The legal profession will see unprecedented changes during 2013, and these changes will have a significant effect on the regulatory regime and the role of the General Legal Council.
There has been and will continue to be a marked increase in the number of attorneys being admitted to practice. In 2010 and 2011 respectively, approximately 90 and 130 attorneys were admitted to practice in Jamaica. In 2012, that number exceeded 150, and by 2014 it will be almost 300.
In 2012, Parliament enacted the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act, 2012. That Act:
- Gives the Court and Council the power to take action to protect client’s property and files in certain specified circumstances;
- Creates a compensation fund to provide some relief for clients who suffer losses as a result of the acts or omission of attorneys; and
- Provides for mandatory continuing legal professional development.
The Government has also indicated an intention to make the necessary legislative changes during 2013 to bring attorneys carrying on certain types of practice within the regulated sector established pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act, and it is envisaged that the Council will play a regulatory role under that legislation.
The Council has also recognized that in addition to the changes required to address these developments, there are many aspects of its operations that require improvement. Many of Council’s operations have been computerized and automated and there have been numerous changes to this website. In 2011, the Council commissioned a professional management audit and it has been implementing many of the recommendations coming out of the report.
We have also decided to make recommendations for further amendments to the Legal Profession Act to provide (among other things) for term limits for the chairpersons of the Council, the Disciplinary Committee and the other committees of the GLC, and to include representatives of civil society on the GLC.
Council is continuing to discuss and consider other changes and is continually reviewing other similar bodies to determine international best practice. We invite the comments of members of the profession and the public generally.
B. St. Michael Hylton, Q.C.
CHAIRMAN
chairman@generallegalcouncil.org
I have been perusing your web site.
It is interesting to note that the requirement for continuing legal and professional education in ethics weighs heavier on attorneys newly admitted to the Bar. Yet in my experience it is the attorneys who have been practising for some time who loose sight and/or forget the Cannons & Ethics of the profession.
I have just read the GLC’s Annual Report to Parliament dated 1st April 2011 to March 31, 2012 and I have serious concerns about the the air of trepidation which the council appears to have about the enlarged numbers of persons who will be admitted from 2011 onwards.
It is my opinion that instead of this air of trepidation, the GLC needs to conduct broader consultations with stakeholders including but not limited to practitioners, law students (at law faculties and the law school(s)), parliament (Minister of Justice) and civil society in order to redefine its mandate in this an era of expansion. Such consultations will, in my opinion, better inform the GLC on how to create a better regulatory framework. Furthermore, the GLC needs to strengthen its corporate governance, be more transparent in its expenditure and general operations, take steps to limit its expenditure where possible and give more detailed reports of said expenditure.