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Rules for lawyers 'must be upgraded'
Jacqueline Devonish, a London-based lawyer with Barbadian roots.
Published on: 9/8/2009.
by TREVOR YEARWOOD
APPOINTING AN OMBUDSMAN for the legal profession would help,but Barbados also needsto upgrade rules on how lawyers may conduct business.
These are the viewsof Jacqueline Devonish,a London-based lawyer with Barbadian roots.
On a just-ended visitto Barbados, she toldthe DAILY NATION that the Legal Profession Act 1978 needed an upgradeto bring it in line with developments that affected professionalism and public confidence.
Her comments were triggered by a May NATION article in which former ombudsman Carl Ince said he wanted to see such an investigator appointed to handle complaints againstthis country's lawyers.
"I think that the ombudsman could potentially be someone from another profession overseeing the whole legal profession," said Devonish, whose background includes 18 years in private practice and chairmanship of the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
"I think that would be the useful thing to do because they don't need to know the law. All they need to do . . . . is to understand the procedure because they would be looking to see whetherthe Bar Association is following their own procedures and dealing with complaints efficiently and in a timely manner."
She recommended changes to the local legislation to improve the complaints procedures against lawyers, to deal with overall monitoringof the profession and to provide "a bit more detail" of accounting procedures regarding the handlingof clients' funds.
In addition to a support system, Britain had its own system of routinely monitoring the legal profession, Devonish pointed out.
"You don't have any monitoring units at all," she added. "That's a layer of money that needs to be found from somewhere."
Devonish wants to see an improvement in the public trust in the profession.
"This can be achieved by transparent enforcement of the existing rules, subject to review, to bring the 1978 rules up to date," she said.
"More emphasis on public accountability can be achieved by involving some highly intellectual non-lawyers in the process who can represent the views of the public.
"Hearings and outcomes in the UK are public and this is a great deterrent to errant lawyers. The public can therefore see justice being done.
"If after going through the stages of a complaint, the complainant is still unhappy, then an independent ombudsman could be asked to review the process and make recommendations to the Bar Association. These findings should be published."
She said anything which currently appeared as a barrier to justice should be reviewed, "such as the need for complex affidavits and court action" at an early stage in the complaints process.
"It must be worth considering a review of the general practising requirements if these could better protectthe public against unscrupulous lawyers,"she added.
"Perhaps the annual review of Practising Certificates can be subject to the satisfactory completion of Continual Professional Development over the year, the filing of compliant annual client accounting records and a certificate of Professional Indemnity Insurance (to cover negligence by attorneys)."
She explained that this would afford financial protection to the publicin the event of errors. Instances of fraud would be dealt with by the Compensation Fund, according to the lawyer.
Devonish called for the process of handling complaints to be reviewed "from the bottom up", beginning in the attorney's office where the initial complaint should be made by the client.
"There must be a clear written complaints procedure about which the client is informed at the outset," she said.
"This sets a level of expectation on both sides and should reduce instances of misunderstanding, which inevitably lead to complaints being made."
If a complaint remained unresolved, the client must know who to turn to next and what to expect from that service, she said.
"It may be time to consider an independent method by which the complaint can be considered before the Bar Association arrives at the point at which a lawyer is referred to the disciplinary process," she said.
"This independent group could be required to scrutinise the legal practice and ethics rules. This body could also be used to monitor compliance generally by undertaking monitoring of visits to attorneys' practices and to provide guidance on compliance to the profession.
"Only after this basic investigation should steps be taken to place the matter within the formal legal framework."
The lawyer's parents, Roosevelt and Cleopatra Devonish, are Barbadians. She travels to Barbados every year, usually during the Crop-Over Festival.
She said she wanted to help the local legal profession in any way she could. (TY)
13 comment found!
: 9/8/2009
The PM should be reading. Here is valuable foreign exchange waiting at the door to enter Bim but the lawyers have the keys and controls the flow. Many Bajans living overseas want to purchase property and return to Bim but the process is delayed by the lawyers. Bajan in NA
: 9/8/2009
your views are spot on and I hope somebody sits up and takes note soon. I agree that the person for this job does not need legal training, so that rules you out. Attorneys from abroad operate at a higher level at first but eventually fall into the same bad habits. A small place like Barbados does not need an Ombusman solely for the Legal faternity. Once we get the dirty attorneys cleaned up perhaps by imprisoning a few, the others will step up to the plate and the Obbusman would have to apply for unemployment benefits. Barbados needs an efficient and effective Ombusman. Retired
Lawyers : 9/8/2009
We need to allow US lawyers the opportunity to practice in Barbados. Transparency and accountability where Bajan lawyers are concerned are no where to be found. The whole judicial system needs to be cleansed as well as the 'bar association'. Some of the things that clients have to go through in Barbados are mind-boggling. A lawyer becomes a judge and rules on a case prior to becoming a judge. In the US that person would have been debarred. The next is the cost. No lawyer should be charging fees based on what he or she feels. This is called 'fleecing'. The cries of the people in Barbados where lawyers are concerned have reached heaven. Something needs to done and soon.
