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 ©New Sunday Times
(Used by permission)
by V. Anbalagan
• Board can suspend or bar lawyer from practising
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 92 lawyers were struck off the rolls over the last
five years for serious professional misconduct.
This includes embezzling the money of their clients.
Another 103 lawyers were suspended during the same period.
The Advocates and Solicitors' Disciplinary Board had also fined 1,295 lawyers
during that period while 18 others were reprimanded.
Board chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad Sulaiman, describing this as an "alarming
trend", added: "Thirty years ago, there was hardly any case of lawyers being
struck off the rolls.
"But today, the numbers are increasing. The worrying trend is
that some of these lawyers are young and have been in the profession for less
than five years.
"Now, an increasing number of lawyers are treating the profession as a business.
They are interested only in making money. This is a cause for concern."
He suggested that the Bar Council and the universities instil professionalism
and a high sense of ethics in the law graduates.
Khalid said the serious misconduct committed by the lawyers included embezzling
clients' money.
"We bar them from practising even if the amount is RM5,000," he said, adding
that the amount did not matter as the board considered financial impropriety by
lawyers as grave misconduct.
Lawyers are suspended for other misconduct which usually involves breach of
stakeholders' duty. The suspension can be for a day or up to five years,
depending on the gravity of the misconduct.
Khalid said, among others, lawyers were fined when they failed to renew their
annual practising certificates on time.
"Despite not having valid certificates, some went to court and attended to their
clients."
He likened the failure of lawyers to renew their certificates to driving a
vehicle without a valid licence.
"The board considers this a serious misdemeanour but most were fined after they
gave valid reasons for the delay in renewing their certificates," he said.
In the last five years, the biggest fine meted out by the board was RM50,000.
Khalid, who is the first chairman to be appointed from the Bar, said 4,947
complaints had been filed with the board over the last five years and about 80
per cent had been disposed of.
He said about 30 per cent of the complaints came from the Bar Council and
included matters such as the failure of lawyers to renew their practising
certificates.
Others were complaints about lawyers violating Bar Council rulings such as
overcharging clients, giving discounts, breach of stakeholders' duty, sharing
premises with non-lawyers and issuing dishonoured cheques.
Complaints were also received from government agencies like the Inland Revenue
Board, the Royal Customs and Excise Department, and the housing division in the
Treasury for alleged financial misappropriation.
The board had also received complaints from the judiciary about lawyers who
committed misdemeanour in court.
Khalid said a lawyer would be suspended pending the outcome of the disciplinary
committee's investigation into alleged financial impropriety only if the Bar
Council made such an application as provided for under the Legal Profession Act
(LPA).
He said such interim suspension had been carried out since 2001.
He also lamented the fact that there were serial offenders, including senior
lawyers, who repeatedly committed the same misconduct.
Khalid, who is in his second term as chairman, said board members had been
working hard to dispose of cases faster and investigations were being completed
within two months.
"Previously, the rate of disposal was slow and could take up to two years
because of the cumbersome procedure."
Khalid said steps were being taken, including amending the Legal Profession Act,
for the board to be seen to be totally independent.
"I vouch that the board is totally independent from the Bar Council in its
decision-making process," he said.
The Bar Council representatives on the board would abstain when it dealt with
complaints lodged by the council.
Board can suspend or bar lawyer from practising
KUALA LUMPUR: The Advocates and Solicitors' Disciplinary Board, set up under
the Legal Profession Act (LPA) 1976, is a body which handles complaints of
misconduct against lawyers.
It was set up in 1992 but became operational two years later.
The board was set up following complaints in the 1980s that the Bar Council was
not doing enough to discipline lawyers.
It is funded by an annual levy of RM60 paid by each of the 12,500 lawyers in the
peninsula.
The board consists of 17 members, of which 16, including the chairman, are
appointed by the chief judge of Malaya for two years.
The president of the Malaysian Bar, by virtue of his
position, or his representative, automatically becomes the vice-chairman of the
board.
Under the LPA, misconduct is defined as "conduct or omission to act in Malaysia
or elsewhere by the lawyer in a professional capacity or otherwise which amounts
to grave impropriety".
Complaints have to be made in writing to the board.
The judiciary, the Attorney-General's Chambers, government agencies, the Bar
Council, the state Bar Committees or individuals can initiate action against
errant lawyers.
Under the new amendments to the LPA, the board will study the complaint and
decide whether to pursue the case. The amendments came into effect on Oct 2 last
year,
If there is merit to the complaint, the lawyer, who is the respondent, will be
asked to explain in writing within 14 days.
The board will then set up a three-man disciplinary committee which will look at
the evidence and call witnesses.
The committee will be given two months to complete its task and a further
two-month extension if the need arises. They must write to the chairman for an
extension.
Under the amendments, anyone who refuses to give evidence without good grounds
can be fined up to RM2,000 or jailed up to three months, or both, if found
guilty.
The complainant or the respondent can also apply to the court to subpoena any
person as a witness.
The committee will have to come out with a finding of fact and liability if the
lawyer was guilty of misconduct or otherwise.
The board, on the recommendation of the committee, can reprimand the lawyer,
impose a fine, suspend or bar him from practising.
Under the new amendments, the board has the power to compel the lawyer to
restitute the complainant if there are monies owed.
Any party aggrieved with the board's decision can appeal to the High Court.
Dissatisfied litigants can go to the Court of Appeal but appeal to the Federal
Court will only be heard after leave has been granted.
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Circular No 102/2012: Mahkamah Sesyen/Majistret Kajang Moving to Kompleks Mahkamah Kajang
It's very true that an increasing number of lawyers are treating the profession as a business... they are interested only in making money.
So what do we expect the public to see us?
Besides, do we know that a GREAT number of lawyers are EGOISTIC and NEVER admit mistake?
In fact, one very senior lawyer had once commented that 'half the lawyers in town cannot be trusted'!
Very junior member,
Ding Chu Teck