The Bar Council refers to the statements of Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, published in the newspapers on 30 June 2002 in relation to the 400 complaints against lawyers.
The Bar Council endorses the view of the Minister that the education system and discipline at university level should be restructured to produce more ethical lawyers. Specifically, legal ethics should be viewed as a major subject, taught at the earliest available opportunity at university to provide students with a thorough grounding of the proper spirit in which lawyers should practise. The subject of legal ethics, encompassing the areas of discipline, professional legal conduct and honesty is a crucial part of a lawyer’s education, equal in its importance to substantive law subjects. By the time students begin pupillage, they should already have a good grasp of what makes a good lawyer. This should include a knowledge of how to handle clients’ money ethically and the manner in which they are to deal with other lawyers and the courts. Such education should imbue a correct and broad mindset in students that should guide them, during their pupillage, as they begin to apply the legal knowledge they have acquired in theory to specific real-life cases.
With the membership of the Malaysian Bar growing at a fast rate (there are now about 10,300 lawyers on the Roll of Advocates and Solicitors), it is conceivable that instances of misconduct have correspondingly increased. The Bar Council takes a serious view of all complaints by the public about the misconduct of lawyers, and is always taking steps to reduce the number of errant lawyers.
The discipline of lawyers lies in the hands of the Disciplinary Board. The Board is a body independent of the Council, and set up pursuant to the Legal Profession Act 1976. It consists of senior lawyers and is chaired by a Judge of the Court of Appeal. It deals with all complaints against lawyers. The Bar Council is only empowered to deal with cases of misconduct involving dishonesty, which includes cases of cheating and the misappropriation of funds. If the Bar Council receives a complaint involving dishonesty, the Council can apply to Court for an injunction to stop the lawyer concerned from practising pending investigations into his case, or apply to the Disciplinary Board for an order of suspension pending such investigations. The Bar Council will also lodge a police report in respect of the complaint if the complainant has not already done so.
Of the '400 cases' referred to by the Minister, 29 cases involved dishonesty and these cases have either been dealt with or are pending further investigations. The remaining cases have been referred to the Disciplinary Board for their appropriate action.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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