Judges "Observe, Listen, and Evaluate" for Advancing Attorney Quality!—Results of the Hsinchu Attorney Evaluation Released

Today (November 14), the Hsinchu District Court (hereinafter referred to as the "Hsinchu District Court"), the Hsinchu Bar Association (hereinafter referred to as the "Hsinchu Bar"), and the Judicial Reform Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the "JRF") jointly announced the results of the first attorney evaluation in Taiwan's judicial history. This is also the first attorney evaluation jointly organized by official authorities and civil society.

This attorney evaluation covers the period from October 1 of last year (91) to September 30 of this year (92). Over this one-year period, 15 civil court judges and 20 criminal court judges of the Hsinchu District Court filled out a total of 324 evaluation records. The maximum score for the evaluation was 5 points, with a passing score of 3 points. To ensure the evaluation results would be credible to the public, the Hsinchu District Court, the Hsinchu Bar, and the JRF specifically set the publication threshold as follows: attorneys must have been evaluated in more than (or equal to) 5 cases and assessed by more than (or equal to) three judges.

According to the statistical results, a total of 35 attorneys met the aforementioned publication threshold, and the average score of these 35 attorneys was 3.36 points. In addition, since this was the first attorney evaluation launched domestically, the organizers ultimately decided to only publish the names of a total of 28 attorneys who met the publication threshold and whose average scores in both "courtroom activities" and "document quality" exceeded (or equaled) 3 points.

Finally, the organizers explained that attorneys not included in the published list include those with too few evaluation records, as well as those who met the publication threshold but had an overall average score of less than 3 points (there are 7 individuals in this category). The organizers will soon notify the 35 attorneys who met the publication threshold via confidential letters regarding the number of evaluations they received, their scoring status, and the comments recorded by judges, in order to encourage them or prompt improvements.

The 28 better-performing attorneys, listed in the order of their surname stroke counts, are:

Wang Chih-yang, Wang Ts'ai-you, Chu Chao-hsun (Hsinchu), Li Wen-chieh, Li K'e-hsin, Li Lin-sheng, Lin Chin-tu, Hsu Kuo-chen, Keng Shu-ying, Chang Yu-lin, Chang Wan-hua, Chang T'ang-hsin, Hsu Mei-li, Kuo Ch'i-t'ang, Ch'en Ching-hsin, P'eng Huo-yen, P'eng T'ing-yen, Tseng Neng-yu, Yang Lung-yuan, Chan Hui-fen, Lu Ch'un-hung, Liu Ya-p'ing, Pan Hsiu-hua, Cheng Li-chien, Lung Ch'i-hsiang, Wei Shun-hua, Wei Ts'ui-t'ing, Lo Ping-ch'eng.

Attendees

Wu Chao-ying, President, Hsinchu District Court
Wang Ming-yung, Presiding Judge, Hsinchu District Court
Lo Ping-ch'eng, President, Hsinchu Bar Association
Huang Hsu-t'ien, Standing Executive Committee Member, Judicial Reform Foundation
Lin Ching-p'ing, CEO, Judicial Reform Foundation