Assignment :

Legal Profession Ethics

Erickka Farrise bin Amir 2011817948
Rafiq Saladdin bin Omar Salahuddin 2011451452
Nadiatul Liyana 2011270386

Group B
Lecturer : Madam Rozita Othman


Introduction:
This paper will seek to study the position and value of ethics in the field of the legal profession in
Malaysia. In doing so, it is important to investigate the nature of the legal system; the position of ethics
and morality within the legal structure; as well as the practical application of ethical considerations
within the profession.
Firstly, let us define what is meant by the term legal profession. It can mean two things, first; it
concerns the actual legal system of a government, and secondly; it concerns the careers within that field
itself. The latter includes judges, lawyers, paralegals and legal clerks, just to name a few.
Ethics, on the other hand, has a much wider meaning. In literal terms, the term ethics comes from the
Greek word ethos, which means character. The Oxford English Dictionary defines ethics as a set of
beliefs that governs a persons behavior or the conduct of an activity. Basically, a persons ethics is their
conscience; it is an internal mental calculator that decides whether something is right or wrong, and
hence, it influences that persons actions and dispositions towards his environment and the people
around him.
In essence, the ethics of the legal profession concerns the way in which personal moral beliefs dictate
the manner in which judges, lawyers and other legal personnel carry out their duties.















Legal Ethics and the Law:
It is imperative to take note that ethics is a crucial component of the legal system. The reason is that the
law is value-based in its entirety, that is; the law, and how the law develops, is contingent upon the
evolving moral standards of society. Morality and ethics, however, are arbitrary values that human
beings draw by themselves; it is derived from cultural practices or religious scriptures or from the
opinions of moral philosophers.
In the context of the legal profession, the Legal Profession Act 1976 underlines the strict guidelines
which prescribe the conduct of functioning members within the legal system. It is the statutory
conscience of legal members (lawyers, judges etc.) and provides for the way in which such members
should behave.
It is very important, especially in the legal field, that the conduct of its members is regulated by some
statutory provision. This is because the legal profession is unique compared to other careers; such as in
medicine or education or science. In the legal system, lawyers and judges must inspect, analyze,
investigate and discuss the private lives of individuals in society. Hence, there is great sensitivity in the
information that is shared and discussed in court. There must be some legal protection to ensure that
the privacy of their clients is not trampled upon.
But apart from that, another reason why legal ethics is heavily mandated by the law is because the work
of lawyers must continue as a noble profession. What does this mean? Well, whenever an individual
has been unlawfully injured, he looks for the advice and counsel of a lawyer so that he may be accorded
justice. This relationship of trust between lawyers and their clients could lead to circumstances whereby
individuals are unfairly treated by the lawyers they employ. In some cases, lawyers abuse the trust that
is vested in them by their clients; and this leads to instances of extortion, undue influence or coercion by
legal practitioners onto their clients, in order to serve their own self-interests.

Moral Issues in Legal Profession in Malaysia:
There are 3 major ethical concerns within the legal profession, namely;
1. Criminal Behavior
2. Profit Maximization
3. Abuse of Attorney-Client Privilege



CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

As mentioned earlier, the legal profession is unreservedly strict about the kind of persons who
are to be admitted, or whom are already part of; the legal field. The Legal Profession Act 1976 is a
testament to this fact; it is the reflection of the values that the legal community imposes upon new
lawyers and judges so as to create a culture of a profession that is noble, proud, uncorrupt and ethical. It
is a way in which the legal community emphasizes the importance of ethics, morality, good judgment
and fairness to all of its members and, thus; influencing the way in which its members act and behave. In
the context of Malaysia, the legal community is represented by the Malaysian Bar Council.
Section 10 of said Act states that persons whom are to be qualified as a legal practitioner must
be of good character; not be bankrupt; not be found guilty for crimes, especially those that concern
fraud and dishonesty; and also not have done something which would otherwise disqualify himself from
becoming a legal practitioner. It is quite obvious that these are very solid foundations to ensure that
members of the legal community are good, ethical people who have not committed wrongful acts;
hence, the legal profession is kept safe from being poisoned by criminals or individuals who have no
respect for the law. If the legal profession is seen as a noble profession (one that is free from crime and
corruption) then it is much easier for clients to develop a relationship of trust with their lawyers. This
will decrease the instances in which lawyers abuse their clients trust in order to make a quick dollar.
This problem is quite widespread in Malaysia. There have been many cases of lawyers lying,
cheating and scamming their clients in order to make more money. This is especially evident in rural
areas or in lesser-educated communities; where the targets are the uneducated poor or the older,
senior citizens. On many occasions, these individuals are duped and cheated by their lawyers who take
advantage of the lack of education and legal understanding within their clients. Because lawyers are
generally smarter than these clients, they can get away with multiple recurrences of financial fraud and
graft.
For example, The Star Online reported on February 10
th
2007 that an aged Chinese woman had
been cheated of RM24,500 by her lawyer whom she had employed to help settle an insurance claim. 57
year-old Lau Ah Moy was greatly unhappy that her lawyer had abused her trust and scammed her of
such an extravagant amount of money.
There are other notable cases of fraudulent and cheating lawyers, and the facts are almost
always the same. Lawyers can abuse the trust that is given to them by their unknowing clients, and this
has led to numerous situations of suffering for the latter. If there is no statutory provision like the Legal
Profession Act 1976, then there would surely be more cases of cheating and fraud; as there would be
more benevolent lawyers who are intent on scamming and shortchanging our legal system.


PROFIT MAXAMIZATION

As many veterans of the legal profession will tell you; the law (legal system) now is not the way
it used to be. In the past, there was an unspoken covenant amongst members of the legal community
that truth and justice was the end objective of any legal dispute of the court. Lawyers were more ethical,
in the sense that they were much more concerned over justice for their client and the overall wellbeing
of society. They were more inclined to help the oppressed, who were the poor and the needy, in settling
disputes and injustices. The capitalist structures of large corporations and governmental monopolies
were seen as the public enemy; whereas lawyers and judges were the heroes that defended society ;
against their malpractices. As was said by Anthony Kronman, Dean of Yale Law School: The growing
ascendancy of the economic view of law and a decline of its self-image as a helping profession, will
continue the decline of idealism and professionalism unless this is arrested.
Alas, times have certainly changed. Nowadays the legal profession, like any other modern
business industry, is largely driven by profit and greed. The objective of lawyers and law firms is no
longer to protect members of the public, or to fight for fairness and justice; but only to maximize the net
profits of their business. Hence, there is a large tendency for lawyers to act in their own self-interest (i.e.
to make more money) than to protect their client, and this can sometimes lead to unjust results in court.
Besides that, the expansion of the legal profession as a profit-driven business has caused a
massive problem in terms of public access to legal assistance. This is because the best lawyers are the
most expensive lawyers; those that work for the largest law firms and charge the highest service fees. If
certain members of the public (especially the poor, who make up the bulk of legal claims) find
themselves in dire need of legal help, they may find it very expensive should they wish to win in court.
As a consequence of this, the best lawyers in the profession (those who have the highest win
percentage in court) are employed to defend large corporations, rich celebrities, businessmen and the
most corrupt government aristocrats. Because these individuals have so much money and influence,
they can afford to engage the services of the best lawyers to defend them. Most of the time, these large
businesses and corrupt officials have broken the law in order to make their money, and have harmed
the public with their greed and cruelty; and yet it is them who can pay their way out of trouble.
Furthermore, the legal profession in this modern day has been poisoned by the influence of
money and success. Lawyers are now more likely to deploy dirty tactics in order to win for their client,
and this includes instances of forgery of documents, destruction of evidence, tampering with juries and
witnesses, and even bribery and extortion. Members of Malaysias legal community will not forget the
VK Lingam case of 2008; whereby a lawyer was videotaped on the telephone, allegedly tampering with
the appointment of a Federal Court judge. Such occurrences are now getting increasingly common.
Hence, it is quite clear that the expansion of the legal field as a business has brought numerous
harms to the profession as well as the legal community. Steps must be taken to ensure that cases of
abuse and legal malpractice are contained and mitigated. If status quo is maintained, then the integrity
and nobility of the legal profession could be in jeopardy.
























