Legal aid vs private lawyer

Legal aid is viewed as the provision of assistance to people who cannot afford legal representation and access to justice.

The term generally includes legal advice, assistance and representation as well as other services such as legal education, information and mechanisms for alternative dispute resolution.

Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to be represented by a lawyer and the right to a fair trial as provided by the Constitution of Malawi.

Malawi Legal Aid Bureau was established under Section 3 of the Legal Aid Act of 2011.

Its primary statutory mandate is to provide legal aid services to the indigent and vulnerable people in need of legal services.

Section 5 of the founding law gives the bureau powers to do everything that it considers necessary or desirable to secure the provision of legal aid in the country.

The bureau strives to be a lead actor in providing accessible, ethical, and high-quality legal aid services to vulnerable people in Malawi.

It also provides civic education and information about the law to the public.

The core objectives of the bureau are (1) to provide legal aid, legal advice and legal assistance, including representation in any court, tribunal or similar body to the indigent in Malawi; and (2) to provide civic education and information about the law to the public.

Usually, legal fees for lawyers in private practice are exorbitant for an average Malawian whose income falls below the K100 000 taxable salary bracket.

Such persons already find it hard to thrive in the current economy.

As such, fees for private lawyers expose such citizens to unnecessary financial hardship likely to push them into poverty.

Private practice fees are only affordable by those with high income.

Private practice law firms and practitioners target such elites.

They aim at profit-making. Therefore, the legal fees are set to fulfil the capitalist objective, which impoverish and burden low-income earners.

Despite this harsh reality, everyone has a constitutional right to legal representation whether the legal fees is exorbitant or affordable.

It is worth noting that Malawi Legal Aid Bureau aims to expand its reach and impact.

The bureau hopes to open up district offices with an emphasis of helping and reaching out to those who dwell in districts to have access to good quality and affordable legal services.

The district will become handy for the country’s rural majority, who constitute 84 percent of the country’s population, according to the 2018 census.

Currently, the bureau has opened offices in Salima, Thyolo, Ntcheu and Mchinji.

Other districts are pending.

What is more, the Legal Aid Bureau aims to fight for amending the Legal Aid Act to allow its officers to represent clients in small courts.

This is expected to ease up the backlog of case the bureau currently has.

Legal aid helps in both criminal and civil cases.

Criminal cases include homicide, defilement, theft, forgery, burglary and defilement, just to mention a few.

Civil cases include custody and maintenance, chieftainship wrangles, personal injury claims, land disputes, contract disputes, deceased estate and labour matters.

Currently, some of the benefits of legal aid in the country are depicted by its success stories such as assisting suspects access bail, offering clients in sentence education and helping them secure acquittals.

Whether an individual qualifies for legal aid depends on the type of case and the individual’s financial circumstances.

When a legal dispute kicks in, the big question is: Where can you get legal services in line with the constitutional right and requirement?

Whether the answer is Legal Aid Bureau or private practice lawyers, the choice and discretion depends on one’s income.