A staggering £4,749,736.32 was paid to lawyers in private practice by the government together with government owned companies in 2023. Of that total, £2,803,091 was shared between Hassans and Isolas.
It is not clear whether the overall figure includes amounts paid in connection with the McGrail Inquiry, but there are clear indications that it does not, for example Charles Gomez & Co, the lawyers for Ian McGrail, are shown as having been paid nothing by government.
The amount paid by government to lawyers in private practice is over and above what is paid in salaries to lawyers directly employed by government.
There is a massive and urgent need to revise this expenditure with a view to making better use of lawyers employed directly by government for the benefit of all taxpayers.
BREAKDOWN
UK lawyers were paid a total of £571,113.36.
Local lawyers take the balance, namely £4,178,642.96.
Interestingly Hassans is shown to have been paid that year the sum of £1,365,178, Isolas £1,437,913.07, Triays £4,390, and TSN £217,529.50. Hassans, Isolas, Triays, and TSN are considered the ‘big’ four firms, despite which Triays received a derisory amount.
To help readers form any opinion, the amounts paid to other Gibraltar law firms in that year were, Cruz Law £247,533.54, Peter Caruana & Co £426,930, Charles Gomez & Co £0 (rather glaring), Jamie Trinidad £23,735.40, Attias & Levy £59,455, Philips LLP £20,085, Mr. J Rodriguez £38,050, and Benzaquen &Co £519,240.
Readers are left to reach their own conclusions from those figures. One might be that it is rather helpful, in terms of earnings, for a lawyer to be elected to Parliament.
POWER OVER LAWYERS
The impact on politics in Gibraltar of lawyers’ earnings is not a new phenomenon. As far back as 30 years ago, when the GSLP were in Government under Sir Joe Bossano, elements of concern were being expressed to the Foreign Office by the then Governor, Admiral Sir Derek Reffell KCB.
He reported that Sir Joshua Hassan had asked to see him. At the meeting Sir Joshua “… confirmed that [Peter] Montegriffo is about to announce his withdrawal from politics. He was clearly upset personally by the decision, which he said would put back democracy in Gibraltar by ten years.”
“Hassan explained that his law firm is dependent for a significant proportion of their business on clients pointed in their direction by government… the Government has continued to pass work to the firm, probably because the partners involved have done the work quickly and well.”
In a separate report:
“Apparently, the GSD’s good showing in a recent opinion poll indicating at the least that the GSD was on track to be the official Opposition, has prompted the partners … in Hassan & Partner, to present Montegriffo with an ultimatum- get out of politics or leave the firm. It appears that the firm themselves have come under some pressure from some members of the GSLP Government … to the effect that the Government may have to review the large amount of legal business they give to Hassan & Partners while the leader of the most effective opposition party is working for them.”
CONTROLS ESSENTIAL
A reversal of expenditure of public monies on legal fees is necessary, as well as how any such expenditure is distributed among different lawyers. A change is only possible with a deep reform in our constitutional system of government involving the introduction of proper checks and balances.
Those checks and balances will also help eradicate ‘preferred’ recipients of public funds generally. Especially those who are paid without any proper independent tendering, like amounts paid to lawyers.
In the case of lawyers, there is the added aggravation that it is a group that is, historically and now, disproportionately represented in Parliament and in Government.