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‘CLEARED’ LAWYERS REVEALED

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MBABANE - If the name of your lawyer does not appear on this list, you are utilising his or her services at your own peril.


In essence, this means that if you are not satisfied with the manner in which your lawyer, whose name does not appear on the list, handles your case or happens to misappropriate your funds, the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) will neither be held liable nor will it be of any assistance to you.


The LSS has since released a list of lawyers who are in good standing. According to the list, out of the 669 attorneys in the country, only 205 are complying with the Legal Practitioners Act. The list reflects that only 30.6 per cent of the country’s lawyers adhere to the laws governing the legal profession.


LSS Treasurer Thabiso Mavuso  said the decision to publish the names of lawyers who were in good standing was taken by the council of the LSS and subsequently ratified by membership during a general meeting, which was held at Manzini Club last month.


Clarified


Mavuso, who is also a lawyer, clarified that the purpose of publishing the list was not to ‘name and shame’ non-compliant attorneys but meant to caution the general public on lawyers they can utilise their services.


“Any lawyer who does not appear on the list is as good as a bush mechanic.  If you give him your car to fix and it is burnt by fire, as the Law Society of Swaziland, we are not liable,” said the LSS treasurer.


He said in the spirit of not embarrassing anyone by explicitly publishing his or her name, they deliberately omitted the names of judges.
He highlighted that currently, not more than five judges in both High Court and Supreme Court had fully paid their dues while they were still in practice.
He said quite a number of the judges owed the LSS in lieu of subscriptions. 


There are 13 judges of the High Court in the Kingdom of Eswatini.


Excluded


“We deliberately excluded the names of judges because we do not expect the public to be engaging them in any legal work,” said Mavuso.
Meanwhile, the treasurer clarified that there was one lawyer who was included on the list but not in good standing in the strict sense of the word because he had not submitted audited financials.


“However, his (lawyer) explanation is that his accounts, which included his two Trust accounts, were frozen by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC),” added Mavuso.
The treasurer went on to state that members had been making all the necessary arrangements with the office of the LSS in the form of stop orders to liquidate their arrears.


According to Mavuso, an updated list would be published in the next few months to include the names of those who were not on the current list but had made certain arrangements. Government and corporate lawyers are required to pay a yearly subscription of E1 500. 
Lawyers in private practice, who are partners, are expected to pay E4 700 per year while professional assistants pay E4 100. Advocates are expected to pay a yearly subscription of E3 500.


It is alleged that despite the lapse of a period upon which the lawyers were to pay their subscriptions, they have failed and or refused to make forthwith payment to LSS.
Recently, Attorney General (AG) Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo filed a litany of applications at the High Court, where he was seeking an order for the suspension of lawyers who were failing to comply with the Legal Practitioners Act.


Examined


Section 24 (2) of the Legal Practitioners Act provides that: Every practising legal practitioner other than an advocate, shall cause his books of accounts to be examined at his own expense at least once a year by an auditor registered under the Accountants Act, 1985 and for the purposes of this Act, any reference to a public accountant shall be construed as a reference to a chartered accountant registered under that Act.

 

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