ABUSE OF ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVELIGE

In the legal field, there exists an unwritten code of conduct that governs the relationship
between lawyer and client. It concerns the protection of information that is disclosed by a client in the
presence of his or her legal counsel, and it is a rule that all lawyers are expected to respect. This rule
fundamentally forces the lawyer to not talk about anything that was discussed between him and his
client during a private meeting to anybody else, including the judge in a court of law; without the
consent of his client.
This principle is important because it protects the privacy of the clients life and personal
information from being unnecessarily exposed to the public. In any legal case, the client would have to
disclose a lot of personal issues with his or her legal counsel; especially in cases of marriage, divorce,
rape and sexual assault. This rule allows the client to freely discuss and share personal sensitive
information with the lawyer without having to fear any public inquiry.
However, there is an ongoing controversial debate about the ethics of the attorney-client
privilege. Many in the legal community believe that this law is an obstruction of justice. The privilege
allows a veil of protection for criminals who are guilty of a crime to escape punishment of the law. For
example, a man may openly confess his guilt in committing a crime to his lawyer, and yet that discussion
can never be disclosed in court. This means that lawyers can actively lie in court in order to ensure a
favorable judgment for their client, even as they know they are protecting dangerous criminals or
corrupt men in power.
Is it then ethical to allow lawyers to continue protecting guilty criminals or liable individuals? If a
lawyers purpose is to assist in the administration of justice, shouldnt they be allowed to expose the
truth? Unfortunately, the legal profession does not allow for this. Especially in criminal litigation, the
right to legal counsel is coupled with the right to an adequate defence, and this principle sometimes
allows lawyers the ability to hide certain truths and information from the court.








Islamic Perspective on Legal Profession
In Malaysia, Islamic law is implemented through a separate court structure, known as the
Syariah court system. The members of the syariah courts are made up of syarie judges and lawyers, and
the court is established to deal with family and personal matters; such as marriage, divorce, custody of
children, apostacy and other crimes under Islamic law. The jurisdiction of this court, however, only
extends to those professing the religion of Islam.
The Syarie lawyers are governed by the the Code of Ethics of Peguam Syarie 2000 (COEPS), and
this code underlines the manner and duties of all lawyers under the Syariah system. The rules are largely
based on the the writings in the Quran and the Sunnah, which are the most fundamental references of
Islamic law.
As quoted in a Hadith narrated by Ummu Salama; The Prophet said, "I am only a human being,
and you people have disputes. May be someone amongst you can present his case in a more eloquent
and convincing manner than the other, and I give my judgment in his favor according to what I hear.
Beware! If ever I give (by error) somebody something of his brother's right then he should not take it as I
have only, given him a piece of Fire . As seen here, it is very clear that the purpose of the legal system in
Islam is to uncover truth and administer fairness and justice. The duty of Syarie lawyers is not just to win
a victory for their clients in court, but it is to ensure that the laws of God are practised and respected.













Advocate & Solicitor Syarie Lawyers
Legal Profession (Practice and Etiquette)
Rules 1978 (LPPER)
Deals with disputes involving all citizen,
muslims and non-muslims
Admitted and enrolled under the Legal
Profession Act 1976
Focused on winning cases in court
Income-based
Code of Ethics of Peguam Syarie 2000
(COEPS)
Deals with cases involving many topics
such as marriage, inheritance, apostasy,
religious conversion, fasting, and custody
for Muslim only.
Peguam Syarie refers to those who
practice specifically in the Shariah courts
Focused on discussion to bring the best
resolution and fairness
Payment is not a priority



Conclusion:
In conclusion, there exists a variety of perplexing ethical questions that plagues the legal profession in
this day and age. The problems generally arise from involvement of lawyers in criminal behavior, the
profit maximization of the legal profession and abuse of attorney-client privilege. We should also note
that the Syariah legal profession has significantly less problems concerning ethics; as their legal duty is a
noble and spiritual one, and not one driven by greed and profit. All lawyers should try to emulate the
attitude of Syarie lawyers, especially when it comes to the dedication for truth and justice.