WESTERN BUREAU:
ATTORNEYS are objecting to the prospect of attending compulsory seminars or risk losing their law licences.
The proposal, if passed, would see the introduction of mandatory continuing legal education for all practising attorneys. There would be exemptions, however, for recently qualified attorneys, full-time law teachers, members of parliament and members of the armed forces, providing "they are not engaged in private practice." The draft proposal put forward by the General Legal Council (GLC), the regulatory arm of the legal profession, also makes it clear that the fulfilment of the mandatory requirements would be a "pre-condition for the issuing of a practising certificate."
The Sunday Gleaner has obtained the copy of a letter sent by the Attorney-General A. J. Nicholson to the Cornwall Bar where he asked for a counterproposal. Mr. Nicholson said he received recommendations from the GLC for certain amendments to be made to the Legal Profession Act but that "because of their far reaching implications, the Prime Minister has instructed that I forward the proposals for your consideration and comments."
The GLC's argument is that participation in the training programmes, conferences and seminars would serve to keep attorneys abreast of new legal developments and "provide an opportunity for valuable ex-change of information between colleagues." This, the GLC, notes, would greatly enhance the quality of service attorneys provide to their clients.
The proposal has been creating quite an uproar within legal circles with many attorneys promising to fight it to "its inevitable death."
"No way are we going to agree to this," notes Clayton Morgan, president of the Cornwall Bar Association. "Other professions like the Medical Association of Jamaica, the Resident Magistrates Association and the Engineering Society all have continuing education courses. We don't see where anybody is forcing them to go -- why lawyers? It is insulting to tell a Queen's Counsel who has amassed years of experience that he has to go back to school or he will not be allowed to practise law."
"This is a poorly drafted proposal which even the Attorney-General concedes has far reaching implications," he added.
"Indeed it has far reaching implications," Mr. Morgan added. "Conceivably the moment lawyers such as current parliamentarians, Delroy Chuck, K.D. Knight, A. J. Nicholson, Ronnie Thwaites and even the Prime Minister himself revert back to private practice they would also be required to go back to school."
Lindel Smith, the immediate past president of the Southern Bar Association, though more restrained in tone, agreed. According to him, the proposal in its current form was too ambiguous and leaves open what he termed "a lot of unanswered questions."
Repeated calls by The Sunday Gleaner to GLC executive Dr. Lloyd Barnett and Hilary Phillips, president of the Jamaican Bar Association, were unsuccessful. But a senior member of the Jamaican Bar notes that the "knee jerk reaction of some attorneys stems from the fact that lawyers traditionally do not like people telling them what to do.
