Wellington - Some New Zealand lawyers are corruptly abusing the state legal aid system, which pays attorneys to act for defendants who cannot afford their own defence in court, an official inquiry reported Friday. Dame Margaret Bazley, a former senior civil servant who headed the inquiry, told a news conference: "I am appalled by the behaviour of some lawyers and their clients. Some lawyers appear to be acting corruptly and should be disbarred."
She said she was surprised the legal profession had allowed the situation to go on for as long as it had. "Everyone knows what is going on, who's doing it, but no one complains."
Bazley said the inquiry identified up to 200 "very bad lawyers who are bringing themselves and their profession into disrepute."
She said some junior court lawyers were "taking backhanders" for recommending particular attorneys to applicants for legal aid and others were "gaming the system" by delaying pleas or changing pleas part-way through the process in order to maximize their payments.
Bazley recommended the Legal Services Agency, which administers the aid, lose its independent status and be folded into the Justice Ministry.
She said that unless the Law Society took steps to clean up the system, the government should establish an independent body to regulate the legal profession.
Justice Minister Simon Power said he was "deeply concerned" at Bazley's findings of "system-wide failings, abuse and appalling behaviour that goes to the very centre of the integrity of our legal system."
He said he would fast-track reforms of the system.