Rules for lawyers 'must be upgraded' : 9/8/2009
The Father didn't have so many laws. Now there are so many laws that even the people that are supposed to protect us, can weedle their way out and leave us in the mire. And the time its taking to correct these things seems to be so far ahead in the future. There should be more accountability for clients and consumers - Businesses are focused on making money so there's no need for additional loophole so they can blatantly do what they like.....
Rules for lawyers 'must be upgraded' : 9/8/2009
"There must be a clear written complaints procedure about which the client is informed at the outset," - How novel, thats how most professionals do business but not in Barbados. There is a tendency to avoid giving any information so they have full control of situations. In addition, there is no transparency of how much certain work costs, even though lawyers have had experience of dealing with land, housing or certain situations before - they can never tell you an estimated figure of your costs - you have to get involved because you need certain things to go through lawyers but they SHOULD be able to give you your costings at the outset - but they never can. Its very underhand. The general consensus is "no-one really likes dealing with lawyers" because of the mistakes they make that cost people more money in the long run to put right. Its a very clever way of doubling your fees!
Rules For Lawyers : 9/8/2009
These are all excellent comments and suggestions from an experienced practitioner and I would like to think that the local Bar Association is taking heed. There has been a need for an Independant Review Board for some time. Clients of all types need to feel that there is accountability and the genuinely ethical attorneys in Barbados would not be tainted by their unethical brethren. I believe suggestions such as this are of benefit to both sides. As a Bajan national living overseas who does business in Barbados and intends to return to the island permanently I applaud Ms. Devonish' analysis and observations.
Unscrupulous Attorneys : 9/8/2009
There are so many stories about those attor-neys that it will make you wonder what the chief Judge is doing about them, especially the people that lives in Britain and north Amercia that goes to Barbados once or twice a year. I don`t know who that person that will do that job will be. Some of them should be disbared and some should be sent to prison. NY Bajan.
ABOUT TIME : 9/8/2009
Hopefully, someone in gov't is listening - i don't know too many people who've had great experiences with bim's legal peeps. Unfortunately, too many politicians are themselves lawyers, this is changing & hopefully the systems will change as well - i think a panel of 3 to oversee complaints and report to the attorney general directly is a better choice though than someone OUTSIDE the profession. Definately a welcome discussion though. -Bajan Canadian
Rules for Lawyers : 9/8/2009
Well said Miss Devonish, the thing I do not like is when doing business with them, they do take the case then take one or two years to complete but in the meantime calling on a monthly basis to find out how what's happenning on my behalf is very frustrating, and it seems the secretary is no hel either. Poor service with all of them. Born Bajan.
Appointing an Ombudsman : 9/8/2009
The English lawyer, Jacqueling Devonish in my opinion is right on the money. There are a lot of crocket lawyers in Barbados. Her advice is going to be a hard nut to crack because bajan lawyers don't want any one outside their profession who are just like them to monitor them. Every time people over seas send their money to these unscrupulous, greedy, sweet talking lawyers to do their business because they cannot be in Barbados and these people put their trust and money in their hands, these lawyers and some family members rob them blind out of their life samings. So I think that the government should have an independent set up for people to lay thier complaints. You can't complain to the head of the lawyers association because that is like the blind leading the blind. After a while all decisions will go in the lawyer's favour. Good luck with your suggestions Ms. Devonish. I hope that the government bring this to fruition soon and very soon because we have retirees looking forward to building their homes and retiring in good old Bim. May God bless the people of Barbados and its Government. Have a wonderful day. Summer is over, it is back to cold days and hard work. Bajan in Boston.
Long overdue scrutiny : 9/8/2009
Finally a non bias view of the work of lawyers in Barbados. For too long they do as they please because there is no accountability. I hope that the people of Barbados are listening to Ms Devonish and will take her up on the offer to help set up a system making them more transparent and accountable. I lived in difference countries and I have a hard time adjusting when I have to do business involving lawyers in Barbados. There are evasive, rude and seem to forget who's paying the bill.
Rules for lawyers 'must be upgraded' : 9/8/2009
Too right, Ms Devonish. I quite agree that this is well overdue. Lawyers appears to hold all the rules and regulations in their hands and dealing with a lawyer is like taking a stab in the dark because the process is not transparent. Any fees are charged and deeds are written without any punctuation from start to finish which makes no sense with regard to the start and end of sentences and what the deed actually means. After receiving deeds from lawyers you then have to pay again to ask them what the deed actually means, and explanations come out of their head rather than the paper it is written on. Its a terrible way to do business for the client. Then clients have no recompense or the process to complain takes years and people don't bother. Some thing needs to be done as the number of lawyers falling prey to unscrupulous practices is being highlighted. Well and true overdue!!
We do not need it : 9/8/2009
The local legal profession does not want any help. Lawyers/Liars enjoy certain freedoms; freedoms which they know if they engage or dabble a little into devious dealings or misconduct will simply suffer the fate of slab wrist penalty, the extent of which does not culminate into being disbarred. So Ms Overseas base laywer with bajan roots, sorry to burst your bubble but lawyers/liars in this country like there current set up. Go back from wence you came
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