| 1. |
Is
the Duty Lawyer Service part of the Legal Aid Department?
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No,
the Duty Lawyer Service is not part of the Legal Aid Department
and in fact it is not even a government department.
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It
is an independent organization fully funded by the Government
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region managed
by the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of
Hong Kong. |
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| 2. |
What
is the difference between the Duty Lawyer Service and the Legal
Aid Department?
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The
main differences between the two bodies are:
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The
Legal Aid Department is a government department while
the Duty Lawyer Service is not.
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Except
in committal proceedings, the Legal Aid Department does
not offer any representation or assistance to members
of the public in magistrates courts; legal representation
and assistance are offered by the Duty Lawyer Service
in all magistrates courts.
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The
Legal Aid Department can offer legal representation and
assistance in civil proceedings while the Duty Lawyer
Service does not have such power. |
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| 3. |
Are
Duty Lawyers government lawyers? Would they fight the case for
the defendants as hard as the private lawyers do?
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The
Duty Lawyers are not government lawyers. All the Duty
Lawyers are privately practising lawyers. We employ their
service to represent the defendants at trials according
to their experience, seniority and expertise.
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The
Duty Lawyers are paid for their service. They will do their best to protect the interest
of the defendants they are representing. |
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| 4. |
Would
the Duty Lawyers press the defendants to plead guilty to the
charges in order to have less work?
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Our
Duty Lawyer will not press any defendants to plead guilty
to the charges. It is the duty of a Duty Lawyer to explain
and advise the defendant the strength of the prosecution
case and that of the defence
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He
will also advise the defendant on the difference in sentence
between pleading guilty and found guilty.
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But
whether to plead guilty or not is entirely a decision
of the defendant.
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The
Duty Lawyer is to act according to the instructions of
the defendant unless it is against the Bar or Solicitor
Code of Conduct to do so. |
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| 5. |
Would
a defendant be given enough time to have conference with the
Duty Lawyer before appearing in court?
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A
Duty Lawyer may have conference with the defendant prior
to the day of hearing if he considers necessary.
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Otherwise,
he will have a conference with the defendant on the morning
of the day of hearing. In any case, if either the Duty
Lawyer or the defendant requires more time to discuss
the case before commencing the hearing, the Duty Lawyer
will apply to court to have the case stand down so to
enable the conference to be continued and usually the
court will grant such application.
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A
defendant will have enough time to discuss with and seek
advice from the Duty Lawyer prior to commencement of the
hearing of his case.
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In
any event, the defendant will have at least one full interview
with the Court Liaison Officer at which full instruction
and statement will be taken. |
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| 6. |
The
service of the Free Legal Advice Scheme is free, would the lawyers
deal with the cases too casually?
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All
the lawyers of the Free Legal Advice Scheme join the Scheme
on a total volunteer basis; they consider it as a contribution
to the society
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They
can withdraw from the Scheme at any time when they do
not feel like it. Therefore each and every volunteer lawyer
attending the interview will advise the clients as far
and best as he/she can.
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But
since the Scheme is designed to provide preliminary legal
advice only and no representation and/or follow action
can be arranged, there is certainly a limit on the service
offered. |
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