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Public advised to lodge complaints against lawyers via Appeal Court

Sep 08, 2017 News

Members of the public aggrieved by actions of officials of the legal fraternity are encouraged to file their complaints with the Legal Practitioners’ Committee (LPC) via the Court of Appeal.
Kaieteur News was informed that while the LPC is not sitting at present, the complainants can still visit the Court of Appeal and file their complaints.
“When the LPC sits, the complaints will still be valid,” an official attached to the Appellate Court told Kaieteur News. “Forms are available for such matters to be filed.”
The LPC is a statutory body established by the Legal Practitioners Act which hears complaints against lawyers. The LPC comprises two panels of Attorneys–at–Law who are appointed by the Chancellor of the Judiciary.
Article 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act gives the committee the power to “(a) dismiss the application; (b) impose on the Attorney-at-Law to whom the application relates, a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand dollars as the Committee thinks proper; (c) reprimand the Attorney-at-Law to whom the application relates; or (d) make an order as to costs of proceedings as it thinks fit,”
But despite its function, the committee has been largely criticised for its ineffectiveness.
In a recent article, Attorney Christopher Ram cited a lack of resources, commitment and courage to deal with the “egregious infractions by some members of the profession,” among the hindrances to the work of the committee.
He pointed out that he recently learnt of a matter in which a lawyer committed what amounts to a fraud on the courts. The matter was known to other lawyers, but they were reluctant to raise the issue.
The lawyer was also critical of what he described as stories of case files being ducked.
Ram’s concerns indeed would come at a time when there have been complaints against lawyers, lodged with this newspaper and at other fora, about unethical practices of some lawyers.
“Lawyers are bound by a Code of Conduct under the Legal Practitioners Act, but many, it seems, pay little attention to its prescriptions, confident that they will get away with whatever. Even when lawyers are found “guilty”, the strongest punishment they face is being told to refund the fees or money paid to them by their hapless clients,” Ram claimed in his letter.
He said that in a civilised environment, such action would require publication.
“Here in Guyana, there is no more than whisper among lawyers while the offending lawyer is free to continue the offending practice. My recommendation would be for the Legal Practitioners Committee to be headed by a retired Judge enabled with capable full-time staff, and for all its findings to be publicised. The public needs protection from unscrupulous practitioners,” Ram had said.

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