Kreetika Kumar 
University of Fiji [File Photo]
The University of Fiji Vice Chancellor, Professor Shaista Shameem, has labelled the comments made by Attorney General Graham Leung as derogatory and demoralizing to young lawyers.
Professor Shameem says that the remark by Leung that the three universities are churning out law graduates in ‘assembly line fashion’ is not true.
She says that she could not speak for the other law schools, but as far as the University of Fiji is concerned, it has carefully crafted a boutique law school with a low number of graduates every year who are at the top of their game.
University of Fiji Vice Chancellor, Professor Shaista Shameem [File Photo]
She says the fact that their University’s law graduates are 100% employed after admission shows that high government officials need to do their research before making sweeping statements such as those made by the AG in a public forum.
Professor Shameem says she is equally disappointed with the AG’s earlier statements at the FLS Convention that senior lawyers need to mentor young graduates more as they did not appear to be too skilled.
She points out that, candidly, there are simply not enough good senior lawyers in Fiji to set an appropriate benchmark for young law graduates to learn from.
Professor Shameem says the older lawyers are not necessarily setting a good example.
She claims that some are arrogant, consistently unprepared, discourteous, and indeed outright rude to younger lawyers and never on time for appointments.
