Dear Editor,
NOT A DAY goes by without
the newspapers in Sabah carrying pictures of grinning lawyers standing next to
their Clients. This is a scam by lawyers who 'lose' 90 per cent of their cases
except where they are photographed grinning ear to ear outside the courthouse
with their Clients.
The purpose of the picture
in the newspapers scam — the photographer/reporter concerned usually gets at
least RM 200 from the lawyer concerned — is to attract even more Clients.
The real story is that
Clients who don’t appear in the newspapers with their lawyers invariably 'lose'
their cases.
This is because the lawyer
will do a deal with the other side and do a number on the Client who will
eventually be sacrificed after being fleeced over many years.
The truth is stranger than
the fiction.
Ninety per cent of civil
litigation case don’t go into Court — in most cases because the lawyers do a
number on Clients after taking money — or for Trial.
Clients must not rush to see
a lawyer the moment that they have a civil litigation problem. A lawyer is the
LAST person they need to see.
It’s better for Clients to
file their own cases in Court after drafting them with the help of someone who
knows how to make submissions. Such help need not be a lawyer but someone who
knows how to draft very well and can therefore make out a compelling case.
Most lawyers have very poor
language and drafting skills and rely on oral submissions or cross examination
in Court. They can’t even draft a simple letter in English or Malay.
Clients need a lawyer only
to appear in Court after a Trial date is secured and to make oral
representations for an out-of-court settlement or to take the matter to
Mediation Court or failing both approaches, prepare for Trial. Here, lawyers
are needed for citations re the law and authorities.
Lawyers will generally claim
that they have to do a lot of legal research but this is just bullshit to
fleece Clients. Legal research is available online at the touch of a button.
Lawyers are not allowed to
be present in Mediation.
Contrary to popular belief,
Courts don’t determine the direction of a civil litigation case or its outcome
but they can help by way of Order for Directions.
Under our adversial system
in Court, the parties to a conflict determine the direction of a case and also
determine the outcome by the manner in which they draft and file submissions.
The Court merely draws the
outcome of a case from the submissions of the parties in conflict.
Besides Mediation Court,
lawyers are not allowed to be present at the various Tribunals which sometimes
are held at the courthouse. These include Land Office, Immigration, JPN,
Customs, Income Tax, Labour, Industrial Relations, Housing, Consumer, Small
Claims, Marriage, Arbitration (lawyers allowed with permission but not
necessary) etc etc
Get hold of a copy of the
High Court and subordinate court rules for reference and study them.
Thank you,
ADICHAN PUDICHAN
No comments:
Post a Comment