Lawyers’ association files formal complaint against ‘eAskLaw’

The Macau Lawyers Association (AAM) has finally filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) against online legal advisory platform “eAskLaw”, the association informed in a statement published last Friday.
The note stated the filing was made against those who created the online portal for the crime of usurpation of functions, according to the local rulebook for lawyers.
The AAM considers the operation of the platform to be illegal since online legal advice is not linked to a registered lawyer or law firm in Macau.
The complaint comes following an investigation launched in November last year by the AAM into the platform.
At the time, the president of the AAM, Jorge Neto Valente, said that the investigation was aimed at verifying if the legal services provided by the platform comply with the rules of the profession, following complaints to the association from several legal professionals in Macau.
According to information provided by their website, “eAskLaw” allows qualified Macau lawyers to directly provide people with written advice on their legal queries by ensuring that all the lawyers registered on the platform possess verified legal qualifications and the right to practice law in Macau.
“eAskLaw” states that it has access to 16 law practitioners from several legal areas and that it accepts inquiries in Chinese and English.
In November, Neto Valente noted that online legal services are common in many countries and regions, such as Portugal, Brazil, and Hong Kong. It was necessary to launch the assessment to ensure that the services provided by the platform were within the provisions for the profession in Macau.
The AAM also said that it discovered the platform’s representatives and lawyers had made contact with and aimed to recruit more legal consultants for the service, something which the association notes may result in disciplinary procedures.
A previous report from TDM Radio said that the platform was owned by a company named the Professional Alliance of the Greater Bay, and that Kathy Wong Wai Pan was a major shareholder. Wong is a certified public accountant, president of the Taxation Association of Macau, and Council Member of Macao Society of Registered Auditors, among other positions on several professional-related associations.
As of last night, the website and the social media page of the platform is inaccessible.