It is perhaps a cliche but noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis believes that if you have no passion for your profession, you will never enjoy it.

Having been a lawyer for 34 years, Todung knows very well that his profession, which he says is full of conflicts, is not something en elementary student would dream of.

Even as a law student at the University Indonesia in the early 1970s, Todung did not think of becoming a lawyer.

“I was an academic who wanted to be the dean of a law faculty. I had no lofty wishes of becoming one of the country’s top lawyers, “he told The Jakarta Post at his busy office on Jl. Sudirman after performing the midday, or zuhur, prayer.

If not for his passion for upholding justice, he says, he would not have become a lawyer and would not be able to survive the conflicts and pressures it bears.

“I not only work to attract clients. I always feel a kind of emotional fulfillment when I am able to help people achieve justice,” says the lawyers who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988.

Todung established Lubis Santosa & Maulana, one of the country’s first-class law firms, which is now representing, among others, Temasek Holding in its wrangle with the antimonopoly agency.

After decades of practicing law and being on the defense side of several rights violations and freedom of the press cases, including the Tempo and Time magazines cases, Todung is now facing the hardest test of his career.

The test comes not from human rights violators or corruptors he has fought against throughout his career. Nor does it come from the institutions he has helped set up and is involved in, such as imparsial, human rights organization, and Transparency International Indonesia. It comes, ironically, from his fellow advocates.

The Indonesia Association Advocates (Peradi) Honor Board recently disbarred Todung after finding there was a conflict of interest when he represented Salim Group in a civil case in Lampung in 2006.

The conflict existed, the boards claimed, because Todung was a member of the Indonesia Bank Restructuring Agency that audited defaulted companies, including Salim Group.

“I have been victimized. They have ruined my life. They have denied my civil right to find a living. The National Commission for Human Rights has said this kind of ruling should not be issued.

“The ruling is devastating as it not only destroyed me, but also my family and about 60 families that earn their living at my firm, “he said.

His family, believing that Todung is a lawyer that always plays by the rules, was shocked by the board’s decision. His colleagues abroad, fellow lawyers, right activists and even state officials sent him messages of support. He denounces the ruling, saying that he sees no impartiality in the trial.

“Board of ethics over looked all our legal reasoning, evidence and witnesses before issuing their ruling. It was as if I went there to turn myself in and to get punished.”

He says the government issued a letter stating that there was no conflict of interest between the Finance Ministry and the Salim Group in the civil case in Lampung in which both were defendants.

“The hidden fact in the trial is that the case in Lampung is only about PT Garuda Panca Artha that intended to cancel its debt agreement with Marubeni Corporation. That’s all. There was no conflict of interest between the government and the Salim Group,” he says.

He says there were too many incongruities in the trial process and that he senses a conspiracy against him. He decided not to file an appeal because he lacked confidence in the body. He also decided to join the Congress of Indonesian Advocates (KAI) which held its first congress last Friday and was attended by more than 4,000 lawyers who gave up their membership in Peradi.

“I have made a tough choice to join the Congress of Indonesian Advocates, whatever the risk,” he says. “I wanted to use my time to help develop the country’s bar profession to be more dignified and professional, even if I fall victim to the wrangle between the two sides. It’s the risk I have to take.”

The recent division between lawyers, Todung says, is actually the result of accumulated complaints by some lawyers against Peradi. The complainants believe Peradi was established by a number of bar association elites who are now cultivating an oligarchy by delaying the bar congress until 2010.

“The ruling for my case was issued a moment before the Congress of Indonesian Advocates was held. It is like an intimidation to lawyers who will attend the KAI congress. I received a text message saying, “If Todung Mulya Lubis can be disbarred, what about the other lawyers?” he says.

He concurs with the observers who were apprehended by the division that it confuses the public and disadvantages the lawyers themselves. He hopes the two sides can find a solution to the current problem and the government can act neutral when responding to the friction.

“This is unhealthy. But this is the reality we have to accept. This is also a lesson for us. There are many things we need to do to improve the bar profession,” he says.

He deplores the terrible image lawyers have in the eyes of the public. He reminds the public that they need lawyers, especially given the current political and economical situation.

“Even though they have a very bad reputation, the public need their services and this is of course is the challenge for all advocates to improve themselves,” he says.

He says some of his clients are a little bit nervous because of the ruling and there is a possibility that some may “jump ship”. Nevertheless, he is upbeat that he will be able to continue practicing the law.

“This is not the way I would like to end my career.”