Attorney General Anil Nandlall, has issued a warning to persons offering legal services and who are not trained in law, that they could soon face penalties.

Speaking on his weekly “Issues in the News” programme, Mr. Nandlall said such acts amount to fraud and is also putting lives and properties at risk. He urged that this practice be discontinued.

“We have to take action against touts, people who are touting, persons who are not qualified as lawyers but are performing legal functions including Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oats of Affidavits,” Mr. Nandalall said.

He said the intention is not to deny anyone an income, but to bring structure to the way things are done in the legal profession. He explained that persons who are not qualified, but purport to administer legal advice and prepare legal documents without the relevant training, are really taking advantage of people and putting their lives at risk.

“They cause those people to lose their properties, lose millions of dollars because work is not done in accordance with law and we cannot continue in a society that allows such fraudulent false pretenses to take place,” the Attorney General noted.

The plan, according to Mr. Nandlall, is part of a broader effort to bring order and structure to the entire legal profession.

He is also proposing that there be a transparent system to ensure discipline, with the imposition of appropriate sanctions with the finding of culpability by persons in the legal profession.

He said there will be greater collaboration between his office and persons in the legal field to ensure things are streamlined.

“So there are a lot of things that have to be reviewed, I don’t want the legal profession to get defensive and to be critical of me. I am working with you to better the profession and the changes I hope, you will be the driving force in pushing them forward and I will only become the medium by which they are executed,” Mr. Nandlall stated.

There have been many complaints about persons not trained in law providing legal advice as they tout around legal chambers in the city.

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