THE SAD TRUTH ABOUT LAWYERS

Attorneys are like corbeaux circling afar then suddenly swooping in to feed on the flesh of hapless carrion….or would it be more apt to describe them as angles strumming a harp to soothe you into blissful eternal sleep. Charles Dickens also did not give the attorney much of a chance in his description of them in the Bleak House.
  
Certainly the attorney has taken a good ribbing over the years. Stop me if you heard this one…. What is the difference between a tick and a lawyer?...a tick falls off of you when you die…Why should sex between lawyers and their clients be prohibited? To prevent the client from being billed twice for the same service. ..What do you call a sober person at a law association dinner? A carterer What do you call 1000 lawyers under the sea?…a good  start….and it goes on. Most attorneys will join in and finish the joke for you. We have heard it all. Quite apart from making good dinner conversation however there is a sad ring of truth to the public’s perception of an attorney which has become a burden on the shoulders of the majority of those genuine crusaders of the rule of law.

The public perception of an attorney as a selfish, aloof, uncharitable creature bent on crushing his opponent or impoverishing his client has been difficult to remove.. not that some attorneys have made this job any easier. Despite this the services of attorneys are required for almost every facet of life..and death. Perhaps very little is done by attorneys themselves to dispel the myths surrounding this profession and to demystify one of the oldest profession. (Apologies to the other profession regarded as the oldest). The truth is just as the law itself is dynamic so to is the attorney. An attorney is an integral part or a building block of society and bears a social responsibility to ensure a quality life for the citizens of this country. His life is structured around the rules and ethics of a profession that demand nothing less than honesty, integrity and resourcefulness. Anything short of that can no longer be tolerated in a globally competitive world with high demands for a quality service. This is his or her legal burden.

A good start to demystify the profession is with the code of ethics of the legal profession in the Legal Profession Act 1986 which sets out the broad parameters of acceptable conduct and the standard of professionalism expected of the attorney. For instance we frequently read of an accused being acquitted on a no case submission or the prosecutor offering no evidence. However the high traditions of the bar as set out in the code demands that a public prosecutor’s primary duty is not to secure a conviction but to see that justice is done. To that end he is obliged not to withhold facts tending to prove the guilt or innocence of the accused. Almost every law student may balk over pictures of headless corpses in the brief of a criminal attorney’s office and battle with the issue as to how in good conscience can he defend that crime.

Apart from the fact that an accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence, it is the right of the attorney under the code to undertake the defence of a person accused of crime regardless of his own personal opinion as to the guilt of the accused and having undertaken such defence he is bound by all fear and honourable means to present every defence that the law of the land permits so that no person may be deprived of life or liberty except by the due process of law. So strong is this missive that he or she is obliged to defend the interests of his or her client without fear of judicial disfavour or public unpopularity and without regard to any unpleasant consequences to himself or to any other person. Perhaps therein lies the source of an attorney’s low public rating. If perchance you see attorneys on opposing sides of a case mixing socially even in the corridors of the court, rest assured they are not exchanging secrets about your case, the tradition and ethics of the bar require the conduct of an attorney at law towards his fellow attorneys to be characterised by courtesy fairness and good faith and not permit ill feeling between clients to affect his relationship with his colleagues.

As our legal profession has evolved over the years dispensing with the wig, fusing the creatures of solicitor and barrister it is important to guard against the whittling down of the traditions of the bar as set out in the code. As the saying goes size does not matter…the size of an attorneys office is not as important as the service he renders and the steadfast observance of the code. Its not always about the better (or bigger) shingle. So in your search for your champion of justice here are some constructive tips:
(a) Your attorney must be a practising attorney and must have his practising certificate;
(b) Make full and frank disclosure to your attorney. The strength of your case or defence depends upon the extent of your instructions and your communications with your attorney are private and confidential.
(c) Listen to the advice given by your attorney carefully and ensure you understand your options. You do not want to suffer because you misinterpreted or failed to appreciate the advice given to you by your attorney. When in doubt ask a question.
(d) An attorney can take all technical points required to advance your case but will not do so as to knowingly mislead the Court.
(e) Retain your attorney at law. Attorneys perform services for a fee. The act of employing your attorney at law constitutes your retainer.
(f) Bold assurances of victory are seldom given as the fate of your matter lies in the hands of the judge
(g) Ask your attorney questions about your options. More frequently you may prefer to settle rather than incur the costs of litigation.

There are many developments of the law which are misunderstood, go unnoticed or are subject to erroneous reporting. The Law Association in its attempt to discharge its legal burden of demystifying the profession will be publishing a series of articles focusing on various aspects of life through the lens of the lawyer. Hopefully in this way the record could be set straight as between the law and the public and thereby discharge the legal burden on a body of attorneys of whom much is expected.

(The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobao)