Complaints about lawyers pile up
Published:Thursday | December 2, 2010 | 12:00 AM
The number of complaints against members of the legal profession continues to mount despite increased attempts by the General Legal Council (GLC) to weed out bad eggs.
The latest report from the GLC (2009-2010) shows 143 new complaints with 35 attorneys sanctioned for misconduct.
This follows 2008-2009 when 128 complaints were filed against lawyers.
Minister with responsibility for information, Daryl Vaz, yesterday released the latest figures which were presented to Cabinet recently.
"The number of complaints pending at the start of the year was 374, the number of complaints filed in the year was 143, while the number of attorneys on who sanctions were imposed, 35, and the number of cases disposed, 154," Vaz told journalists at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing.
He said the GLC was left with 363 cases pending at the end of the year.
Vaz did not provide details on the nature of the complaints but sources in the legal profession told The Gleaner that the majority related to the use of clients' funds by lawyers.
"There might also be cases where persons report attorneys who they believe have not adequately represented them," said a member of the legal profession.
At the end of the 2008-2009 year, the GLC had reported that it opened the year with 409 complaints, with a further 128 reported for the year.
Profession not rotten
But at that time, the Jamaican Bar Association (JBA) dismissed claims that the number of complaints, showed that the profession was rotten.
At that time, JBA President Jacqueline Samuels-Brown argued that the legal profession should not be judged by the number of complaints made against lawyers.
"What you have to look at is the number of convictions," Samuels-Brown said.
She stressed that Jamaica still operates with the understanding that it is not enough to make allegations as accusations must be proven true.
"It is interesting that you have such a great disparity between the number of complaints and the number of cases where the lawyers are adjudged to be in breach," she said.