We have too many lawyers, and too many unskilled ones - Leung

Attorney General, Graham Leung believes that an uncomfortable truth about law profession is that we have too many lawyers, and too many unskilled ones, and we see some new law firms being established by lawyers, some barely out of law school.

While speaking at the Fiji Law Society Convention, Leung says to maintain the integrity and image of the profession, they need to reform the Legal Practitioners Act and tighten the statutory requirements to ensure that only those who meet certain basic minimum standards can establish new law firms.

Leung says these standards could include a minimum number of years of practice, successful completion of practice management courses, and proper handling of trust accounts.

He says some people have probably entered the profession because they think it is glamorous and will earn them a decent living, that it is a quick path to riches and a grand lifestyle.

He says when he was admitted to the bar 42 years ago, Fiji had no law schools, and the only lawyers in the country went overseas to study.

Leung says today the situation is quite different as now, we have 3 universities, all churning out law graduates in assembly line fashion, however, there is no corresponding increase in legal jobs.

The Attorney General says he knows of some young lawyers who earn as little as $200 a week, and others are still looking for full time employment, years after qualifying.

Leung says when he started out as a young lawyer, there were probably 300 lawyers in the country, today there are about 2,366 legal practitioners on the roll.

About 1,115 hold current practicing certificates, half of those admitted are not practising law as such.

Leung says the rapid expansion of the profession over a relatively short period, has brought with it increasing concerns about the competence and adherence to legal ethics among some members of the profession.

He says it is a worrying development that lawyers still wet behind the ears are allowed to practice and unleashed to an unsuspecting public who think that all lawyers who have a law degree must have the same level of competence.

Leung says the quality of some of these lawyers leaves a lot to be desired, some lack basic communication skills and others have little idea about legal ethics.

He says only last week it was reported that a High Court judge fined a legal practitioner $200 for repeated non-attendances in his court, and at a recent admission ceremony the Acting Chief Justice bemoaned the lack of standards of some young lawyers.

He adds the complaints before the legal practitioners’ unit range from trust account breaches/defalcations, practising without a practising certificate, conflict of interest, non-refund of fees after taking fees and not doing any work, overcharging, acting without instructions, and practitioners facing criminal charges.

Since its inception the Lgela Practitioners Unit has received a total of 3,915 complaints. Of these, 1,910 have been successfully resolved.

The remaining 2,005 complaints are currently pending. He also thinks we have also seen a drop in the standards of courtesy and civility at the bar – between lawyers and sometimes between lawyers and the bench.

Leung says some lawyers think that being belligerent and rude is the highest form of advocacy although this is unprofessional and does little credit to the profession.