The "Rogue Lawyer" explained

So why “Rogue Lawyer”?

No special reason really. I thought it just makes me ‘badder’ than I really am. I don’t think I’m any more unethical than the next lawyer (which is not saying a lot, you might say).

I know this sounds self-serving and oxymoronic but I think I am an honest lawyer. Despite oft-quoted stories of lawyers running off with their clients’ money, it really is not fair to tar every lawyer with the same brush. I would say that absconding with other people’s money is more of a human thing rather than a lawyer thing. You will easily find that the same misdeeds are capable of being performed by directors of public listed companies and bank tellers.

But what I mean by roguish behaviour will be in the way I tell my stories. I can already see that I will be breaking so many rules of ethics just by having this blog. I am reminded already of Rule 47 of the Legal Profession (Practice and Etiquette) Rules 1978 which states that “An advocate and solicitor shall not give an interview or supply information to the press concerning his life, practice or earnings at the Bar.” I can certainly say that any member of the press would not be even remotely interested in interviewing me. But blogging about my life and practice (though never about my miserable earnings, I can assure you that) as an advocate and solicitor would arguably be in the same spirit and could subject me to sanctions.

I’ve always thought that an upside (read: consolation) of practising law is that one is often entertained by the peculiar and bizarre conduct of clients and lawyers alike. And I haven’t even started on the judges yet.

I remember once in an ethics lecture long ago that the rationale of Rule 47 is that being in an honourable profession, one shouldn’t try to get extra publicity by promoting oneself in the media. It would be demeaning to rest of us if we had to resort to publicity to promote our practices, the lecturer said.

I suspect that it’s nothing to do with that and it’s just that lawyers don’t want the embarrassing behaviour of their brethren to be recounted publicly. It’s just not on for the senior partners of a very established firm to read about how their legal assistants regard the best perk of their job is the firm’s bar (I mean this in the popular sense of the word) on the 5th floor.

Thank God for this blog then. Now if you’d excuse me I’ve got to help out my hot female chambering student with her research. Hmm… looks like this is going to be a long night.