ONE issue the Legislative Council Bills Committee studying the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 1993 has to address is the self-regulatory attempt by the Law Society to combat malpractice of touting and commission-taking.
The problem of professional touts who operate in criminal defence has existed for many decades. Some touts are solicitors' clerks or interpreters who prey on suspects and defendants who speak no English and have little knowledge of the legal system. However, the problem goes beyond criminal cases into areas such as property conveyancing. Bankers and estate agents could also be involved.
Although the payment of commission is prohibited by the Solicitors Practice Rules, there is concern that commission is still be demanded by and paid to professional touts and middlemen.
It is amazing that such improper practice has been tolerated by the legal profession and the community for so long and that no concerted attempt had been made to eradicate this cancer.
At a Bills Committee meeting in July, Legislative Councillors were told that the Government had intended to tackle the problem through the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. However, the Law Society objected, arguing that the legal profession would be singled out in the proposed regulations. To my dismay, the Attorney-General conceded and agreed to give the Law Society an opportunity to discipline itself by setting up an inspection system to detect touting and commission-taking.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has spent nine years looking into the problem of lawyers paying commission to law clerks and helping to inflate bills by as much as five times. The ICAC found that some clerks had touted for business and demanded payment from lawyers while others had forged solicitors' signatures on bills to get more money from clients.