邱彰律師

US lawyer accuses Taiwan's bar associations of ignoring her right

Taiwan News June 9, 2010 www.etaiwannews.com

US lawyer accuses Taiwan's bar associations of ignoring her right

Dr. Chang C. Chen, a former DPP legislator and lawyer in the US, today accused Taichung and Tainan Bar Association of ignoring her right to represent Taiwan victims in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy scandal. "According to Lawyers Law of Taiwan, Article 47 (6), when a foreign lawyer applies to the local Taiwan Bar Association, he or she should not be refused of its membership,” Chen told Taiwan News in a letter, explaining her discontent with lawyer regulations in Taiwan. Chen noted that many of the victims asked for her help as the original documents including the Prospectus of the Lehman structure notes were in English. “The victims thought I would be in a better position to explain to the courts the details of their cases since Lehman notes are basically Wall Street products,” added Chen.
However, except for Kaohsiung Bar Association,
Taichung and Tainan Bar Association acted unfriendly to the proposal, noted Chen.
“Taichung Bar simply ignored my application for three months. They did not give me any notice of acceptance to the Bar, they did not send me any
certification of my membership to the Bar. A Tainan local lawyer would have such certificate as soon as he or she joins the Bar. When I finally called Tainan Bar today to withdraw my application six months later, a Mr. Chen told me I was the only foreign lawyer who applied to Taichung Bar and they really did not know what to do with me,” said Chen. However, Chen noted, a small claim court judge approved her representation of the clients. “Since the small claim court judge can approve the representation according to the Civil Code, I did not violate any law,” said Chen. Chen also expressed her discontent with Taiwan’s hostility to foreign lawyers and close-mindedness to the international legal communities. “Without improving its treatment of foreign lawyers in Taiwan, Taiwan’s export dependent economy can expect to lose even more grounds in the near future,” warned Chen.