“A mob lawyer is a lawyer who seeks to protect the leadership of a criminal organisation and its ongoing enterprise” (The New York Times, 1985).
We have seen time after time how some infamous lawyers represent notorious “gangsters”, “drug lords” and “mafia bosses” in court, against the people of the Republic of Sri Lanka.
This brings us to the question whether it is this small group of "renegade attorneys" that actually helps to maintain “organised crime” in Sri Lanka, despite the continued efforts to control it by the law enforcement authorities. In his memoir titled “Mob Lawyer”, the infamous American lawyer Frank Regano describes his willing affiliation with the American mafia chiefs who may have been involved in the gruesome murder of President John F. Kennedy.
The usual excuse these suspected mob lawyers give when questioned about their ethics is that they are simply fulfilling “every individual’s right to legal counsel”. But the question we need to ask is why is it that it is always the same set of lawyers who so readily stand to protect the biggest crime leaders? And that too being the most expensive lawyers with their grand theatrics in court who would normally charge a fee in the millions for their simplest service? It’s not like these suspected mob lawyers readily represent those who cannot afford a lawyer.
It is a no-brainer that the modern day complex system of organised crime requires sound legal backing at all levels and at all places. The criminals need the best lawyers that they can lure in for their blood money, which is in no short supply in a place like Sri Lanka which is considered as an international crime hub in South Asia.
From abusing attorney-client confidentiality to plan out new criminal schemes, to advising on how to launder money through a maze of international bank accounts, to training on how to minimise legal exposure; this “mob lawyer” has to be an “integral” part of Sri Lanka’s underworld and its connected corporate network.
A feature that we see among the suspected mob lawyers is that they are driven by an extremely high ambition to become famous at any cost. Some become elected politicians while others compete to become presidents of national legal bodies. This type of “position power” gives them a “competitive edge” over the other members of the legal fraternity.
Recently we also saw how certain suspected mob lawyers played an unusually prominent role in the US-styled “regime change” operation played out in Sri Lanka where they presented themselves in local media as “saviours” of the people. This type of “social power” gives them a certain trust among the mediocre masses of the Lankan society.
This clever market positioning would allow them not only to become the preferred choice of the desperate mafia but also to a certain level of immunity among the public. We have no idea as to how far this criminal chain of influence might run up the legal system of the Republic. It is doubly worrying that these suspected mob lawyers seem to be constantly trained by certain US agents. We do not know if any of them are on the payroll of the same foreign rings.
The biggest risk that we can identify today is that these suspected mob lawyers have become so powerful in national politics and even celebrated by certain sellout publishers as “Man of the Year” etc. they are now muscling their way and calling shots over and above the legislature of the Republic.
Is this an example of Professor Nirmal Dewasiri’s diabolical claim that “the constitution shall be violated by the people” (2022)? Is this the beginning of another era of rich criminals and their “mob lawyers” ruling over the weakened political structures of Sri Lanka as we witnessed during the cursed 17 years? May the Dharma Guide Our Way!
*The writer is a social entrepreneur and former presidential advisor. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
