Young lawyers earn their stripes at legal aid institute

Young lawyers earn their stripes at legal aid institute

By A'an Suryana

JAKARTA (JP): The public's image of lawyers often centers on
the glamorous life of luxury apartments, expensive cars and
ultramodern cellular phones.

What people overlook is that successful lawyers usually work
their way up from the bottom, receiving low pay for long hours at
the outset of their careers.

Their training ground includes the various offices of the
Legal Aid Institute (LBH), a non-governmental organization under
the umbrella of Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), or the
Legal Aid Post (Posbakum) which is located in four of five
district courts in the city.

Law schools at distinguished universities also have offices
allowing newly qualified lawyers the opportunity to put into
practice their learning.

It is a chance to develop their skills but not one to earn
money; most are pro bono cases and their clients are generally
poor people.

"I receive a Rp 240,000 per month, which includes a
transportation fee and daily meal allowance," said Intan
Octaviana Sirait, 24, a young lawyer at Jakarta's LBH office.

Such prominent and successful lawyers as Todung Mulya Lubis,
Adnan Buyung Nasution, Hotma Sitompoel and Muhammad Assegaf
started at the institute.

The low wage is not a major problem for Intan, who has worked
for several months for "a chance to learn law and litigation
practice by working in this NGO.

"We are still young and our parents are still able to help us
financially. The important thing is that we have the best
training ground to become a good lawyer," she said on Wednesday
at the Central Jakarta District Court.

The institute's commitment is to provide legal assistance to
the poor, therefore Intan and other LBH lawyers never receive
bonuses based on the success of their case, a common demand of
commercial lawyers.

The young lawyers also learn about idealism.

"We really handle cases before the court through the proper
and right procedures, not through the 'court's back door'," she
said.

She believed that lawyers at commercial law firms were pushed
by their bosses to win every case at any cost, including by
bribing judges and prosecutors.

Intan, who graduated last year from the School of Law of
Padjajaran State University in Bandung, worked at a law firm on
Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Central Jakarta, for five months before she
joined the institute.

All of the institute's lawyers must work hard to prepare
defense arguments and retain their understanding of the cases
before them, she added.

"We handle various cases in our work here which broadens our
knowledge," she said in mentioning politically charged cases of
violence against women.

Theresia Sugiyartiningsih, an alumni of Atmadjaya University
in Yogyakarta, left her job at cellular phone operator PT
Excelkomindo Pratama to work at the institute.

"I was paid well by the company but I left because I wanted to
become a lawyer," said Theresia.

Dadang Tri Sasongko, the YLBHI's director for internal
affairs, said on Friday the institute was an ideal place for
young lawyers to learn about litigation.

"We have 200 young lawyers through Indonesia, in 14 branches,
and every year each branch recruits 10 lawyer candidates for
apprenticeship programs," he told The Jakarta Post.

A YLBHI rules stipulates that a lawyer must leave the
institute after eight years.

Dadang admitted that fund constraints kept the lawyers'
salaries low.

The Legal Aid Post also is a popular place for young lawyers
to learn about litigation. Posts are located at all the district
courts in Jakarta's mayoralties except the one in South Jakarta.

Each is home to about 20 young lawyers eager to learn about
the legal process. The four posts are supervised by a central
board which comprises three boards of directors. Among the
directors are noted lawyers Denny Kailimang and Amir Syamsudin.

The young lawyers are recruited after undergoing a course on
litigation held by the Association of Indonesian Advocates (AAI).

The posts were established in 1978 to provide legal assistance
to the poor. According to the law, poor defendants who are
subject to a sentence of more than five years (as stipulated by
the Criminal Code Procedure, chapter 56) must be accompanied by a
defense lawyer.

Like LBH lawyers, lawyers at the posts must put their concerns
about making money on hold.

The Ministry of Justice allocates Rp 250,000 for the handling
of a case, from its outset to the delivery of the verdict. The
fund is distributed to a team of Posbakum's lawyers, comprising
of a maximum six members.

"The fund is shared by the team members, usually comprising
three to four lawyers," said Sahara Pangaribuan, 33, a lawyer who
in the Posbakum of the Central Jakarta District Court.

Sahara said each Posbakum lawyer was able to complete five
cases per month.

"Of course, the payment isn't enough to support our monthly
expenses, so we have to work part-time at law firms."

But money is often not the main consideration in providing
legal assistance. Sahara, who handled the case of Panji Setiawan,
a victim in the bloodshed of July 27, 1997, said that he was
happy to receive a small gift from Panji's father.

Robert Manurung, another lawyer at Posbakum, said he usually
assisted other lawyers from law firms who were unable to attend
court sessions.

"Sometimes I earn Rp 30,000 or Rp 40,000 for substituting for
a lawyer in a court session, and this is good to add to my
monthly earnings," said Robert, who has been active in Posbakum
since last year.

Posbakum lawyers, like their colleagues at LBH, also consider
their work as a training ground.

"Posbakum offers us a wide variety of court cases, compared to
law firms," said Robert, who usually handles criminal cases.
"Poor people are not able to file civil lawsuits in the court,
and they are more often engaged in criminal cases."

A fee of Rp 200,000 is required to file a lawsuit.

Several people from private companies are learning about
litigation at Posbakum.

Sugeng Bagyo, 36, was seconded to Posbakum by his company, PT
Kawasan Berikat Nusantara, for about one year.

"After I have enough knowledge about litigation, I will be
back to my company as a full-time employee of the company's legal
department," he said.

Although both LBH and Posbakum are training grounds for
lawyers, LBH is better known, with an international network and
fine management. Lawyers often choose to work at LBH for many
years, but it is not the case at Posbakum.

"Only two people of 20 people from my group, including me,
have stayed on since we were placed here by AAI last year," said
Robert.