Stephen Tan Ban Cheng
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Gold Forumer
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Re:Young Lawyers & Dishonesty - The Stats - 2007/06/09 16:59
My dear Dipendra
Let me quote you: “I refer to the recent controversy about dishonest lawyers and in particular the disparaging views made about young lawyers, dishonesty and the call for tighter rules to prevent further abuses.
“In order to correct this perception (that young lawyers require tougher and more stringent rules to prevent further abuses allegedly committed by them), and the impression that these young lawyers are more dishonest compared to the “not-so-young” lawyers, I would like to list below the statistics obtained from the Bar Council (as at May 2007) on the categories of lawyers struck off, suspended under ss. 88A and 94(4).
“For the purposes of my views, I have taken young lawyers to be below 7 years in practice.
“Struck Off
“7 years and above – 201 lawyers
“7 years and below – 15 lawyers
“Suspended under Section 88A, 94(4) and Temporary Suspension
“7 years and above – 233 lawyers
“7 years and below – 31 lawyers
“I hope these above statistics would go a long way to correct the fetid impression that:
“(a) Young lawyers are more prone to be dishonest;
“(b) That we allegedly need tighter rules to rein these young lawyers in
Herewith, I append my comments.
Your statistics assume greater force if it is highlighted “and underlined in red ink” that the majority of the Bar comprises young lawyers and the above-quoted statistics do not even reflect this. One would have thought that other things being equal, if young lawyers are dishonest and if they comprise 70 per cent of the Bar, they will be in the majority among those struck off and suspended, even temporarily. The data do not bear this out and this speaks volumes against what I will term the self-righteousness of so-called senior lawyers who imprudently and impudently throw stones when living in glass houses.
In any case, I take comfort in the statistics you have quoted since I am on record as having said earlier that I am deeply disillusioned with the parlous state of the Bar – meeting lawyers who are panelists, discounters and gunslingers.
I have seen lawyers getting themselves empanelled with big players such as banks and developers to steal a march on their fellow lawyers in getting jobs, lawyers pauperising their fellow lawyers by giving huge discounts, and lawyers acting as gunslingers for those who can afford to pay them their huge fees.
In the last category, I often wonder whether these lawyers are amoral or immoral. I leave that decision to the readers.
Of course, I am also painfully aware of lawyers who hire touts in runner cases and all that. And some of them have even forgotten that they did just that!
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