Lawyers cash in on era of reform
With the spirit of reform in the air, more people are determined to speak up, demanding the upholding of the rule of law. Consequently, the efforts to uphold the rule of law must involve lawyers. But can lawyers meet the people's expectations? The Jakarta Post's A'an Suryana, Emmy Fitri and T. Sima Gunawan examine the issue.
JAKARTA (JP): Two people were seen fighting over a cow. One was pulling the cow by the tail, the other was pulling on the horns. Underneath was a lawyer milking the cow.
Who was the impudent lawyer? That is not important because the above story is only a joke. Unfortunately, it reflects public opinion about lawyers: people who benefit from other people's trouble.
Like it or not, lawyers have entered into many aspects of society, not only in business and politics, but also in our private lives. In a matrimonial dispute, for example, while the husband and the wife are fighting each other, lawyers play an important role in the court. A win-win settlement might not be reached, but no matter what happens, the lawyers gain from the situation as they collect their fees.
In the current pornography cases making headlines, a number of print media have had to hire lawyers because they are being charged with obscenity for exposing models in sensual poses.
Multibillion dollar corruption cases -- the most recent one being the Bank Bali scandal -- are keeping lawyers particularly busy and can lead them to halls of fame and prosperity. Cases that implicate big names, like former president Soeharto and his family, former attorney general Andi M. Ghalib, a number of Cabinet ministers and other high-ranking politicians in President Habibie's government and top bankers, have been disclosed in the spirit of reform. It was unlikely that people dared to speak when the repressive New Order regime was still in power.
Indonesia, now and then, claims that it upholds the supremacy of the law. The fact is: it has failed to implement the law properly. Now that the spirit of reform is in the air, more people do have more guts to speak up, demanding an upholding of the rule of law.
The reform process is still going on. There is still a long way to go before people can enjoy the results. But its the lawyers that have picked up the fruits.
Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, a professor of law at the University of Indonesia, said that there is always a certain party who gains from even the worst situation.
"A war is beneficial to weapons factories. And now that the issue of law is brought forward, it's harvest time for lawyers," she said.
T. Mulya Lubis, who handles, among others, Time magazine in Soeharto's libel suit, admitted that as there are more cases to handle, lawyers have a stronger bargaining power.
"But in general, lawyers will make more money if the economy grows," he argued.
Denny Kailimang, a senior lawyer at Lontoh, Kailimang and Partners Law Firm, agreed. His office, which charges its foreign clients an hourly US$300 consultation fee, has lost some clients because they have gone bankrupt due to the economic crisis.
However, some of the crisis-hit clients have had to ask for legal services because they are also in trouble with the law enforcers. For example, business tycoons The Nin King and Prajoga Pangestu, who are accused of bribing former attorney general Andi M. Ghalib as they transferred a total of Rp 450 million (US$60,800) for the Indonesian Wrestling Association to an account in Ghalib's name.
Kailimang, an executive of the Indonesian Advocates' Association, was aware that many people have scolded him for providing legal services to the two businessmen, but he reasoned that this is also an effort to enforce law in the country.
"We strongly uphold the principle that we are professional in law and we are ready to defend people from various background, irrespective of race, wealth or religion," he said.
Similar reasoning was given by Juan Felix Tampubolon and M. Assegaf, two of Soeharto's lawyers. Assegaf compares the profession of being a lawyer with that of a doctor's. "If you are a doctor, will you refuse if a sick man who knocks at your door?"
Money
What about the allegation that they do it just for the money?
Tampubolon admitted that he has received a handsome sum of money, but he denied that he defends Soeharto because of money.
"I have not touched the money I received from him," he said. Tampubolon was rich even before he handled Soeharto's case.
Ghalib's lawyer, Ruhut Sitompoel, underlined that his decision to defend Ghalib has nothing to do with money.
"Once, Pak Ghalib asked me how much money he should pay. I replied 'It's up to you, Sir'," he said.
There is no fixed rate for a lawyer's litigating fee, but in general, it is divided into three phases. According to sources, in the initial phase, a lawyer asks for at least US$50,000, but recently, with the emergence of many new big cases, there are lawyers who reportedly ask for $200,000 initially. When the case is taken to court, the client must provide the lawyer with a similar amount of money. And if they wins, the lawyer will get what is called success fees.
It is no wonder that in order to gain a bigger income, there are many lawyers who would do anything to win a case, Harkristuti said. Of course, not all lawyers are like that. Some work just to ensure that their clients receive proper legal treatment, to make sure that legal proceedings for their clients are conducted appropriately. But as time goes by, their idealism can be eroded by materialism if they cannot resist the temptation of a glamorous life.
Harkristuti added that there are also lawyers who are a combination of these two categories. Sometimes, they are on the line, but at other times, they work just to make profits.
Frans Hendra Winata, an executive of the Indonesian Bar Association, estimated that about 80 percent of the country's 15,000 lawyers are corrupt.
"I am afraid that the number might be greater than that. And it is not only lawyers, but also judges and prosecutors who are unscrupulous," he said.
Discrimination
As money talks, it is no wonder that implementation of the law in the country is weak. People have long been fed up with poor implementation of the law, which is discriminative and takes sides with those who have money or power.
The investigation of many important cases are frozen, halted or put off. They include the murder cases of labor activist Marsinah in 1993 and journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin in 1996, the kidnapping of a number of activists early in 1998, the shooting of student demonstrators prior to the downfall of former president Soeharto and the May 1998 riots in Surakarta and Jakarta.
Similar things are happening to corruption cases. In 1977, three directors of Bank Indonesia were investigated for Rp 1.5 trillion ($202.7 million) corruption charges. Until today, they have not been taken to court. In March this year, the Ujungpandang District Court ruled in favor of Golkar legislator and businessman Nurdin Halid, who was charged with Rp 115 billion ($15 million) corruption.
On July 29, the military police announced that an investigation into corruption allegations against Ghalib had ended due to insufficient evidence.
A week earlier, the Attorney General's Office announced that it would halt the investigation of ailing Soeharto until he completely recovered, and would even abort the inquiry if he died. Soeharto reportedly illegally amassed a $15 billion fortune during his 32 years of tough, army-backed rule. Lawyer Tampubolon said that the investigation should have been halted a long time ago because there was no supporting evidence to the claims of graft.
According to Harkristuti, because the implementation of the law is contrary to the people's feelings of justice, in the eyes of the public, the law is nothing but garbage.
How can we improve the condition?
"Our society is patriarchal. If our leaders give a good example, the people will follow," Harkristuti said. However, she is skeptical that high-ranking officials, including those in the legal field, will be able to pose as good models for the people.
Lawyers can take a significant part in the efforts to uphold the supremacy of law, she said. "But they won't be able to play the role as long as they are still profit-oriented."