The aspirants for the Legal profession in Sri Lanka appear to be growing at an alarming rate with a record number of Attorneys taking oaths before the Supreme Courts this week. Long gone are the days of the profession being open to a select few as the admittance of foreign university graduates have opened the doors to those who were previously unable to enter Sri Lanka Law College through its highly competitive entrance examination.
In fact 800 new Attorneys entered the profession this week alone. Breaking away from the typical swearing in ceremony where an attorney stands before the Supreme Court alone to give one’s oath, a mass oath taking ceremony was held in a span of three days in the past week. In the words of the Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), Amal Randeniya it is the first time that such a large number of Attorneys were sworn in to the legal profession in the span of just three days.
While the atmosphere among new lawyers being sworn in after years of hard work was jubilant nevertheless it cannot be denied that a few felt a sense of trepidation about what lies ahead.
To many budding young lawyers seeking apprenticeships leading up to being sworn in as well finding employment as a junior lawyer without the right social connections can be a daunting task. As the numbers of lawyers increase competition too invariably is expected to rise for opportunities of employment in the legal field.
To 25-year-old Randeepa Wijesooriya, being sworn in as an Attorney at Law has been a lifelong dream. Making this dream a reality and becoming the only person hailing from Dambulla to be sworn in as a Lawyer after 7 long years, this week was the culmination of his years of dedication and hard work while it also marked the beginning of his legal career. Speaking about the mass swearing in ceremony while the event was indeed an important day, Randeepa felt the moment was a little less special than usual. ¨Generally one would stand alone in front of everyone to be sworn in but this time it was different with having to do so with many others¨ he said, adding that nevertheless it was a joyful occasion for all involved.
When questioned if he worried about employment opportunities due to the rising number of lawyers Randeepa admitted that there was an air of uncertainty among the newly sworn in lawyers in this regard. However Randeepa remained hopeful. ¨I believe if you have the talent and train well opportunities will come along in spite of the number of lawyers in the practice¨ he says.
President of the Sri Lanka Law College Students Union, Dhanujaya Samarasinghe too felt that it was too premature to worry about the future of the field and opportunities involved despite the clearly rising numbers.
According to him the recent batch of new lawyers was a result of Law College taking in a group of over 500 new students in 2013 and is not a matter of great concern as yet to hopefuls waiting to enter the legal field.
However, the legal fraternity and seniors in the field have taken notice of the rising trend and are now seeking answers to a possible future employment crisis for the youngsters as well as other related problems.
According to Randeniya currently there are over 17, 000 Lawyers in Sri Lanka while almost another 2,000 would enter the profession as qualified Attorneys by end of 2017. ¨So we must admit that the numbers of new lawyers are growing¨ he said, adding that however the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is currently not worried about the overcrowding of the profession. Randeniya says however if the trend continues issues can crop up for new entrants. ¨Finding cases for those wishing to practice as well as other employment opportunities might become difficult to come by, ¨ he said.
The BASL confirms that the next batch of Lawyers taking oaths in July will consist of 350 new entrants while the December batch will once again consist of another 800 entrants. ¨Therefore this year alone we will see 2,000 Attorneys entering the profession and is an alarming increase as never seen before,¨ he pointed out.
Randeniya puts the increasing figures down to Law Graduates of Foreign Universities and Law Graduates of Private Institutions in Sri Lanka that provides an avenue to youth who are not able to enter Sri Lanka Law College through its entrance examination.
He says while training is vital for the newcomers the BASL is now faced with the daunting task of finding senior lawyers able to provide training for such a large number of new entrants.
¨There are only a limited number of senior lawyers with a good chamber practice so providing every new lawyer an opportunity to get a good training has become difficult¨ he said, adding that finding a place to even provide practical training which can accommodate such a large number has become an issue. ¨When the lectures are held in such large numbers I believe the quality of the training does go down as well, ¨ he says, pointing out that these issues need to be addressed. As a result Chief Justice K. Sripavan has now appointed a committee led by President’s Counsel Shibly Azeez to identify similar issues faced by law students and to provide necessary solutions to problems faced by them as a result of the increasing number of new lawyers.
Therefore Randeniya says the focus is now on providing new employment avenues to these new lawyers, while moving away from traditional court related work.
¨We are looking at outsourcing Legal Services and believe this can provide a large number of employment opportunities,¨ he said.
According to Randeniya therefore the BASL has requested the government assistance to attract Legal Service Outsourcing firms to Sri Lanka through tax breaks and other facilities.
Explaining that there are in fact a large number of employment avenues for legal graduates, Randeniya says these must be explored to accommodate youngsters entering the legal profession. ¨Despite the numbers good quality lawyers can be an asset to the country but they must be guided and be given opportunities,¨ he said assuring that the fraternity will ensure the betterment of legal students.