A Malaysian lawyer vents about the Bar Council's failure to abolish the "No-Discount" rule at its annual general meeting. He says that most lawyers are unhappy about the decision because they see law as being a business in which there is competitiveness. It is therefore natural for people to ask for a discount and, in addition to this, the rule could be seen as an affront on his civil liberties.
He continues by highlighting three points for argument for the abolition of the rule:
- Such discounts are rampant and it is unreasonable to expect practitioners to keep a straight face in a charade type situation and deny reductions.
- Conveyancers should be free to negotiate fees like litigators - Could it be a conspiracy by litigators to put conveyancers into a fix?
- Conveyancers cannot charge fees that are too low, due to the cost factor.
Finally, he notes that the enforcement machinery is a waste of time and resources when there are other more pressing issues to be addressed, such as looking for missing documents and files in the Land Offices, courts etc., which contribute to the delay of transactions and which in turn affect the economy.
Full article in Malaysia Kini
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