The Emirates Association of Lawyers and Legal Professionals considered the leasing of law offices to others in exchange for financial sums as “trafficking in the profession”, stressing that it is in the process of forming a “Combating Abuse of the Profession” committee to confront such actions. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice revealed that it is currently studying the establishment of controls and standards for law offices, which will allow it to inspect them through the concerned parties, to know which offices are rented and which are not, as it does not currently conduct inspection tours of the offices, in accordance with Article 44 of the Law on Practicing the Profession, which stipulates that “these offices may not be inspected except with the knowledge of the Public Prosecution.”
|
Increase the penalty The Court of Appeal recently increased the ruling of the Court of First Instance, which sentenced a legal advisor of Arab nationality to three months in prison, and sentenced him to one year in prison, and ordered his deportation from the country after serving the sentence, for his conviction of forging the seal of the Public Prosecution Office and the seal of the Case Services Department, to issue an order to “cancel the arrest” and an order to “cancel the prison sentence,” and to issue a release order and cancel a deportation order. Justice: Action against violators cannot be taken without an official complaint The Director of the Department of Lawyers and Translators Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, Counselor Sarah Hazeem Al Shamsi, said that if the Ministry discovers that some lawyers are renting out their offices, it cannot take any action except through an official complaint registered regarding the incident of renting, so that the Ministry can take the necessary legal measures stipulated by the law, and verify this through the Lawyers’ Acceptance Committee competent to consider the complaints referred to it, and refer it to the Disciplinary Council to verify the occurrence of the violation, which conflicts with Law No. 23 of 1991 regarding the regulation of the legal profession, and disciplinary penalties are applied to it in accordance with the text of Article 47 of Law No. 23 of 1991. She explained that there is a list of “violators”, which includes the names of lawyers who were referred to the Disciplinary Board, and includes the penalties imposed on them, in order to monitor the violations committed by each lawyer, measure the extent of the lawyer’s commitment and respect for the law regulating the profession, and take legal action in the event of a repeat violation. She added that based on the Ministry’s strategy for the years 2014-2016 and in an effort to achieve leadership in justice and advance the legal profession in light of the development policy in accordance with the best international practices, it is currently studying a number of proposals and laws in the field of developing the legal profession in the country, applying the standards and conditions for licensing law firms and registering lawyers, setting controls and conditions for licensing legal consultants and researchers in law firms, and developing mechanisms and frameworks for monitoring practitioners to advance the level of the legal profession and respect the code of ethics of the profession. She said that the Ministry has an important and pioneering role that is always included in its vision, in achieving justice and providing distinguished legal services, and advancing the legal profession in light of the development policy in accordance with the best international practices, which motivates it to always apply the best. She added that the Judicial Institute is the specialist in the legal training plan, as it is seriously committed to spreading legal culture in society by holding conferences, seminars and specialized workshops, indicating that the Institute seeks to deliver its message to the general public, because it stems from the values and responsibilities for which it was established and derived from its 2015 strategic plan, from the necessity of raising public awareness of rights and duties. |
Lawyers said that these actions constitute an abuse of the profession and have negative effects on litigants and the course of justice, adding that whoever rents these offices will certainly not care about the reputation of the profession and his goal is to achieve financial returns by any means, suggesting the establishment of lists of what they called “sleeping lawyers.”
In detail, the head of the Emirates Association for Lawyers and Legal Professionals, lawyer Zayed Al Shamsi, said that “many cases were brought to the association in which local lawyers were involved, after they rented their offices to expatriates, and collected a lot of money from clients in the name of the office, and then left the country.” He stressed that “despite the association not having the tools to confront such practices, it is working to confront them by educating lawyers, and coordinating with the relevant authorities to find stricter tools to deal with these practices.”
He revealed that the association is about to announce a committee to “combat abuse of the profession,” which aims to enhance behavior among lawyers, combat office renting, and train lawyers to provide better service to clients, supporting the creation of lists that include the names of lawyers who do not follow up on their clients’ cases and who trade in the profession in one way or another.
Al Shamsi advised clients not only to look at the financial cost, but also to look at the lawyer’s history.
