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.