A solution for foreign lawyers

By T. Mulya Lubis

JAKARTA (JP): A number of Indonesian legal experts have lodged strong protests against foreign lawyers working in Indonesia. They maintain some foreign lawyers have been practicing in Indonesia without permits from the Ministry of Justice.

The authorities are now looking into the matter.

However, it is not clear yet whether they have been working as management or investment consultants.

It is not uncommon here to see prominent law firms located next to limited liability companies where a number of foreign lawyers work as management or investment consultants. Their work is certainly related to the law.

It is no coincidence that the limited liability companies are owned, directly or otherwise, by well-known international law firms abroad. Hence, the names of the limited liability companies are always connected with the names of the international law firms, or at least their acronyms. This is well known especially among the business community and legal experts.

The controversy about foreign lawyers is not new. It has been the subject of many a heated debate among lawyers. However, in general, Indonesian legal experts do not reject the presence of foreign lawyers.

In this information age, foreign lawyers can always operate from abroad through the Internet. Our airport gates are wide open and foreign businessmen accompanied by their lawyers can always operate from a hotel for one or two weeks.

A categorical rejection of foreign lawyers is clearly unrealistic because Indonesia does not live in isolation. Foreign lawyers even operate in Myanmar, a highly isolated country while China, formerly strongly opposed to foreign lawyers, now allows foreign law firms to open offices in the country.

Therefore Indonesia too cannot close its doors to the foreign influx. Indonesian legal experts must prepare themselves to compete with foreign lawyers. They cannot remain spoiled by having the business field to themselves. Furthermore, Indonesian legal experts must start going international, operating abroad.

The Indonesian government understands the importance of foreign lawyers because their presence is related to foreign investment. The government itself often uses the services of foreign lawyers. Hence the Ministry of Justice has no intention of closing the doors to foreign lawyers.

Indeed, ministry decree M01HT0402 issued last year allows foreign lawyers to work in Indonesia under the condition that they associate themselves with Indonesian law firms but not by establishing a limited liability company and acquiring a permit for management consultants from another ministry.

Nor should they operate here through, say, a technical assistance agreement which is long-term in nature. This "law smuggling" is not only improper but contemptuous toward Indonesian law experts and law firms.

The time has come for foreign lawyers to toe the line over the justice ministry decree and to show respect for Indonesian legal experts.

Many of our law firms have offered cooperation with foreign counterparts because each side can mutually promote performance and technology transfer. The opportunities for legal work are great and will not decrease despite the economic crisis.

However, honest self-criticism is needed because foreign lawyers should be aware that in their countries foreign lawyers would not be allowed to operate without subjecting themselves to the local regulations.

In the United States, for instance, foreign lawyers are required to take an examination organized by the local bar association.

In Indonesia there is no bar examination for foreign lawyers, but they are meant to obtain a permit from the Ministry of Justice. Thus, if Indonesian lawyers practicing in the U.S. must meet the requirement of passing the bar examination, U.S. lawyers operating here should have a permit from the Ministry of Justice. Reciprocity is a standard principle in international law that must be respected by all.

The controversy over foreign lawyers must be promptly addressed by the professional legal associations in Indonesia, the Indonesian Legal Consultants Association including those operating in the capital market and the patent consultants association.

The issue of foreign lawyers is a professional matter, not a matter concerning one law firm or one individual lawyer. We must put the issue in the right context, and a thorough dialog is needed to find a way out of the controversy.

The professional associations and the Ministry of Justice should take the initiative to organize the dialog. On the other hand, foreign lawyers should take a wise and humble stance.

There is always a way out for lawyers. Isn't the art of lawyering the art of finding a way out?

The writer is a corporate lawyer based in Jakarta.

Window: The controversy about foreign lawyers is not new. It has been the subject of many a heated debate among lawyers. However, in general, Indonesian legal experts do not reject the presence of foreign lawyers.