Social Engagement of Attorneys

Article 1 of the Attorney Regulation Act stipulates that attorneys have the mission of "protecting human rights, realizing social justice, and promoting democratic rule of law." The legal profession inherently exists for the public interest. Although attorneys are retained by individual clients in specific cases to protect their rights and interests to the fullest extent permitted by law, enabling individuals or groups in need of legal protection to have attorneys assert their rights in accordance with the law is fundamentally an indispensable pathway to achieving social justice through due process. When attorneys fulfill their responsibility to make statements on behalf of their clients in accordance with the law, neutral adjudicators are given the opportunity to "listen to both sides" and thereby conduct fair adjudication to realize social justice. The more the realization of social justice is promoted, the more it aligns with the public interest; the discharge of professional duties by attorneys in accordance with the law is itself an indispensable link in the pursuit of the public interest.

However, an attorney's dedication to the public interest need not be limited to merely fulfilling their primary professional duties. Bearing the mission entrusted by Article 1 of the Attorney Regulation Act, attorneys have at least five broader avenues through which to participate in the realization of the public interest, which are briefly outlined below.

1. Providing Legal Aid to Ordinary Citizens and Pro Bono Defense

   This is one of the most direct ways for attorneys to actively promote the public interest. Legal aid for ordinary citizens and pro bono defense are fundamentally similar in nature, though their emphases differ. Legal aid is a universal public interest activity. The ideal model should, on the one hand, establish a litigation system based on the principle of attorney advocacy and, on the other hand, impose an obligation on every attorney to dedicate a certain proportion of working hours or accept a certain number of cases each year to provide legal services to ordinary people. Institutionalizing an ideal and widespread system of legal aid for ordinary citizens through professional attorney organizations (such as bar associations) is a necessary pathway. This requires legislative regulation as well as supporting complementary measures (such as establishing a legal aid fund for ordinary citizens), making it an important task in judicial reform. Before judicial reform measures are completed, attorneys should voluntarily engage in this work. For years, the Taipei Bar Association has cooperated with the Taipei City Government, with members volunteering to regularly provide consultation services to citizens and laborers, which is equivalent in nature. Pro bono defense, meanwhile, considers not only the economic burden on the client, but also the significant public interest connection of the case's nature. The Taipei Bar Association's long-standing human rights protection measures for death penalty pro bono defense serve as concrete examples of this practice. However, in the term "pro bono defense" (義務辯護), the word "obligation" (義務) does not refer to a legal duty, but rather means that no attorney's fee is charged. This does not require legislative prescription; rather, it should be undertaken voluntarily by attorneys based on their own professional expertise. Active participation by attorneys in pro bono defense goes without saying as something worthy of encouragement and advocacy.

2. Participating in the Formulation of Public Policy

   Beyond providing legal services to clients, attorneys actively participating in the formulation of public policy, expressing opinions, and offering suggestions based on their legal professional expertise is an important practical activity of an attorney's mission. Many attorneys organize civil groups to advocate for and promote the realization of public policy; the Judicial Reform Foundation's enthusiasm for judicial reform is a prime example. Other primary forms of public interest work by attorneys include assisting administrative departments in drafting bills, attending various public hearings upon the invitation of legislative bodies or agencies, and providing professional legal opinions at critical moments during the legislative process. These play a pivotal role in the realization and quality enhancement of a state governed by the rule of law.

3. Participating in the Affairs of Social and Public Organizations

   Even setting aside their role in shaping public policy, purely from the perspective of attorneys participating in the internal affairs of organizations, this indeed possesses the value of social public interest. The reason is simple: in the development of a pluralistic society, civil society, and even deliberative democracy, the operation of civil groups in a manner consistent with due process is an extremely important dimension of people's self-governing activities alongside organizing governments. Attorneys participating in various social and public affairs organizations, using their professional expertise to promote self-governance among civil groups in a manner consistent with democratic rationality, naturally greatly benefits the advancement of democracy and the rule of law.

4. Promoting Democratic and Rule of Law Education

   In the formation process of a democratic state governed by the rule of law, social education is by no means less important than school education and family education. Especially when democratic and rule-of-law literacy has not yet formed a solid element of social tradition, and when democratic and rule-of-law education in school classrooms still disconnects from the general needs of society, relying on social education to make up for these deficiencies concerns the success or failure of democratic consolidation and the speed of legal maturity. Attorneys making efforts and contributions in this regard can be said to be bound by duty and not to step aside. Members of the Taipei Bar Association frequently visit elementary and junior high schools as well as various public and private organizations to deliver lectures on democratic or legal systems, and express high-visibility opinions on public issues in newspapers and magazines; all of these contain the public interest function of participating in social legal education.

5. Advancing Social Movements

   Advancing social movements can be regarded as the most active form of participation among all social public interest activities, representing a transition from "speaking while seated" to "taking action." Sometimes this may inevitably provoke controversy, with opinions suggesting it somewhat departs from the traditional role and image of attorneys. However, many long-standing and deeply rooted social problems truly require the impact of social movements to overturn them, and gender discrimination is a ready example. Attorneys participating in social movements based on legal rationality naturally hold positive significance for the function of social change that social movements can exert.

An attorney's fulfillment of their public interest role is obviously not limited to these five avenues; charitable donations by attorneys or even serving in government public office both constitute acts of engaging in the public interest. As long as one has the heart, there is more than one channel for attorneys to throw themselves into the public interest. To those with aspirations, why not join us!