Lawyers have been caught smuggling messages from clients who are incarcerated under restrictions. Others have laundered money for gang criminals, or been involved in gang murder plots and drug deals.
According to the Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Brå), so-called enablers have become increasingly important for criminal gangs.
A government investigation is now proposing that the legal profession be regulated by law.
The legal profession has had major challenges in recent years, they have had both unscrupulous and criminal actors, says investigator Anders Hagsgård.
Resist pressure
In major cases where the minimum sentence is four years, a person should be required to have worked as a lawyer for at least five years to be allowed to take on the assignment. This is a principle that is already applied today but is not legislated.
It is important to have lawyers who are experienced and can withstand pressure, says Hagsgård.
The inquiry also recommends that the government consider giving the Swedish Bar Association the opportunity to access extracts from the criminal record, something that is not possible today. A requirement to report previous criminal convictions upon joining the Swedish Bar Association is also raised as a recommendation.
But several lawyers who have been caught handling gang criminal cases have worked in the profession for more than five years.
“Powerful sanctions”
There are also no other sharp legislative proposals from the investigator in the area. Anders Hagsgård says that it is important to have an independent legal profession that is largely allowed to regulate itself.
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) thinks that the Swedish Bar Association has been late to the ball but that they are now working more proactively.
The legal profession must catch all lawyers regardless of experience and years of service and ensure that there are strong sanctions against them, he says.
The Swedish Bar Association's Secretary General Mia Edwall Insulander is no stranger to also being able to make extracts from the criminal record in the future.
We have strengthened our work a lot in recent years. Perhaps we have been late to a certain extent, but we have established a supervisory unit, where we work proactively to help, support, and educate lawyers so that they do not violate good legal ethics.
