Open letter from more than 40 lawyers calls for urgent review of class charters

An open letter signed by more than 40 lawyers is calling for an extraordinary general meeting of the Bar to discuss the “urgent need” to review the Bar’s statutes and the future of the profession.

“We live in extremely troubling times regarding the future of the law. The most aggressive measures against our profession have ultimately been approved. The final guarantee lies in the revision of our statutes. An urgent discussion is required,” said an open letter addressed to all colleagues practicing the profession to which Lusa had access to.

For those who signed the letter, it is important to “unite around a proposal that will secure the future of the profession” at a time when “the challenges caused by the new social, economic, cultural reality and, above all, the digital transition and artificial intelligence require special attention and joint efforts to effectively and representatively accommodate the interests and responsibilities of agents of justice.”

“The urgent need to revise the statutes of the OA is obvious, as evidenced by the responses to the questionnaire sent by the Lisbon Regional Council to our colleagues,” the document says.

Subscribers therefore propose to urgently convene an extraordinary general meeting to discuss and approve a draft charter change that “truly reflects the values ​​and needs” of the class.

“Your voice and experience are fundamental to our ability to create a document that is not just a set of standards, but a manifesto of our professional identity and commitment to justice,” reads Andre’s open letter, which carries significant weight among subscribers. Matias de Almeida, Arthur Marques, Francisco and Eduarda Proença de Carvalho, Joao Massano, Joao Vieira de Almeida, José António Barreiros, José Gaspar Schwalbach, Manuel Magalhães and Silva and Thiago Rodrigues Bastos.