Legal Advice Dubai
Every year, hundreds of people with low financial resources rely on attorneys who are willing to forego their fees to assist them in seeking justice.
Many people would be unable to take their claims to court if they did not have them. It involves either writing off losses or injustices or, at worst, coming out of the process even worse off.
Yet this is the fate of hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals, because the number of people in need significantly outnumbers the number of pro-bono hours available.
The majority of lawsuits are civil in nature, involving underpaid employees who claim they have been tricked out of contractual salary or dues.
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, or ADJD, wants to provide a lifeline to many of these people around the emirate in the New Year by paying law firms a set amount - either Dh15,000 or Dh20,000, depending on the kind of case - to defend them.
Each application would be means-tested to demonstrate that they could not afford the services, and payment to the advocacy firm would be contingent on the lawyer seeing the matter through to the finish.
It is thought that this will be sufficient motivation for the businesses to perform to the best of their skills, since the sooner the case is completed, the sooner they will be paid.
"There are too many instances for pro bono services to handle," Abdel Rahman Mohamed adds.
"Every lawyer has a social obligation to assist persons who cannot afford to pay for their services, yet the number of applicants who require legal aid or pro bono services far outnumbers the number of companies."
Firms perform pro bono services voluntarily and without compensation, or at a drastically discounted charge. Individual attorneys and law companies in several other nations are obligated to volunteer a set number of hours each year.
Lawyers in Korea are required to work at least 30 hours each year. In the US, the American Bar Association puts the minimal restriction as 50 hours a year, "with a focus that these services be delivered to those of modest means or non-profit groups that help the needy".
