JEDDAH, 11 June 2008 — Lawyers across Jeddah are up in arms at the growing problem of lay-people — who have some familiarity with the Saudi law — loitering around courts looking for people to represent.
Although lawyers are only authorized to take three cases at a time, many of these unofficial law experts — who operate having secured a power of attorney from their clients — take up to 10 cases at a given time, charging much less than qualified lawyers.
According to Al-Madinah newspaper, over 500 “unofficial law experts,” compared to 175 qualified lawyers, deal with cases at the Jeddah High Court.
Lawyers say such people are academically unqualified to handle cases and often resort to clandestine methods, such as offering bribes to court employees, to win cases. They add that such people cause their clients immense financial losses and commit major blunders.
Ibrahim Al-Zamzami, a lawyer from Makkah, said these “experts” should not present themselves as lawyers, since they are not authorized to act as such. “However, we should benefit from their experiences by employing them in legal offices,” he added.
Al-Zamzami said lay-people were able to represent cases due to an ambiguous law, which, he said, needed to be changed. “Cases should only be given to lawyers. ‘Experts’ should only be limited to represent non-important cases involving relatives,” he said.
Speaking about blunders that “experts” make, Al-Zamzami said he is currently dealing with the case of a businessman who could possibly lose SR57 million after an “expert” he consulted failed to properly read a contract he signed.
“The problem could easily have been avoided if the chap in question consulted a lawyer from the beginning,” he said.
“Legal representatives need to be accredited. Only those that are properly qualified should be allowed to take up major cases,” he added.
Sayed Muhammad, a lawyer based in Jeddah, said that “experts” were often unqualified. “The law by which legal representatives can speak in courts and take cases has to be restructured,” he said.
Muhammad said they often comfort clients by claiming that they have close connections with influential people. “They’re very cheap to hire as they have very few overhead costs to meet. They don’t have offices like lawyers,” he said.
Muhammad believes that the phenomenon of “experts” emerged due to a general absence of qualified lawyers. “It’s a wonder that they are able to operate without proper authorization. These jobs need to be dealt with a level of seriousness. Being a qualified lawyer is as serious as obtaining a medical degree to practice medicine,” he said.
According to Muhammad Nahar, who is also a lawyer, “experts” often ruin cases due to their unfamiliarity with legal procedures. “They take cash from people but are hardly competent,” he said, adding that lawyers often end up picking up the mess.
“We often end up dealing with cases that have become complicated due to their ignorance of many legal procedures, something that causes cases to become delayed or even paralyzed,” said Nahar, adding that “experts” manipulate clients and the legal system. He called for educating the public about the dangers of resorting to these people. “There’s a need to set up a lawyers’ union to safeguard people’s rights,” he said.
However, a Saudi citizen, who did not want his name published, said that “experts” were trustworthy. “They have experience that surpass the certificates of lawyers. They are also cheap and charge 70 percent less than what lawyers ask for,” he added.
