Delroy Chuck
WHEN CITIZENS have problems, challenges and concerns, there should be easy access to advice, direction and redress. Moreover, in a society gripped in chaos and misdirection, as we are, conflicts, disputes and grave hardships emerge daily and the need for expert guidance becomes critical. People want to be heard and want professional help in their private affairs.
Where do they turn for comfort, appeasement and settlement of their private turmoil? Legal advice should be readily available, but unfortunately, citizens only seek legal help when they are in real trouble and, sometimes, beyond the point of no return.
Actually, the provision of legal services has become far too expensive and remote. The legal profession has not stepped up to the plate, immersed itself in the everyday affairs of the Jamaican society, and become a part of the solutions to the nation's problems.
ATTORNEY'S IMAGE
The image of an attorney is of an arrogant, old man sitting in his office tending to his clients or advocating before a judge in court, for the sole purpose of enriching himself. The provision of legal services is not viewed positively but seen as a last resort for people who cannot fend for themselves. Lawyers are not seen as friendly, trustworthy, helpful and concerned with the daily lives of our people. Attorneys have not helped their cause and their profession by their isolation from the common man.
Lawyers play an important part in every society. They have been trained in a wide area of human interaction and human conflicts. Every lawyer has, or should have, an understanding of simple agreements between parties, how they are breached and the remedy for their breach. In every simple or important transaction, it is always helpful to have an attorney giving advice or carefully reading the fine prints. Thus, no citizen should sell or purchase real property without the professional help of an attorney. One cannot deny that in the vast majority of inter- party dealings there will be no problem, but why wait until a problem or conflict emerges before the help of an attorney is sought?
Lawyers would help their cause greatly if they provide more free advice and voluntary services to their communities. Far too many attorneys feel they should be paid for every single piece of consultation and, thus, are seen as greedy. Admittedly, the goods and services the legal profession provides are expert and well-considered guidance for which the practitioners have been well trained and for which they should be well paid.
However, our society needs enlightenment and edification on how the legal profession can help avoid problems and ease the hardships of our people. For example, the burden and demand on the Administrator General's Office would be eased 100 per cent if everyone made a will. As a service to the society, every legal office should offer to make simple wills free, or for a minimum fee of $500, which would allow citizens to feel they can enter an attorney's office without having to find a huge amount of money. Just imagine the goodwill the legal profession would earn if it were well known that this simple service was offered to our citizens. In essence, what is the legal profession doing to make attorneys-at-law more attractive and endearing to the ordinary citizen?
NOT TRUSTED OR APPRECIATED
Let's face it, lawyers are not trusted or appreciated, which is a perception across the common law world. They are seen as haughty, expensive and human sharks. At the same time, lawyers are supposed to be combative, competitive and creative, especially in cases in which they have to represent their clients in legal battles. Still, the legal profession needs a human face and it will only happen if attorneys-at-law rethink their image and provide their clients with competent, responsive and professional advice and service.
With more attorneys entering the legal profession and thousands eagerly waiting to enter, it is time the provision of legal services become easily accessible, inexpensive and friendly. Perhaps, this will only happen if legal services become more competitive, well adver-tised and an integral part of the solutions to the challenges, turmoil and troubles of our people.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by email at delchuck@hotmail.com.
