Lawyer told to apologise to court

A Port Moresby-based lawyer who had a civilian appear in Mt Hagen District Court on his behalf has apologised to the court.
Magistrate Joseph Donald told the lawyer to apologise to him before the case could proceed.
He said this after the lawyer asked a paralegal to appear in court on his behalf.
Donald told the lawyer that if he was unable to represent his client in a court case with Telikom PNG, he should ask one of his lawyer friends based in Mt Hagen to stand in on his behalf.
He told him in front of a packed court that he was not happy when a civilian, not a lawyer, appeared in his court on Feb 14.
Donald said law firms must respect the district courts.
The lawyer apologised to the court, saying that he was busy attending to another matter on that day and could not make it.
The lawyer said he would not repeat the practice.