Five things to remember in the making of a successful lawyer

INTRODUCTION 

A lot of information is available online with regard to syllabus, law entrance exam, tips, preparation  for Law School Admission Test(LSAT) Common Law Admission Test(CLAT) and other entrance tests for admission to topnotch law schools in India  including National Law Schools. This article aims at providing you with the essential ingredients of a successful lawyer in the making . It is of course quite gratifying to note that the premise of the title of this article pre-supposes that several of you would want to pursue law. This premise is exceedingly reassuring especially in the context of numerous hindrances to which law students or aspirant lawyers are often subjected.

1. ADVOCACY

The first and most significant quality of a law student who aspires to be an advocate is advocacy. Generally speaking, advocacy means the ability to communicate by speech. Though it sounds characteristically simple,  it is astonishingly difficult to accomplish this seemingly simple sounding task. Let me emphasize there involve some other elements too. It involves putting across your point of view in a pithy ,succinct and relevant manner. Shakespeare says, “Brevity is the soul of wit.' The French philosopher Montesquieu says, “Every man may speak truly but to speak methodically, prudently and fully is a talent which few can have.' Therefore, this art has a lot to do with factors like time and language.

2. TIME

As far as the concept of time is concerned, it is often said that brevity is the soul of wit. But it is invariably forgotten when you formulate an argument, if at all it is remembered, it is remembered only for cutting down your opponent's argument. Do you remember the famous letter by Johnson to Boswell where he says, “ Dear Boswell, I am extremely sorry to write such a long letter for I don't have time to write a short one?' This is an impactful comment for brevity and precision go hand in hand to create magic moment, but it requires a lot of hard work and time for accumulating thoughts in one's mind. Students those are preparing to write entrance tests for law school admission or those who are pursuing law must therefore remember to answer  comprehensive questions especially analytical essay type questions in brief, precise and relevant manner.

3. LANGUAGE

Language is another vital aspect. To say something meaningful is extremely important. But form is equally important and language is an important component of form. Language is often reckoned as an integral tool of law trade, it is a vehicle of communication. Interestingly, in India English is chosen as the language at least for the higher judiciary. Of course, many consider the judiciary to be the last great bastion of the English language, which has become slowly less and less relevant for the executive and for the legislature. Language is extremely important, therefore law students and young lawyers must spend considerable amount of time to hone their language skills and read books of literature extensively rather than just reading judgements some of which are written in poor and ordinary language.

4. CAPACITY AND POWER OF CROSS EXAMINATION

According to Justice HR Khanna, “One of the strongest weapons in the armoury of the trial court lawyer is his capacity and his power of cross examination. Many a brilliant person has qualified under the fire of cross examination.' Harold Laski was one of them. He was cross examined by Sir Patrick Hastings in a case which went ultimately against Laski. After the decision of the case Laski wrote about the plight of witness in the witness-box during cross examination at the hand of cross examiner and said: “ Hep performs his war dance about you like dervish intoxicated by the sheer ecstasy of his skill in his own performance, ardent in his knowledge that, if you trip for one second, his knife is at your throat……He moves between the lines of sarcasm and insult. It is an effort to tear off, piece by piece, the skin which he declares no more than a mask behind which any man of understanding could have grasped the foulness of your purpose. He treats you, not as a human being, but as a surgeon might treat some specimen he is demonstrating to students in a dissecting room.'

Therefore, you as a lawyer must prepare extensively to conduct effective cross examination and should never ask a question unless you are reasonably certain what the answer will be. You should know when to stop and during cross examination, look to the judge if you are facing difficulty in controlling the witness.

5. PROMPTNESS OF THOUGHT

Some one has beautifully said, “ Readiness is when your desire is stronger than your distraction.' It is a vital characteristic especially when one is on one's feet. “It is a known fact that advocacy is dealing with the questions, interruptions, queries or objections which fall from the Bench quick and fast.' Says Dr Singhvi, former Addl. Solicitor Gen. “ You will find that howsoever prepared you are for the case, the judges who are doing 30 or 50 cases will astonish you with their queries which come to you from an altogether different point of view than what you would have thought the case was all about.' He adds. The ability of a good advocate therefore lies in quickly imbibing the query, assimilating it and then harmonizing it promptly and consistently with the overall frame work of one's arguments so that it doesn't seem out of place when you give the answer. Dr Singhvi says, “In law, there are a large number of areas where there is no black or white but a lot of grey. That ultimately is the justification for being a lawyer because nobody knows the ultimate truth for the truth is not monolithic but rather multifaceted. Thus, there is a vast scope for lawyers to interpret and it is your task as a lawyer to present that part of the truth which is the most favourabe to your client, subject to the realities of the situation.'

CONCLUSION

Legal profession is perhaps the most honourable profession with high standards and traditions. Lawyers have been in the vanguard of a country's progress who zealously guard human liberties and the rule of law. For an ambitious young person of keen intellect and perseverance, legal profession holds unlimited rewards.      

Dr SK Bose is currently working as Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Manav Rachna University