Alert Against Illegal Practice Of The Law

475,Correspondent,, | Thursday May 4, 2017 00:00

This illegality takes place mainly in two (2) forms: firstly persons who are not admitted and enrolled as attorneys have set up offices where they provide legal services under the guise of “consultants” and secondly such persons and indeed others who are qualified to practice take out adverts in the media inviting members of the public to engage them to provide legal services.

The public is hereby informed that provision of legal services for a fee without a practicing certificate contravenes provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA) and is an offence for which a perpetrator may be charged and prosecuted. The said perpetrators may also be charged under the Penal Code with, amongst others, the offence of “Obtaining by False Pretenses”. The Society is immediately going on a robust cleaning up exercise to weed out the culprits.

Members of the public are further advised that advertising services that a lawyer provides is also unlawful and is contrary to the provisions of the LPA. Members of the profession who engage in this practice will be taken to task.

Given the above, members of the public are requested to desist from seeking legal assistance from persons who engage in the above practices.

Members of the public are to specifically note that whist these persons may charge low amounts for their service they are not trained to provide such service or have not been granted certificates to provide such service for a variety of reasons. Such members of the public are therefore exposed to financial and other loss and the Law Society will not accept liability for such loss.

Finally, as good citizens do, the public is requested to provide information of the above contraventions or any other to the Law Society for appropriate action.

There is no doubt that it is only when we all combat rogue lawyers and those who pretend to be lawyers that we can protect ourselves from loss due to amongst others fraud.

The Law Society Of Botswana

Plot 69921 Chobe Way Village, Gaborone

P.O. Box 50889 Gaborone Botswana Tel: +267 3900200 Fax: +267 3909355

email: administration@lawsociety.rrg.bw