Size matters: Law Society Lawyers to be asked to please explain bills

THE Law Society of Namibia says it has decided to ask lawyers involved in recent disciplinary hearings at the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) and the Social Security Commission to explain the size of the bills for their services which made headlines last week.

Lawyers Nate Ndauendapo and Lucius Murorua, two of the members of a three-person disciplinary panel that conducted a disciplinary hearing of NDC Managing Director Abdool Aboobakar and NDC Finance Manager Addis Faul last month, presented the NDC with accounts of more than N$646 000 and N$657 000 respectively for the work they performed as part of the panel, it emerged last week. THE PRICE OF PERUSAL The major part of their accounts was for the perusal of the record of the disciplinary hearing.The two lawyers each billed the NDC just short of N$483 000 for performing the task of reading 4 024 folios – a folio being 100 words – at a cost of N$120 per folio.It further emerged last week that Ndauendapo had also billed the SSC at N$120 a folio for the perusal – that is, reading – of material in a disciplinary hearing of suspended SSC General Manager Avril Green, which he chaired.The lawyer who had the task of initiating the disciplinary charges against Green at that hearing, Norman Tjombe, asked the SSC to pay him N$100 per folio for some material that he had read as part of his work.For reading a total of 2 027 folios as part of Green’s disciplinary hearing, Ndauendapo billed the SSC a total of N$123 240, according to an account that he submitted to the parastatal in December, when Green’s disciplinary hearing had yet to be concluded.That account from Ndauendapo, itemised into work done over a period of 14 days, came to N$189 246.Tjombe’s account, dating from the same time, came to N$139 525, for work indicated to have been done over the course of 11 days.The work that they did as part of the NDC disciplinary hearing took up about two months of their time, said Murorua last week, or about 11 days, according to Ndauendapo.They both last week defended the size of their bills to the NDC as justified and in line with Law Society rules.The Law Society’s tariff guidelines recommend that legal practitioners with more than 10 years of experience in practice – a bracket into which Murorua and Ndauendapo both fall – can charge between N$90 and N$120 per folio for perusal.Alternatively, they can charge an hourly fee of between N$375 and N$750 per hour for perusal, the guidelines also state.The Law Society has taken note of media reports on the accounts that the lawyers in question have presented to their clients, and “has resolved to request explanations from all the legal practitioners involved regarding the quantum of their accounts”, the organisation stated late yesterday in a press statement apparently issued by Law Society President Elise Angula.”The charging of exorbitant fees (overreaching) is prohibited by the common law ethics and the Rules of the Law Society and amounts to unprofessional and unworthy conduct,” the Law Society stated.In cases where overreaching is alleged, the Law Society can assist complainants to have their legal bills independently assessed or to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, the statement reads.The issue of legal practitioners’ costs and charges is a complex matter that at times necessitates a taxation of lawyers’ accounts, the organisation said.It added: “However, any disingenuous misinterpretation of the Society’s guideline tariffs is a matter which the Society cannot tolerate as this negatively impacts on the image of the profession.”The Law Society requires every law firm to display a clearly visible notice informing all clients of the right to have their accounts taxed, the statement also said.Elsewhere, the organisation stated: “Overreaching is unlawful and an unlawful act cannot be condoned or turned into a lawful act on the basis of an agreement.”The NDC and Murorua and Ndauendapo met last week to discuss the parastatal’s concerns about the two lawyers’ accounts.Ndauendapo said yesterday that the issue was resolved, but that it was also agreed that the settlement they reached should be kept confidential.According to Acting NDC Chief Executive Officer Wessel Nanuseb yesterday, the two lawyers agreed to lower their bills, but no agreement had been reached yet on how much they would now ask for the services they rendered to the NDC.Nanuseb further said there was a likelihood that the NDC would refer their accounts to the Law Society to be assessed by the lawyers’ organisation.THE PRICE OF PERUSAL The major part of their accounts was for the perusal of the record of the disciplinary hearing.The two lawyers each billed the NDC just short of N$483 000 for performing the task of reading 4 024 folios – a folio being 100 words – at a cost of N$120 per folio.It further emerged last week that Ndauendapo had also billed the SSC at N$120 a folio for the perusal – that is, reading – of material in a disciplinary hearing of suspended SSC General Manager Avril Green, which he chaired.The lawyer who had the task of initiating the disciplinary charges against Green at that hearing, Norman Tjombe, asked the SSC to pay him N$100 per folio for some material that he had read as part of his work.For reading a total of 2 027 folios as part of Green’s disciplinary hearing, Ndauendapo billed the SSC a total of N$123 240, according to an account that he submitted to the parastatal in December, when Green’s disciplinary hearing had yet to be concluded. That account from Ndauendapo, itemised into work done over a period of 14 days, came to N$189 246.Tjombe’s account, dating from the same time, came to N$139 525, for work indicated to have been done over the course of 11 days.The work that they did as part of the NDC disciplinary hearing took up about two months of their time, said Murorua last week, or about 11 days, according to Ndauendapo.They both last week defended the size of their bills to the NDC as justified and in line with Law Society rules.The Law Society’s tariff guidelines recommend that legal practitioners with more than 10 years of experience in practice – a bracket into which Murorua and Ndauendapo both fall – can charge between N$90 and N$120 per folio for perusal.Alternatively, they can charge an hourly fee of between N$375 and N$750 per hour for perusal, the guidelines also state.The Law Society has taken note of media reports on the accounts that the lawyers in question have presented to their clients, and “has resolved to request explanations from all the legal practitioners involved regarding the quantum of their accounts”, the organisation stated late yesterday in a press statement apparently issued by Law Society President Elise Angula.”The charging of exorbitant fees (overreaching) is prohibited by the common law ethics and the Rules of the Law Society and amounts to unprofessional and unworthy conduct,” the Law Society stated.In cases where overreaching is alleged, the Law Society can assist complainants to have their legal bills independently assessed or to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice, the statement reads.The issue of legal practitioners’ costs and charges is a complex matter that at times necessitates a taxation of lawyers’ accounts, the organisation said.It added: “However, any disingenuous misinterpretation of the Society’s guideline tariffs is a matter which the Society cannot tolerate as this negatively impacts on the image of the profession.”The Law Society requires every law firm to display a clearly visible notice informing all clients of the right to have their accounts taxed, the statement also said.Elsewhere, the organisation stated: “Overreaching is unlawful and an unlawful act cannot be condoned or turned into a lawful act on the basis of an agreement.”The NDC and Murorua and Ndauendapo met last week to discuss the parastatal’s concerns about the two lawyers’ accounts.Ndauendapo said yesterday that the issue was resolved, but that it was also agreed that the settlement they reached should be kept confidential.According to Acting NDC Chief Executive Officer Wessel Nanuseb yesterday, the two lawyers agreed to lower their bills, but no agreement had been reached yet on how much they would now ask for the services they rendered to the NDC.Nanuseb further said there was a likelihood that the NDC would refer their accounts to the Law Society to be assessed by the lawyers’ organisation.