HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Bar Association has rejected a proposal made by the Office of the Attorney General to request government attorneys be allowed to engage in private practice.
About a month ago, Attorney General Douglas Moylan sent a letter to Speaker Therese Terlaje with a proposed bill which, if passed into law, would allow attorneys at the AG’s Office to practice outside the office.
Following the letter, where Moylan detailed the law that existed when he was attorney general from 2003 to 2007 and would create equity between public defenders, the Guam Bar Association on Aug. 21 issued a survey to members which asked if they agreed or disagreed with Moylan’s proposal.
The survey closed two days later, garnering 133 submitted responses, according to a release issued by Guam Bar Association President Jacqueline Terlaje.
The results showed 64%, or 85 members, disagreed with the the AG’s Office request to modify the law which currently restricts government attorneys to engage in private practice.
Along with submitting whether they agree or disagree, members were also able to submit comments where several concerns were raised if the proposal were to pass.
Members opposed to the proposal expressed concerns of increased conflicts and ethical complications, divided loyalties between obligations to the government interests and private clients, imbalance of powers and undermining the community’s faith in the legal process and system of justice as well as increased abuse of power and corruption and how the proposed legislation misstates or misrepresents the law, according to a release issued by the Guam Bar Association on Friday.
The survey data which showed the anonymous, open-ended comments was also provided by the Guam Bar Association and several explain that outside, pro bono work is currently allowed by the law.
“It does not ‘prohibit’ outside employment, the current law ‘regulates it’. This (law) merely prohibits employment conflicts of interest, which are also prohibited under the ethics rules for ALL attorneys. The PD (Public Defender Service Corporation) and APD (Alternate Public Defender) must also follow this restriction on conflicts of interest. The current law also fully allows pro bono work, trainings and teaching as approved by the AG himself,” one member wrote.
As far as the 36%, or 48 members who agreed with the proposal, comments in support included helping recruitment due to the limited supply of attorneys, ethical concerns and additional income for the government attorneys.
Additionally, as Moylan himself previously stated at a budget hearing earlier this year, part of the goal with changing the law would be to allow attorneys to represent family members.
“As noted by the Attorney General, there are various instances where OAG staff attorneys have had family members in need of assistance but who were unable to be helped by their family member due to current restrictions. Moreover, given the difficulty of recruiting and keeping talented attorneys to OAG due to price competition, this proposed legislation should help keep attorneys more anchored to OAG while occasionally taking outside legal work that does not conflict with their OAG duties,” one member wrote.
The release concludes by explaining on Aug. 30 the Guam Bar Associations Board of Governors “unanimously approved the release of the survey results, and directed the office of the President to issue a statement rejecting the proposal of the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Guam Bar Association.”
The Guam Bar Association Office as seen Tuesday Aug. 29, 2023 in Hagåtña.
