December 2015


Issue Home >>

Ethics and lawyers

The Faculty of Law held its first formal prize-giving ceremony on October 30, and Reginald Armour, SC, President of the Law Association of Trinidad & Tobago gave the feature address, which ended as follows.

“As part of its statutory mandate of self-regulation, the legal profession of Trinidad and Tobago has its own Disciplinary Committee which enforces that Code. This Disciplinary Committee consists of voluntary, hard-working senior members of the profession; they take their job very seriously. Among the provisions of the Mandatory code is Rule 10 of Part B of the 3rd Schedule: An Attorney shall not charge fees that are unfair or unreasonable. The Rule further particularises the criteria by which the unfairness and unreasonableness of a fee may be assessed.

Much has been on the front pages of the local media in Trinidad and Tobago recently, including what is being referred to as wholly outrageous fees charged by certain Attorneys. As Graduands, you must be discerning. It is inappropriate to discuss publicly or to comment on the work or matters before or likely to come before the Disciplinary Committee. Nevertheless, it must be accepted by the legal profession and I acknowledge that there is work to be done to redress the damage being done by a few. It is the responsibility of all of us, in the best interest of our Community and Humanity to do all that we can humanly, to lift the regard which our Community has for the legal profession. Never forget that in this community of Trinidad & Tobago Attorneys are prohibited in mandatory terms [“shall not”] from charging unfair or unreasonable fees. All clients who are of the view that they have been wronged in this regard, including the State as Client, have the right according to law, the Legal Profession Act, to lay their complaints before the Diciplinary Committee of the Law Association. The complaint once laid will be adjudicated on, in accordance with due process.

As you embark on this very noble and exciting profession, mindful of your responsibilities to community and humanity, go forth with confidence, with moral force, with commitment to integrity and excellence. Go forth as social engineers, trained in the law. We have a national and a Caribbean community to build; that community needs you, each one of you today, for the future of the tomorrow that is yours.”