Changes for lawyers
by Donna Sealyand Latoya Burnham
Changes are coming to the legal profession, says President of the Barbados Bar Association, Andrew Pilgrim.
“We are trying to make some changes to the Legal Profession Act that would allow us to have our members policed [better]… Right now people are not happy with how it’s being done and while the police and the Fraud Squad do their work in respect of certain things, we need to police our members and seem to police our members in a more prompt and expeditious manner. That’s one of the main things we’re looking at,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“We’re also looking at putting some pressure on the system in terms of forcing the courts and the Registry to work, forcing lawyers who are not pushing through their work, to work more quickly so that people can feel that the court is a place where they’ll have remedies. That’s the main thing.
“We want the people to feel that we as lawyers, are working for you and we want to be able to give you remedies quickly, whether you’re in a criminal position or a civil position,” Pilgrim said.
He also noted that the seven-member Disciplinary Committee was facing some challenges, one of which was staffing, which he explained was “very difficult” to do because members were not always available.
“When I last checked the committee had not held a sitting since November and we are almost into May, and every day people have complaints… You’re asking fellas to volunteer to deal with members of their own profession and they’re not remunerated for it, so obviously that’s going to break down.,” Pilgrim said. donnasealy@barbadostoday.bb; latoyaburnham@barbadostoday.bb†(Barbados Today)