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Proposals to Monitor Performance of Panel Lawyers under the Section 26A Scheme
Council conducted two reviews in 2003 and 2004 on the operation of the Scheme under Section 26A of Legal Aid Ordinance. Overall the Scheme is considered to be valuable. There is concern, however, on the performance of some assigned lawyers.
In 2004 Council made proposals to the Administration to improve the mechanism to monitor the performance of assigned lawyers. It intended to ask lawyers to register for the Scheme, and conditions for registration would be drawn setting out, amongst other things, procedures to deal with potential cases of unsatisfactory performance and Council's power to take action in cases of unsatisfactory performance, including suspension of a panel lawyer from the panel for fixed period, removing a panel lawyer from the panel, referring the matter to the relevant professional body for investigation, issuing a warning to draw the attention of the lawyer to his unsatisfactory performance, and adjusting the fees payable to the lawyer to offset any additional expenses incurred by Council in assigning other lawyers to undertake remedial work.
The Director of Administration supported in principle Council's proposal to monitor the performance of lawyers to ensure their effective performance. In September 2005, Council Secretary, representatives of Legal Aid Department and the Administration held a meeting, with a view to tightening up the monitoring mechanism as far as practicable.
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