Legal Profession - Code Of Conduct Of Lawyers

Introduction

The legal profession appears to be under attack in some parts of the world. Parker writes that Australian lawyers feel they are the "subjects of unprecedented investigation, criticism and attack ." De Groot-Van Leeuwen also writes that "a wide variety of illegal practices of lawyers has been exposed in public" and that, "the number of complaints (per lawyer) is steadily rising. " In fact, he writes that lawyers these days are no longer depicted as "crusaders of justice or enlightened upholders of the law, but as parasites feeding on the misery of others, as servants of the mafia, or as common mortals at best. "

Singapore has not reached this state, and the legal profession here is still highly respected and upheld. However, this may not remain, and there is the possibility that our legal system will follow the same path if the quality of our legal profession is not continually preserved. As such, this paper will focus on the qualities that make a good lawyer, since they determine the quality of our legal profession.

Qualities of Good Lawyers

In the medical profession, doctors take the Hippocratic Oath that sets standards of professionalism in their conduct and performance of duties. Similarly, the legal profession is also held to certain standards, and lawyers are expected to possess certain qualities. Although legal institutions have tried to set up guidelines and regulations, it is very difficult to have Ð''hard and fast rules' on such grey areas, and there are myriad ways of interpreting what qualities a good lawyer should embody.

It is pertinent that a lawyer should possess certain essential qualities such as a "strong understanding of legal doctrine and principles". Additionally, a good lawyer should be able to apply and develop the law with respect to each society's unique culture and values. These are qualities relating to the technical application of the law and we concur that such foundations are critical factors all lawyers should possess.

This can be exemplified by the case of Law Society of Singapore v Tay Eng Kwee Edwin . The accused had flaunted the SA Rules by failing to maintain the mandated bookkeeping. Furthermore, he made no effort to mitigate his actions apart from one solitary email. Although there was no dishonesty on the accused's part, his conduct was perceived to be below the required standards expected of a professional, and he was struck off the roll.

Most importantly, a lawyer should complement his knowledge with a firm set of ethics. As advocates of the law, lawyers should uphold stringent standards of morality as well as be able to exercise good judgment and retain integrity. These qualities may seem easy to determine on the surface, but in reality, lawyers often "hold strongly opposing views on what is proper conduct in legal practice ". One example is the conflicting roles of a lawyer, one view: that "[a] suspect has a right to expect that his lawyer uses every means to defend him"; and the other: that the "means that lawyers employ for the defence of their clients should be constrained by wider responsibilities". In the case of Law Society of Singapore v Chen Kok Siang Joseph , the accused posed as a friend of his client in order to interview him after repeatedly being turned down by prison authorities. This resulted in a 4 year suspension from the Bar being imposed upon discovery.

Here, it is imperative to note that the accused in this case had resorted to this unorthodox method of gaining entry into prison to interview his client only after repeated failures to secure the permission of such an interview from the prison authorities. It is thus arguable that the accused actions were fueled by the desire to aid his client, yet a more convincing argument would be that he was fulfilling his own agenda, which one may speculate as to perhaps making a name for himself as a lawyer who would go above and beyond