Civil Litigation: Sabah phenomenon

Letter To The Editor

Dear Sir,

Not a day goes by without the newspapers in Sabah carrying pictures of grinning lawyers standing next to their Clients.

This is a scam by lawyers who “lose” 90 per cent of their cases except where they are photographed grinning ear to ear outside the courthouse with their Clients.

The purpose of the picture in the newspapers scam — the photographer/reporter concerned usually gets at least RM 200 from the lawyer concerned — is to attract even more Clients.

The real story is that Clients who don’t appear in the newspapers with their lawyers invariably “lose” their cases.

This is because the lawyer will do a deal with the other side and do a number on the Client who will eventually be sacrificed after being fleeced over many years.

The truth is stranger than the fiction.

Ninety per cent of civil litigation case don’t go into Court — in most cases because the lawyers do a number on Clients after taking money — or for Trial.

Clients must not rush to see a lawyer the moment that they have a civil litigation problem.

A lawyer is the LAST person they need to see.

It’s better for Clients to file their own cases in Court after drafting them with the help of someone who knows how to make submissions. Such help need not be a lawyer but someone who knows how to draft very well and can therefore make out a compelling case.

Most lawyers have very poor language and drafting skills and rely on oral submissions or cross examination in Court. They can’t even draft a simple letter in English or Malay.

Clients need a lawyer only to appear in Court after a Trial date is secured and to make oral representations for an out-of-court settlement or to take the matter to Mediation Court or failing both approaches, prepare for Trial. Here, lawyers are needed for citations re the law and authorities.

Lawyers will generally claim that they have to do a lot of legal research but this is just bullshit to fleece Clients. Legal research is available online at the touch of a button.

Lawyers are not allowed to be present in Mediation.

Contrary to popular belief, Courts don’t determine the direction of a civil litigation case or its outcome but they can help by way of Order for Directions.

Under our adversial system in Court, the parties to a conflict determine the direction of a case and also determine the outcome by the manner in which they draft and file submissions.

The Court merely draws the outcome of a case from the submissions of the parties in conflict.

Besides Mediation Court, lawyers are not allowed to be present at the various Tribunals which sometimes are held at the courthouse. These include Land Office, Immigration, JPN, Customs, Income Tax, Labour, Industrial Relations, Housing, Consumer, Small Claims, Marriage, Arbitration (lawyers allowed with permission but not necessary) etc etc

Get hold of a copy of the High Court and subordinate court rules for reference and study them.

Thank you

Adichan Pudichan