Let’s reinvent the wheel
WE SEEMINGLY have a propensity in this country to engage in unnecessary complexity, even when there are commonsensical and uncomplicated ways to achieve particular ends without compromising the desired objectives.
I refer particularly in this instance to the various compliance requirements of attorneys barred in Jamaica.
Every year, such attorneys, whether resident and employed within outside Jamaica, are required to submit various compliance forms to the General Legal Council (GLC), the local regulatory body for attorneys.
Such attorneys are required, importantly, to submit annual accounting documentation in relation to their receipt, maintenance and disbursement of client funds. If an attorney is not currently residing and practising in Jamaica, she is required to submit a declaration in respect of her being resident and employed abroad, as it would be unnecessary to submit such accounting information, unless she was actually practising in Jamaica during the year immediately prior, in which case she would need to provide the accounting information for that said year.
The attorneys are further required to submit annually their compliance with the Continued Legal Professional Development (CLPD) regulations, which require that, in order to be issued a practising certificate, each such attorney has to take annually a minimum of 12 credits of continuing legal education courses. If the attorney is living and working abroad, or if she is unemployed, pregnant or ill, she may apply for exemption from the CLPD requirements for that year when she is so affected.
Further, all attorneys practising locally must now submit an annual declaration of their activities to be in compliance with the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Naturally, attorneys who desire to practise in Jamaica must make the necessary payment in order to be issued a practising certificate for the particular year in question.
NO OBJECTION, BUT ...
I have no objection to complying with the various requirements to maintain my licence/privilege to practise law in Jamaica; however, why can’t the GLC adopt a single annual attorney registration form that captures all the compliance requirements and obligations? I have recommended same to the GLC before, but I have not been sufficiently convinced as to why we cannot move in that direction.
A short annual attorney registration form, if designed logically and devoid of awkwardly archaic language that obtains with too many forms in Jamaica, would make things easier for all concerned.
Naturally, the form would have the usual identity and contact information of the attorney, and perhaps a request of all jurisdictions within which said attorney is licensed. It would, thereafter, contain information for the attorney to certify as to his compliance with the various requirements, or his exemption from them, where necessary. If the attorney desires to practise in Jamaica for the year of registration, he would so indicate on the form and enclose the practising certificate fee.
The last section of the form would be the standard certification as to truth and accuracy of the information provided, and the attorney would then sign and date.
In this digital age, the form should be designed to be completed and submitted electronically via a secure GLC website, with the information submitted for the previous year prepopulated on the next year’s edition, allowing the attorney to simply update or make any change to the information as necessary. This saves time, a most valuable resource for attorneys.
In relation to CLPD, the course providers should provide attendance forms that each attorney attending would complete and return to the provider at the end of the seminar for the provider to submit to the GLC for the attorney to be credited. Providers could also provide the forms for attorneys to self-report, where necessary.
This could, ultimately, lead to the attorneys not having to certify as to CLPD compliance, as the GLC would already have that information on file based on the submission after each seminar attended. Additionally, attorneys should have access to an online account with the GLC, where they can track their CLPD compliance, and conduct other tasks, such as submitting their annual registrations and making changes to their names and addresses.
Such changes by the GLC, I humbly submit, would allow the attorneys to fulfil their annual obligations without undue burden or the need to complete various time-consuming paperwork, and the GLC would still receive the necessary information while reducing the volume of paperwork to be processed.