I discussed with a law professor in a local university. Is it good for Singapore to adopt a contingency fee system for legal practice?
We came to the conclusion that it is useful under certain circumstances and for the following reasons:
(a) Where the litigant cannot afford the legal fees to take up a case against a large organisation
(b) Where the lawyer is in a better position to judge the merit of the case and should take the risk of the outcome.
If more cases are tried in court, it will lead to a better understanding of the law. This will be good for the society.
Tan Kin Lian
I left a comment in your mail box. Not sure if it's allowed to be posted.
ReplyDeleteNo fee no win, this is practised widely in the west. The advantage is more people who do not have the means can now get justice. The disadvantage is some over zealous lawyers will instigate more confrontations by encouraging people who normally would not go to court to do so. One thing is for sure, the courts will be busier than now.
ReplyDeleteIt is good for insurance policyholders who have no idea of their rights and who are afraid to take legal action against agents.
ReplyDeleteIt may look like ambulance chasing but if lawyers were to visit funeral wakes for cases they will definitely have cases right in these places of mis-selling and inappropriate advice detected in the insurance policies of the deceased.There is a gold mine .
But the lawyers must be trained in financial planning, especially insurance planning to help detect malpractices in insurance policies of the deceased persons.They should also specialise in the FAA
especially section 27 of the ACT which deals with advice that fails to meet the reasonable basis and which leads and reveals conflict of interest and mis-selling.
I advise lawyers making their earnings from motor accidents to consider moving into this more lucrative area where there are more cases and bigger fees if they win for their clients, usually poor widows and single mothers left with no or little insurance proceeds.. The fact finding forms of the deceased policyholders' policies documents are full of evidences of mis-selling and conflict of interest and a trained lawyers will have no problem picking them out. It is almost a sure win.
Insurance agents pushing whole life products and endowment are potential defendants.It will be pay back time for them. The long arm of the law too can reach them if there was cheating breaches of the FAA even they leave the industry unless they die.The insurance agents will have to pray very hard that what they sold will not be reviewed by a third party adviser or the widow of their policyholder died without leaving enough money for the family and children, engage a lawyer to look into the deceased's insurance policies.
MAS should tighten up the FAA so that the advisers and insurance agents will have difficulty dodging them.
In US they have a prepaid legal service that works on contigency basis.
I think Singapore is in need of finding a voice for the commoners. This could be a way forward to the helpless.
ReplyDeleteThis is no free ride because the lawyer will make judgment of the merit of the case before taking it on!