For his part, lawyer Ali Musabah called those who sublet their offices to others a “sleeping lawyer” (similar to a sleeping sponsor), stressing that these people bear responsibility for these actions that harm the legal profession, by renting their offices to people who do not care about the reputation of the profession or the reputation of the office as much as they care about increasing financial returns and profits.
He asked about the role of the Ministry of Justice in monitoring these offices and their owners, the lawyers who are supposed to attend court sessions because they have obtained licenses from the Ministry for their offices, calling for the cooperation of all lawyers who are jealous of the reputation of their profession, and the formation of joint committees with the Ministry of Justice and the Emirates Association of Lawyers and Legal Professionals to follow up on such a phenomenon and report it, and take deterrent measures, such as withdrawing the licenses of these offices and stopping them.
He also suggested that the Ministry and the Association cooperate in drawing up lists of lawyers who are proven to have rented their offices but do not attend their clients’ cases, and to display these lists in the various courts in the country. He explained that this idea can also be implemented by establishing a system in the various courts in the country that enables anyone to inquire about the name of any lawyer and the extent of his commitment to attending his clients’ sessions, with the exception of lawyers who follow up on their clients’ cases in other emirates and are forced to appoint lawyers to follow up on their cases.
Musabah confirmed that lawyers’ clerks or representatives are well-known and can be easily distinguished. They are divided into two categories: one follows up on the work assigned to it by the lawyer’s office in which it works, and these are respected by lawyers. The other works in the office of a sleeping lawyer, and most lawyers prefer not to deal with them.
He stressed the phenomenon of lawyers’ clerks who dress as citizens and stand in front of the courts to catch their clients, stressing the need to put an end to these inappropriate practices that offend everyone working in this profession, advising any client who has been defrauded by lawyers’ clerks to file a report with the Public Prosecution Office stating that he has been defrauded.
In turn, lawyer Abdullah Al Nasser said that these practices do not amount to a phenomenon, and do not go beyond being individual cases that may occur in all professions. However, they represent a danger that must be addressed, calling on the authorities concerned with regulating the legal profession to activate oversight of such offices.
He stressed his rejection of the idea of creating lists of names of lawyers who are proven to be trading in the profession, adding that the laws, instructions and regulations of the regulatory authorities are capable of suspending the license of anyone proven to be engaging in such behavior.
He noted that the Legal Affairs Department requires, when licensing and renewing the license of law firms, that there be a record for the lawyer who owns the office proving his attendance at cases, indicating that a distinction must be made between those who sell their license to other persons and those who partner with others, as the latter has a known goal and does not harm the profession, but those who sell the license greatly harm the profession.
In addition, Lawyer Abdullah Haji stressed that the legal profession is an ethical profession, and the lawyer must respect his profession and exert his efforts to preserve it and confront anything that harms it.
Hajji refused that some lawyers would rent their licenses to other people who could harm the profession as a whole, asking: “Which lawyer would accept selling his license after he swore to preserve it and work faithfully for it?”
He pointed out that the Human Resources Department has established laws and regulations that regulate the profession, and has limited the legal consultations provided to clients to the lawyer who owns the office and the legal advisor who works in his office, who has obtained a license from the competent authorities. The Ministry of Justice, the Legal Affairs Department in Dubai, and the Emirates Association of Lawyers and Legal Professionals must intensify courses, workshops, and lectures for lawyers to raise their awareness of the profession.
As for the Director of the Department of Lawyers and Translators Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, Counselor Sarah Hazeem Al Shamsi, she said that the Ministry, represented by the Lawyers’ Admission Committee, is currently studying not allowing a new lawyer to practice for a certain period of time, except through the office of a practicing lawyer with no less than five years of experience.
Al Shamsi told Al-Emarat Al-Youm that the ministry is currently working on setting controls and standards for law firms, which will allow the ministry to inspect them through the relevant authorities, to determine which offices are rented and which are not, as the ministry is not currently conducting inspection tours of the offices, in accordance with Article 44 of the Law on Practicing the Profession, which stipulates that such offices may not be inspected except with the knowledge of the Public Prosecution.
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google News