Singapore Law Watch reports that……
In a first of its kind: A lawyer in Singapore has been fined $1,000 by the local Law Society for giving his views of an ongoing case in his blog.
The Straits Times reports that Mr Alfred Dodwell was fined by the law society for ‘publicly promoting his view of the witnesses and the merits of an ongoing court proceeding, albeit through the medium of blogs’.
The paper goes on to report…
The action, reflected last week in the Government Gazette, was taken as Mr Dodwell ‘had failed to meet the standard of conduct befitting’ a lawyer.
As a result of the case, the Law Society has cautioned lawyers about comments they make in blogs and to the media.
In an advisory two months ago, it warned lawyers not to post comments that would compromise client confidentiality, discuss ongoing cases, or make adverse comments about the clients of the opposing party.
The incident relating to Mr Dodwell, 40, is believed to centre on a 2006 case in which siblings had a spat over the will left by their late mother for an estate worth $700,000.
In it, four siblings represented by Mr Dodwell disputed the validity of the will, which bequeathed an additional $50,000 to another sibling, who was represented by lawyer Lim Joo Toon.
Mr Dodwell’s clients lost the case, but they have appealed, and the three-year saga will continue with a hearing in the Court of Appeal in September.
It is unclear what statements Mr Dodwell made in his blog, entitled ‘My God Given Life’.
The Straits Times understands that although names were not mentioned, his blog entries contained enough key details for affected parties to recognise the case.
The lawyer is also believed to have made offending remarks on more than one occasion.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Dodwell did not want to go into what his blog postings said.
He said, however, that blogs were part of the new media scene, but added: ‘I did what I did as a private individual, but I am also a lawyer. This is a whole new
area and the Law Society has come to a view.
‘I stand guided by the society’s stand, as would all lawyers in this new media arena.’
Lawyers say that while factual reports of an ongoing case can be blogged about, commenting about witnesses or the merits of a case go beyond the pale.
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