Pakar hukum perusahaan Universitas Indonesia, Yetty Komala Sari Dewi menjelaskan kantor hukum yang didirikan lebih dari satu advokat harusnya berupa Maatschap yang diatur dalam Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Perdata (KUHPerdata). Ia mengingatkan istilah law firm sama sekali tidak ada hubungannya dengan ‘firma’ sebagai bentuk badan usaha dalam Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Dagang (KUHD).
“Istilah law firm itu arahnya ‘firm’ sebagai usaha atau perusahaan. Tidak ada kaitannya dengan konsep Firma yang dimaksud dalam KUHD,” kata Yetty kepada Hukumonline. Ia merujuk pada definisi law firm dalam Black’s Law Dictionary. Berdasarkan penelusuran pada edisi 9, tertera bahwa yang dimaksud law firm adalah An association of lawyers who practice law together, usually sharing clients and profits, in a business organized traditionally as a partnership but often today as either a professional corporation or a limited-liability company.
Yetty mengingatkan sistem hukum common law yang menjadi rujukan utama negara-negara asal istilah law firm tidak mengenal Firma sebagai istilah hukum untuk salah satu konsep badan usaha. “Jangan salah kaprah,” kata Yetty kepada Hukumonline.
Meski Dibayar, Lawyer adalah Profesi Bukan Perusahaan
“Merujuk pada standar Uni Eropa, advokat termasuk liberal professions. Mereka dibayar karena menjalankan profesinya, bukan sejak awal melakukan kegiatan menjalankan usaha yang bisa dilakukan siapa saja. Profesi itu didapat dengan seleksi kualifikasi dan pelatihan ketat. Motif menjalankan profesinya juga bukan profit,” kata Yetty. Ia merujuk Uni Eropa karena sistem hukum perdata dan hukum dagang Indonesia mewarisi model Eropa Kontinental.
Pengakuan pada eksistensinya sebagai profesi membuat kegiatan lawyer menjual jasa hukum tidak disamakan dengan perusahaan. Yetty menjelaskan perusahaan sejak awal memiliki tujuan keuntungan semata, sedangkan liberal professions tidak begitu.
Ia merujuk KUHPerdata terjemahan Prof.R.Soebekti soal Pasal 1623 yang sudah mengenal pembedaan liberal professions sebagai pekerjaan tetap terhadap perusahaan. Bunyi Pasal 1623 adalah Perseroan perdata yang terbatas hanya menyangkut barang-barang tertentu, pemakaiannya atau hasil-hasil yang akan diperoleh dari barang-barang itu, mengenai usaha tertentu atau penyelenggaraan suatu perusahaan atau pekerjaan tetap.
Hukumonline menelusuri maksud liberal professions dalam Charter For Liberal Professions. Tertulis prinsip-prinsip khas liberal professions yang relevan dengan pernyataan Yetty yaitu:
• Liberal professions accept responsibility and serve the common good: Liberal professions are responsible for important public services in areas such as health, justice, security, language and art. By offering their services in these areas liberal professions fulfill an important role in society and create value for society as a whole.
• Liberal professions protect trust: For the liberal professions the protection of their relationship of trust with their clients/patients has the highest priority. This includes absolute confidentiality by maintaining professional secrecy, acting in the interest of the client/patient and avoiding any possible conflict of interest.
• Liberal professions provide high quality services: Liberal professions provide a high standard of knowledge-based services. Quality is assured through demanding requirements concerning training, continuing professional development and a system of self-regulation by colleagues.
• Liberal professionals are independent: Liberal professions are independent in their area of expertise and from the interests of third parties and practice their professions autonomously. They are independent in arriving at their judgment and in performing their individualized service and bear full professional responsibility for their actions. Professional responsibility is not only relevant in terms of self-regulation, but also in terms of accountability to clients/patients. This balance of autonomy and responsibility is a reflection of a free, democratic society.
• Liberal professions perform their services personally: Liberal professions always provide their services to their clients/patients personally. They are only able to delegate a small part of these services to other persons but even then bear the full responsibility for these services.
• Liberal professions are reliable partners: Liberal professions have a professional ethos. It includes moral standards for the best quality delivery of liberal professionals’ services. In carrying out their services the liberal professionals are not primarily motivated by commercial considerations, instead they are guided by their professional ethos. This distinguishes them considerably from purely commercial service providers.
• Liberal professions support transparent self-regulation: Liberal professions and self-regulation as a principle of liberal professional organization belong together. Self-regulation should be protected and optimized in the interest of clients. It should be efficient and transparent and aimed at benefitting the society.
• Liberal professions invest in training: Liberal professions fulfil an important responsibility towards society in that they offer young people training opportunities in professions with above-average prospects in the labour market. In this way they contribute to skill enhancement and job creation in Europe.
Lebih lanjut Yetty menegaskan segala pengaturan khusus soal badan usaha dalam KUHD bukan untuk liberal professions atau dalam istilah Pasal 1623 KUHPerdata adalah pekerjaan tetap. Segala ketentuan KUHD termasuk konsep Firma hanya untuk perusahaan. Kantor hukum harus dilihat sebagai kerja sama antara advokat yang merupakan profesi. Oleh karena itu, Maatschap adalah bentuk yang paling tepat sesuai logika hukum perdata Indonesia.
