13 Changes Modern Advocate need in Indian Courts

1. Dress Code Change: No doubt Indian lawyers wear power dress and we as citizens  respect the dignity of it, yet mostly the black and white combination is assigned to hotel waiters  & railway staff also  .These reasons limitise  the unique privilege to lawyer’s dress . Seldom lawyers ignore to go  in functions straight from court  , as they feel uncomfortable  in the dress which may  have same colour code of  serving staff.  Grey with white shirt’ on the other hand is recommended by many lawyers.

2. Sitting Chambers For Lawyers: New lawyers to  senior lawyers, all  have their own residence cum office to meet clients in the evening, but the moment you get to see them  in court chamber it will make you surprise that you are in a box  chamber made with old wooden or iron.You can see a typing wala nearby the chair, no body could guess  that they are the same lawyers with big cars. In most of the Indian states chambers are re-designed with aluminium glazing etc, but there is no uniform name plate /hoarding size policy workable and again these look  like a colourful  small parlours.

3. Document Centres Instead Type Walas: In every Indian court for daily filings, urgent petitions  typing and computer work you can see people with tables everywhere. Some may have chambers, yet many lawyers mushroom around them & clients usually wait their turn for drafting or prints.There is no electricity connection rules for them, which may cause fire in loose wiring. There must be single but big  certified ‘Document Centre’ in each such court with  licensing policy and guidelines to use common typing, printing &  Photostat facilities.

4. Car Parking Area Needs: Except High Courts, there is no concrete planning for the future needs of car parking facilities for the clients  or lawyers in lower courts.The already built-up  parkings have no proper exit plans as in shopping malls. The parkings become so haphazard in the morning and evening in front of courts that, no common person can commute during that time.

5. Court Managers to Streamline the Gap: Few tasks which the sitting judges perform  have nothing to do as part of their job. Such as adjournments of specific nature, summoning and notices to serve and  cause list management, or even refining the case papers needed to arrive at the judgment.These  roles as a need of hour can  be played by recruiting “Court Managers’.These managers must be conversant and trained to use legal softwares and analyse the data  with the legal knowledge.The modern fiveyear law students can easily be selected by specific tests for the posts.

6. Judges to Pronounce ‘Sir’ Only: Changing the very old time acts, ethics and customs is another area which needs to improve in Indian judiciary.The old British rulers  made their proverbs ‘Your highness’, ‘your honour’  etc and the tradition is still followed, which solve no purpose but create a fear in the new comers to face the judges.In democracy where ‘opportunity of being heard’ is a right, there is no need of these acronyms. ‘Sir’ may be  more than sufficient to precise the matter and save the time of the courts.

7. From Oral Arguments to  Written Arguments: The final arguments, no doubt on the judgment day matters a lots.The  style and pitch of arguments with strong voice increases the chance to win the case .But today  the time has come where the client should not be fooled that how long time his lawyer argued with many reference books . The  final arguments be limitised  in written form and ‘Court Managers’ may be assigned the duty to ascertain the main law points in advance and deliver it to the judges for final judgement on monthly targets basis.

8. Eliminate Sticker Mania and Sur Names: Stickers are also a special privilege to lawyers to identify during travel and to give some special rights at various occasions. But the pompous old legal families with political links misuse the stickers of ‘Advocate’ or ‘Member High Court’ The bar association may have a vigil to issue it to practicing advocates only. Another  such practice is using ‘Sur Names’ instead main name. It is  irony of legal profession  that castism is still followed in selecting a lawyer for filing cas. In Advocate Act as well as in  ‘Judicial Service Rules’ there must be a clause for not using Sur name by advocates or judges  to avoid castism based practices.

9. Fee Slips May be Made Compulsory:  In health or education sector fixed invoices are issued by the service providers. However in  legal sector big lawyer charge big amount, others charge nominal, yet there is no such practice to issue fee slips to client and to evaluate the professional efforts of lawyer. There is subtle need to issue invoice as per particular format  to every client during or after work by his lawyer. This clause  may be mentioned as mandatory in ‘Advocate Fee Rules’ statewise. However only law firms  follow  it as corporate entities.

10. Website Without Disclaimer May Be Allowed: ‘Disclaimer ‘on a lawyer’s website is mandatory because advertising or offers are  banned under  Advocate Act. But the website of a lawyer does not always mean ‘advertising’ .However  a lawyer should  be allowed to  mention on his website his services, timings, contact or his landmark cases without disclaimer keeping in view this  internet age. Even the courts have their websites with full information which does not mean that it is advertising of judiciary.

11. Formation of ‘Decree-Execution’ committees:  In  most of the pronounced decrees or judgements , further litigation is started for not following the decree or for contempt of court. The District  wise committees  should be formed who in co-ordination  with court managers help to enforce the orders. The said committees may be formed from retired judges, senior advocates and para –legal volunteers. It will eliminate the extra burdens on courts to execute the decree again by separate litigation.

12. Improvements in Summon Delivery System: Summon delivery should be allowed via e-mail, fax or mobile call. Appearance of summoned person should be in ‘Court Manager’ office  prior to the appearance before judge. Similarly Instead of next date or opportunity, court managers be given powers  to bring such person on same day to save the time of the courts.

13. Electronic Record Management: In many Indian town Courts or Distt Courts, record rooms have become  filthy paper junk rooms even smelly and un-traceable of records. With the advent of electronic age all these papers or judgements may be converted in electronic software data. Mostly in all High Courts and District Courts of India this practice is already started to save the records electronically which further need fast completion.