Standards have slipped in legal profession, says former A-G

Standards have slipped in Fiji’s legal profession, says newly elected Fiji Law Society president Graham Leung.

Mr Leung, who is also the former Attorney-General, urged lawyers to remember the oath they took when admitted to the Bar.

Mr Leung, elected president on September 30, said integrity was essential to the profession.

“Over the years standards have slipped in so many ways in so many areas and it’s an effort to bring things back to a position where you would like it to be,” he said.

Asked what advice he would give lawyers after several were questioned in court, Mr Leung said his message was simple.

He said he had told the Society’s secretariat that a continuing legal education seminar in the new year should focus on legal ethics and etiquette at the Bar.

Topics would include dress, punctuality, courtroom behaviour and respect for fellow lawyers and the public.

“You can’t be administering or practicing law if you’re breaking the law,” he said.

Fiji now has three law schools, but Mr Leung said there were too many lawyers and not enough jobs for them.

“We should be producing more farmers, more tradesmen, more young men and women in vocational areas of plastering, tiling, electricians, carpenters,” he said.

“This country doesn’t need more lawyers, it needs more tradesmen and tradeswomen.”

Mr Leung made similar remarks at the Fiji Law Society Convention in 2024, when he was Attorney-General.

Mr Leung said membership of the Fiji Law Society was now voluntary and the organisation received no Government grants.

He said he wanted to expand services for members, but the Society needed more funding and was exploring ways to increase its income.

“We’re not a political party. We don’t make political statements,” he said.