Laws firms do not exist in the state and the situation could only improve if corporates come in large numbers
With the state looking to the Supreme Court to sort out thelegal imbroglio surrounding mining, one would think the legal profession wouldbe a popular calling and be organized in the state. However that may not be thecase.
Advocate E.O Mendes, based with Oasis Counsel and Advisory,based in Panjim, said “The legal business in the state is not organized aroundfirms but is based around individuals. It could be four individuals comingtogether and working under one roof. They may share a few cases but in essencethey have their own cases which they handle individually. In other situations,when the son or daughter expresses an interest in starting a practice, thefather or husband will join them. These are not firms as you can see, in theprofessional sense of the word. There are legal firms in Mumbai, in Goa we arepossibly the only one operating.”
This may seem strange given the volume of business in thestate. Land disputes, civil disputes, form a major portion of the cases. FENoronha an advocate said that with an increase in legislation there was anincrease in violations and also instances of personnel of various governmentdepartments harassing people. The number of criminal cases was also graduallyincreasing. Mendes said most of his firm’s work comes from clients basedoverseas and were also tapping into business outside the state. Remunerationwas not a problem, he said, with a Korean client paying $25,000 per brief.
Despite this situation, Mendes felt that firms in Mumbai wouldbe reluctant to come to Goa for the simple reason that they were getting somuch business as they were placed in the commercial capital. He said “It willbe very difficult. Look at it this way, why should someone from Delhi,Bengaluru and Mumbai come here. It will mean a dramatic reduction in theirearnings.”
With regards to the presence of foreign law firms in thecountry, there was not much of agreement with Mendes’s view claiming that itwould certainly improve practice with specialists working on different aspectsof a brief which was not usually the case here. It would also help improveremuneration for a large number of advocates who he claimed were usually takenadvantage of by their clients. This he felt would also result in therecruitment of local lawyers. It would, he explained be impossible for lawyerseducated in another system to come and practice here thus helping locallawyers. On the other hand, AtanasioMonteiro another advocate said these firms should not be allowed and he wouldnot support them.
The absence of well educated young lawyers in the stateAtanasio felt was a serious problem. Till the 70’s he said it was tough to gainadmission into a law school and even tougher to pass. Today, anyone andeveryone is studying law resulting in people with questionable ethical valuesjoining the profession. Law he said was no longer a noble profession. A sentiment expressed by the otheradvocates. E O Mendes elaborated“Understand this, the good sharp lawyers move to Mumbai or Benguluru and thepoor ones stay back in Goa.”
Another prominent lawyer from Panjim opined that thesituation was made worse by the attitude of the political class with the lawportfolio being handled by the Chief Minister who he said was a trainedengineer. Asked what he could see happen in seven to ten years time, he saidthat firms would be formed in Goa when corporates start moving into the state.
For the final word on this, Monteiro said he did not eventhink it was important that law firms come in the state since the advocatespresently practicing were capable of handling the business and perhaps timewould prove him right.
