ISLAMABAD: The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has stressed the need for concrete efforts to eliminate the menace of rendering professional services by lawyers with the promise of guaranteed results or “done basis” outcomes in exchange for legal fees.
“It is high time for all bar councils of Pakistan to enact rules and regulations in their collective wisdom to eradicate the evil of rendering professional services on a ‘done basis’,” stated a five-page order issued by Supreme Court’s Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who heads the four-member disciplinary committee of the PBC, the chief regulatory body of lawyers in Pakistan.
The order further emphasised that if action was taken against any lawyer, stern action should also be taken simultaneously against the client, who was equally responsible in the “unscrupulous game”.
The ruling came in a disciplinary complaint filed by Abid Khurshid against his lawyer, Advocate Samina Qureshi, from Bahawalpur.
The complainant alleged that he had engaged Qureshi on the specific condition that she must obtain an injunctive order from the Lahore High Court by all means, failing which she would refund her professional fee.
The complainant claimed that his counsel failed to argue the case on four consecutive hearing dates, thus allowing the construction of Icon Plaza, Model Town, Bahawalpur, to continue.
The counsel, on the other hand, produced LHC order sheets showing that she had appeared on every date and never sought any adjournment.
In his order, Justice Mazhar observed that there was no concept of a “done basis”, “no win, no fee”, or even the incidence of refunding professional fees to a client in the event of failure within the country’s judicial system as well as in the administration of civil and criminal justice.
“The duty of a professional lawyer is to represent [their] client in any court of law competently and skilfully to achieve maximum result, render honest, fair and trustworthy advice, but [they] cannot guarantee victory or an unequivocal outcome by all means or come what may,” the order highlighted.
“If any lawyer vouchsafes or guarantees a fail-safe result, it amounts to unprofessional and unethical conduct, which not only violates the canons of practice but also tarnishes the image and goodwill of the legal profession,” it continued.
Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026