this is happening because of a lack of mentoring of young lawyers.
While speaking at the Fiji Law Society and International Bar Association Convention at Sofitel Resort & Spa in Denarau, Sayed-Khaiyum says 10 to 15 years ago if there was a junior lawyer in a firm, the amount of time the firm spent in mentoring that person was a lot more compared to today where it is far less.
He says at the moment junior lawyers are being paid 150 dollars a week in some of the law firms.
Sayed-Khaiyum says by comparison if you joined the Attorney General’s Office or some of the other statutory organisations, the starting salary is over $30,000.
He says one can, of course, argue that within the private sector after 5 or 10 years, your level of income has surpassed someone in government.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds the reality of the moment is that for at least the first five years, the revenue or salary of those in private practice is less than those who work for the government, statutory authorities or those that work as corporate lawyers.
The Attorney General says we have to be able to talk about these things reasonably in a very critical manner to assist practitioners to become better lawyers.
He says it is about time that the focus is more on management and training.
Sayed-Khaiyum says every year, he gets about 40% of lawyers in private practice asking for extensions of time on their trust account audit.
He adds he just approved seven extensions last night.
Sayed-Khaiyum says some people get three extensions.
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