Sri Lanka’s lawyers decided to strike as a collective protest against the brutal daylight killing of an Attorney-at-Law and his wife, which has heightened fears about the safety of legal professionals and the wider breakdown of public security. The strike reflects deep concern that attorneys-at-law face an existential threat in carrying out their duties, frustration over the prevailing culture of impunity surrounding violent crimes, and anger at what the Bar Association sees as unverified and misleading narratives circulated by authorities. By withdrawing their services for a day, lawyers aim to compel the government and law enforcement agencies to take urgent, effective action to restore law and order, ensure accountability for such crimes, and protect the independence and safety of the legal profession.
The legal profession is not an ordinary occupation; it is a service founded on trust and responsibility. A lawyer is legally bound by a fiduciary responsibility to protect, with complete confidentiality, the information provided by a client. This is a fundamental rule of professional ethics, and violating it should be regarded as a betrayal of trust.
However, what is increasingly seen today in certain instances is pressure being placed for quick settlements, prioritizing financial gain rather than the truth of the case or the best interests of the client. The duty of a lawyer is not to maintain convenient dealings with the opposing party, but to legally safeguard the rights of their client.
Consider this if your personal and sensitive information, entrusted in confidence to your lawyer, were disclosed to the opposing party, would you still have faith in the protection offered by the law? The strength of the legal system depends on the trust between lawyer and client. When that trust collapses, public confidence in the judiciary inevitably collapses as well.
Therefore, what the legal profession needs is not more money, but stronger ethics, greater responsibility, and impartiality. The law should exist to protect the people not to exploit them for profit.
Solidarity in the face of a brutal crime is justified, and every lawyer has the right to demand justice and safety. However, standing for justice externally must also be matched by accountability internally. Public trust in the legal profession is not sustained by protests alone, but by unwavering adherence to ethics, confidentiality, and the genuine protection of clients’ interests. Justice for a colleague and integrity within the profession are not opposing ideas they must exist together for the nobility of the Bar to retain its meaning.
