Over the years, lawyers in most communities have earned the undesirable reputation as being some of the most ruthless and evil persons in society. And all too often their reputation is most deserving of them. Because of their reputation of being heartless and ripping off unsuspecting members of the public, lawyers have been the recipient of some of the cruelest jokes. For example, what do you call a dozen lawyers buried up to the neck in sand? Answer: “Not enough sand.” This perception that all lawyers are crooked is unfortunate. As in any profession, it is probably just a handful of misguided lawyers who spoil the image of the whole group.
In the Bahamas, the reputation of lawyers take a more extensive negative version. Some Bahamian lawyers make pirates such as Blackbeard and gangsters such as Jesse James look like altar boys. Instead of a sword or gun, the weapon of choice is the brief case. Indeed no other profession in the Bahamas is looked upon with such a negative and mistrusting attitude. Almost everyone would readily relate a personal situation involving some dealing with a lawyer whom they felt had ripped them off. Or, at the end of the day, no justice was done on their behalf even though the client had entered into the legal relationship in good faith.
How many times have we heard the story that someone had paid a lawyer for a service or had given them important papers that they had to fight to get back. To make matters worse, sometimes after not receiving the service they were expecting, they then have to spend more money and effort to recover their entitlement. But all too often, out of frustration and the fear of throwing good money after bad, people often give up and cut their loses as to fight an attorney may mean hiring another attorney. “Once bitten, twice shy.” The concern here is not to question legal fees as whenever the question of fees arise, any lawyer will pull out the Bar manual and explain to you that their fees are consistent with the Bar. There is no breach of contract if the service is performed for the agreed price. The problem comes when monies are paid but no or limited service is rendered.
Furthermore, far too many lawyers have an ego problem with some egos being bigger than the island of Andros. They will not entertain any reasonable complaint as they believe that they are the smartest person in the world Nor will they return your phone calls or answer your letters. Feeble excuses ranging from being in a meeting or tied up in court are the most common.. This rude and ill-mannered behavior is characteristic of far too many lawyers, It only leads to a breakdown of communications and a further mistrust of the legal profession.
What is so amazing is the fact that in a number of cases where lawyers were accused or convicted of stealing by reason of employment, even when millions of dollars were involved, none ever do any jail time. Thus proving the theory that most criminals in the Bahamas are on the wrong side of Fox Hill prison gate. To make matters worse, the Bahamian land laws are most ancient and inadequate with many personal interest not registered or recorded.
Regrettably in the legal profession there are few advocates to change bad or defective laws even though changing or updating such laws may serve to protect or benefit the public. Many lawyers will immorally exploit this legal shortcomings by refusing to change the law because it is their bread and butter. Crooked, clever, unethical, and unscrupulous lawyers all too often take advantage of the legal loop holes, exploiting the attorney-client privilege of confidentiality, Anything can happen and quite often does ehind the closed doors of the “honorable ” chambers. When no law and legal proceedings exist to support a particular document, too many Bahamian lawyers will fill in the blanks even if it means committing a fraudulent act.
Without any shame or guilt, these legal mercenaries pass off themselves as decent people in the Bahamian society. Many of them are on a church or school board or a member of a service club. Some even involve themselves in the sporting world. But don’t be fooled by these social gestures, That’s only a cover. With a professional “buddy-buddy” system in place, the Bahamian legal profession operate like a syndicate. Individual lawyers are afraid to speak out against other lawyers when they are wrong because of the possibility of an economic backlash or more evil still, plain old victimization.
It is not very often that I congratulate the PLP government for a job well done, but this is one time I give Attorney General Alfred Sears much credit for having the foresight and wisdom for making a sincere attempt to rein in these wayward lawyers who are giving the legal profession such a bad image. A subcommittee of the Bahamas Bar Council /Association has been appointed to entertain complaints concerning unethical or legal complaints against lawyers who may feel that they are or can operate above the law. Under the presidency of Attorney Wayne Munroe, a zero tolerance and no-nonsense approach to this kind of foolishness has been established. A panel of five persons which includes three lawyers and two non-legal persons from the community have recently been appointed.
Even though it is up to the lawyers to regulate their profession, the interest of the public who are often the victims must be taken into account as well. This disciplinary tribunal takes a prima facie look at the evidence to determine the degree of culpable behavior and make recommendations for further disciplinary or legal action which could result in disbarment and or criminal prosecution. With the number of lawyers in the Bahamas now increasing exponentially, it is absolutely critical that proper rules and regulation be the policy after than the exception . In 100 years the Bahamas has gone from five lawyers to now approaching 1,000 lawyers. In a country with only 300,000 population., there will be one lawyer for every 300 people. This is probably one of the highest lawyer/people ratio in the world.
The few bad apples must be suspended if not eliminated, to maintain the integrity of the Bahamas legal profession. Because of the way he was treated by lawyers, at least one foreign investor from Germany is now waging an all out economic war against the Bahamas and is attempting to discourage others from investing in a land without law and order and where lawyers are not accountable.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr.Leatendore Percentie
Boston, MA
December 1, 2004
