Bankrupt lawyers could soon be allowed to practice law in Bermuda if a new proposal from Attorney General Kim Wilson is approved by Parliament.

Ms Wilson told the Bar Association, the governing body for lawyers on the Island, earlier this month that she believed the Bermuda Bar Act needed amending to allow practicing certificates to be issued to bankrupt lawyers, subject to certain conditions.

The change would mean an attorney like Julian Hall, who has twice been made bankrupt and has been unable to practice here since 2000, could do so again.

Bar Association president Rod Attride-Stirling wrote to members on Thursday asking if they approved of the plan. His e-mail said the association's elected Bar Council, the body which would issue and administer the certificates, was in favour.

Shadow Attorney General Mark Pettingill told The Royal Gazette he supported the idea in principle but said it needed to be "stringently legislated with very strict conditions".

Mr. Pettingill, a lawyer, said he agreed that a man should not lose the ability to make a living. But he pointed out: "It's hugely irresponsible to become bankrupt. If you are going to allow a man to practice the tools of his trade, I think there has to be very stringent conditions attached to that."

The Opposition MP suggested that the majority of fees paid to bankrupt lawyers should go directly to the Official Receiver to pay off debts, with a small amount left over to allow them to live.

Ms Wilson's proposal is likely to be tabled in the House of Assembly this parliamentary session and Mr. Pettingill said he hoped the amendments would be detailed. "It can't be an open licence to say you are bankrupt and you can practice."

The AG, in a letter to the Bar Association on November 10, explained that she was asked by Cabinet to look at the issue and a review of the UK and Canada led her to the conclusion that Bermuda's Act needed reform.

"These jurisdictions have adopted an approach that supports bankrupt lawyers in their attempts to continue to use the tools of their trade in order to meet their obligations to their creditors, while at the same time allowing for appropriate restrictions to be imposed, as deemed necessary," she wrote.

Ms Wilson added: "Conditions will be imposed with respect to the issuance of a practicing certificate to such persons that would ensure that the interest of the client is protected."

Those conditions would prevent bankrupt lawyers from receiving trust funds or operating a trust account or practicing real estate matters.

Mr. Attride-Stirling told this newspaper it would be inappropriate for him to comment until members had been consulted. In his e-mail to them he wrote: "The Bar Council, having considered the proposal, unanimously supports the initiative in principle and recommends it to the membership.

"We do this in the interest of fairness and recognising that in similar common law jurisdictions, this is the approach taken."

Bankrupt lawyers were banned from practicing here in 1984 under the UBP in a previous amendment to the Bermuda Bar Act.

It has been reported that the legislation was dubbed the "Julian Hall Bill" by the late PLP Leader Frederick Wade, who was suggesting that it was specifically targeted at stopping Mr. Hall from practicing after he was first declared bankrupt.