A survey on the liberalization of the bar sought by the Bahamas Bar Association's (BBA) Financial Service Group (FSG), and the group's request to meet with the Bahamas Bar Council (BBC) on the issue, has sparked fresh outrage in some quarters of the legal profession, reigniting public debate on the question of allowing foreign lawyers a freer rein in the local market.
The question of the liberalization of the bar has been a subject of intense and at times acrimonious debate in relation to the question of allowing foreign lawyers to practice more freely in The Bahamas. Former Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder, his successor Hope Strachan, and even Prime Minister Perry Christie -- all lawyers themselves -- have argued that liberalizing the bar is an objective to be pursued. Others, including BBA President Elsworth Johnson, have sounded a more cautious tone.
A June 20, 2016 letter from the FSG to the BBC obtained by Guardian Business highlights what the group wants to do. The response of several high profile lawyers to the letter -- also obtained by Guardian Business -- highlights the split in the bar as to which direction the organization ought to take.
The FSG formed a working group to craft a survey of members "to ascertain members' views on liberalization... and also to obtain, collate and analyze data pertaining to the composition of our membership".
"Having regard to the competing views and the effect which liberalization, in any form, may have on the composition of the BBA and our members, both current and prospective, it is our view that the issue of liberalization is a matter of significant professional concern to the members of the BBA and as such a matter for which the BBC is responsible," the FSG said in a letter to the council.
The group intends to hire Gabriella Fraser of The Vivian Group to conduct the survey, and sought the council's position on whether it would pay the $6,000-plus "in whole or in part".
"We believe that the survey and the resultant data will assist with providing a balanced approach and a road map to constructive reform of the legal fraternity by forming the basis of informed discussion and relevant policy recommendations that reflect the views of the wider bar.
"FSG intends to proceed on the issue of liberalization as a matter of urgency," the group said.
Managing Director of Dominion Management Services Ltd. Paul Moss called the letter "a cruel joke".
"I will not participate in the further deterioration of this industry on the guise that to 'liberalize it' saves it. As a practitioner, I know some of the root causes or conditions why we are in this predicament and it has little to do with the bar.
"We know that many of our systems are broken including the lack of a properly functioning legal system, where we do not have a commercial court and we fail to keep pace with the passing of laws that may enhance the jurisdiction," Moss wrote.
He argued that Bahamian lawyers do not do enough to invest in the industry, yet crave what others have in other jurisdictions. The Cayman Islands and other such jurisdictions invest heavily in the sector, he noted.
"...Yet we know that our sector provides between 15 to 20 percent of the GDP and we invest $400,000 into it annually to promote it, compared to the $10 million by Cayman. We provide a minimum of $5 million to promote the destination of Atlantis and then scoff at this industry.
"It is a mistake to believe that competitor jurisdictions such as Cayman, BVI and Bermuda are ahead of us because they have their liberalized bar. Nonsense. These are not countries, and lawyers from the UK especially have a right to go there because these islands belong to the UK," Moss pointed out.
He said the idea of liberalization is 25 years late.
"Today, foreign lawyers need not be admitted to the bar to use the jurisdiction or products therefrom. Today - this morning - I am working with lawyers in Dubai, Switzerland, BVI and NY who have not been here. The reason for this is technology permits us to share documents and interface via Skype if necessary. They have access to our laws online and none of these things were available 25 years ago. In fact this whole notion that you are on about is a demonstration why we are behind... we are always playing catch-up," he said.
In fact, Moss described what amounts to a revenue-boosting scheme by the big boys as the major motivator for this so-called liberalization.
"...The closed shop we have existing in the bar locally may be one of the reasons why it is felt that it should be liberalized. Here is what I mean. The so-called large firms have basically exploited the market and cannot grow revenue. They now seek to grow revenue by - with the abetment of the bar - permitting lawyers in other jurisdictions to work with them and hopefully have success. In other words, there has never been such an elaborate survey or plan that sought to find out how the bar can ensure equity among its local members with a view to enhance productivity and revenue," he said.
A senior practitioner, Kelphene Cunningham, concurred with Moss's views, but added that she is for liberalization "only in the case of international arbitration".
"The large firms are in a panic and they want to grow on the backs of the small lawyers by further squeezing them out. The government is in a panic because financial services has stalled.
"Well, the world has changed and the government needs to keep up. One immediate thing that it could do to kick start the financial services sector is to introduce 'double taxation'. They cannot liberalize the bar carte blanche at the expense of its people.
"Some lawyers are still operating out of the back of their cars," Cunningham said.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian