Foreign Lawyers May Lead Local Lawyer Teams

 
Ali Salmande, Jazmi Adlan Bohari
 
The ongoing dispute between Sumatra Partner LLC (Sumatra) and Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro (ABNR) law firm, which is now currently at the examination stage at the South Jakarta District Court, has raised the issue of whether foreign lawyers may act as a coordinator for a team of Indonesian lawyers.
 
This issue arose when the Court was examining Sugeng Teguh Sentosa, Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Indonesian Bar Association (PERADI), who gave his testimony as an expert at last Tuesday’s hearing. In his testimony, Mr. Santosa stated that foreign lawyers may act as a coordinator for a team of local lawyers.
 
Mr. Santosa explained that foreign lawyers may practice in Indonesia if they are eligible to do so, pursuant to Law. No. 18 of 2003 on Advocates (Advocate Law). Foreign lawyers themselves must be hired as an employee in an Indonesian law firm. Such arrangements constitute a standard employment relation between foreign lawyers and the respective law firm.
 
“As a employee, an employment relationship is applied,” he said.
 
While a foreign lawyer may coordinate a team that consists of Indonesian lawyers, Mr. Santosa added that foreign lawyers cannot give legal services or opinions related to Indonesian laws. They may only may give legal opinions on issues of foreign laws, not Indonesian laws.
 
Mr. Santosa said that foreign lawyers may communicate the legal opinion of Indonesian lawyers to the client. But, in order to do so, they have to state that the opinion is delivered by Indonesian lawyers, or quote the same.
 
“Foreign lawyers can only communicate a legal opinion to a client, not generate one,” Mr. Santosa said.
 
(hot/kc)