A lawyer’s job is to serve people, not to do business: AG

Attorney General Abu Mohammad Amin Uddin on Wednesday said a lawyer’s job is to serve the people and not to do business.

“The objective of businessmen is to make profits but that of legal professionals is to serve the people. We will work as professionals for the people,” he said.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at a programme at the University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS) permanent campus in the capital’s Baridhara.

The event was arranged to welcome freshers, bid farewell to the graduates, and congratulate the alumni who recently enrolled at the Bangladesh Bar Council.

Addressing the law students, he said, “You will one day become a good lawyer. Some of you will be attorney generals, judges, or chief justices while many will go to the judiciary. But all of you should work to become ideal humans.”

“It is my request that you respect the founder of your university. The founder built the institution to serve the people,” he added.

Highlighting his experience of handling various cases as the attorney general, he said the members of the board of trustees of various universities had embezzled the institutions’ funds and he had to handle the cases filed against them.

“I feel a lot of pain when I see that education is treated as a business, and there are people who are doing that.”

Amin said, “We see in newspapers that many businessmen have not repaid bank loans and fled abroad. Cases were filed against them. But there has been no such controversy about UITS founder Sufi Mohamed Mizanur Rahman, who won the Ekushey Padak. He is also a renowned businessman.”

He also said ensuring justice is essential in establishing good governance in the country and there is no alternative to having fair, honest, and ideal lawyers to establish justice.

“I believe the law department of the UITS is producing skilled and talented lawyers through time-befitting teaching,” the attorney general said.

He further said lawyers would have to stand by the helpless people to ensure justice and play an important role in building a peaceful country.

Praising the leadership of the UITS law teachers, Mohamed Ali Hossain, a member of the university’s board of trustees, said, “Under your leadership, the UITS law department will be number one in Bangladesh.”

“I wanted to become a barrister myself, but it was not possible. However, I will often visit the university and be particularly involved in the law department’s activities so that you will call me a barrister one day,” said Ali, also a PHP Family director.

Referring to a story from the Mahabharata, he said, “We learned from it that we have to be patient, do charity, be free from pride, stay out of greed, let go of anger, be educated, and respect our parents above all.”

Prof Dr Md Abu Hashan Bhuiyan, acting vice-chancellor of the UITS, presided over the event while Bangladesh Bar Council’s finance committee Chairman Md Rabiul Alam Budu was present as the guest of honour.

Dhaka University’s former proctor and UITS board of trustees Adviser Prof Dr KM Saiful Islam Khan, Treasurer Prof Siraj Uddin Ahmed, UITS law faculty Dean Advocate Dr Md Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, and law department Chairman Rostoma Begum Chaudhury also spoke at the event, among others.