Is the Legal Profession Sanguine?

The Sesquicentennial celebration  has already been marked by several events, and the celebration is likely to end by September. Madras High Court has enjoyed a proud tradition. Till 1970 the members  of the legal profession occupied a vantage position. They practiced as professionals, not as businesspersons. The golden era is gone. There is a fundamental challenge facing the legal profession: 

The practice of law is shaking loose from its traditional moorings and heading  towards uncharted territory. What will the practice of law look like twenty years from now. Is the future of the profession  secure?There are many unanswered questions. Since the tempo of legal practice has directly affected client service, and growth ,most of the bar members are  pessimistic about the future of the profession. The greatest change in the practice of law is the major increase in the population of  Advocates. It has to be acknowledged that  bar council has miserably failed to regulate  the explosive growth in the profession? I took a review on how people rate our services.Many say that the nobility of the profession has eroded. public view lawyers as unethical and avaricious. They see the legal system as a corrupt lottery of fictitious claims which enrich lawyers. Our profession has become all about money. They describe lawyers as piranhas.  The image of the legal profession continues to be horrid. Practice of law is no longer considered as service oriented it is only profit oriented and lawyers adopt arm twisting tactics. Lawyers form a syndicate and compel parties to effect a compromise even if the client has to  suffer loss.  Lawyers are considered to be in the lowest rung of all professions. Even Lawyer Parents do not want their children to enter the legal profession. The frustration is due to antipathy.

A few lawyers conceive that they are entitled to special consideration distinct from ordinary citizens because they have an access to judges, police officers  and other statutory authorities. Condemnation of the ethics of lawyers has a long, venerable tradition, and trial lawyers have never been particularly liked or even generally respected. Lawyer friends will have no qualms to accept this fact. Obviously the social and economic structure and the culture of the profession are very different from what they were 50 years ago.

It cannot be gain said that in recent years legal practice has become commercialized market place. If this trend continues  then Shakespeares  often quoted barb may  become true “ The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers!

There is also  absence of client loyalty, which means excellent performance on a particular matter which by itself does not guarantee being retained in future matters. Clients are often ahead of lawyers and they have increased access to legal information, much of it readily available on the Internet.

During colonial era negotiations over fees were conducted by  barrister clerks and not by barristers themselves who regarded such matters as unprofessional.  But today the increasingly competitive character of the legal service  makes lawyers feel like hucksters rather than the proud professionals they once were.

Law is challenging, but at the same time law is a very exciting, invigorating profession.”There are exciting challenges confronting the profession. The law relating to patents, trademarks, and copyrights  which were viewed as a relatively unimportant subject; presently, including intellectual property ,cyber laws ,bio diversity  matters are a significant area of practice.

The high-tech revolution, globalization have generated demand for sophisticated legal services The future  practice of law will be more heavily rely on technology. This will take a variety of forms, including increased electronic communication between lawyers, with courts and with clients. Practice of law will be increasingly electronic.

If one is not afraid of the intellectual and other challenges of being an  Advocate then it can be a great profession.”  So we must remain vigilant about where we can improve, and how we can assimilate our profession to keep pace with the evolution of society and the community we serve, we must always be ready to review our system of rules and regulation.

The niggling issue of incivility in the legal profession has once again thrust itself into the limelight. This attest  to failings of the legal system. Society’s  growing disrespect for Advocates  threatens the very institution of practice  of law .Unethical and unprofessional conduct has lead to serious decline in public respect for the legal profession. Advocates are gate keepers to law ,they should not be gate crashers to lawlessness. There is  no gain saying the fact that Advocacy  has strayed far from its historical roots. Why Advocates  combat with policemen. My  logical conclusion could be that there are now more Advocates in the country than police men.

Many Advocate  colleagues  underpin that  the  advocates  deportment  towards authorities  resembles or matches that of vigilantes.  (Vigilante justice often describes the actions of a single person or group of people who claim to enforce the law but lack the legal authority to do so) When an Advocates  equilibrium is unduly tested it is hard to expect to behave with transcendent civility.  I find the idea of vigilante justice very attractive. So, let’s enjoy the fantasy of vigilante justice. But let’s leave it to fantasy. If we are to foster a civilized society, systemic  injustices must be addressed by systemic reforms — not by subjective, unilateral acts of violence, however well-intended. When vigilantism exists the constitution is violated and we find our society falling into anarchy. Therefore I negate the argument that Vigilantism is justified when the government has failed to enforce the law.  I do not mean  that we should not stand up for our clients, but, we must do our sacred duty with dignified restraint

Our occupation is one where we often deal in difficult circumstances with difficult people, and emotions often run high. Obviously Advocates lives are rife with stressful situations such as tight deadlines in getting orders, winning  over tempestuous clients and financial pressures, Litigants expect their Advocates to become an extension of  their ire they hold for the opponent .Clients prefer most aggressive lawyer . No one wants a frail physique. They need advocates with six pack. Obviously they are fancied by Rambo movies. So Advocates are  obligated  to vigorously pursue their client’s goals through legal or illegal means. What confounds me is  when we can legally do to protect our client and their property  why  compromise personal morality  in favor of zealously pursuing the client’s  docket .

On one hand  it has to be acknowledged  that  there is increasing impatience  with zealous  Advocates with the rule of law and the procedures to be followed which is a  rising clamor  for vigilante-style instant justice. The irony regarding such zealous Advocates  and the Rule of Law was that on many occasions, they  fail to ensure that they should be within legal boundaries. I would like to remind  these  zealous Advocates that  they can  enjoy some challenges but lie awake at night  flummoxed. If you are constantly faced with  such situations you find frustrating or stupefied  and  you will eventually feel stressed and in the end  you  should have to face the wrath of your spouse.

Professional ethics obligate Advocates to represent the interests of their clients, whomever they may be. Coupled with our propensity to define justice in procedural terms. The comforting news is that there are still thousands of Advocates who have the desire to combat corruption and create a clean legal environment. There will be no rule of law without credible Advocates

Any incivility shown by Advocates diminishes the public’s respect for the court and the administration of justice, and can destroy the reputation of the Advocates and the profession. With the loss of respect comes a loss of trust. When the public loses trust in Advocacy, access to justice is threatened. I have seen  some advocates prefixing before their names sobriquets like boxer,karate etc. This affects the social image of  the noble profession.The nobility attached to the legal profession demands certain professional dignity.

Due to  lack of mentoring  junior  Advocates are not receiving the training and advice that can help them learn to defuse antagonistic situations. Political interest groups, have learned the tricks  how to game the legal profession with the cooperation of  select few advocate  factions. The current trend of increasing politicization of the legal profession is alarming. It is not only harmful for the profession but also to the society at large. Wholesale politicization of legal profession distorts the vision of society where lawyers have a professional role to play. There is nothing wrong in Advocates becoming politically conscious or even to be politically ambitious. I would say that every citizen in this country has a right to do so. However, the practice of Advocates on compromising legal ethics and professional responsibilities in order to serve blindly their political mentors should be objurgated .certain activities  are undertaken in the court ,bar association premises in furtherance of party-political interests which ultimately  erode people's trust in the justice delivery system. A prudent Advocate should find it shameful to serve as a puppet in the hand of the political parties.

How to deal the rough-and-tumble fight and end the mistrust between the police and the lawyers This wide-spread, chronic problem has produced a serious disorder. It is desirable that some sort of protection should be given to the members of the bar  so that they may work fearlessly and independently without any bit of fear complex or hesitation among themselves and for that some sort of mechanism or some sort of orders shall have to be issued to the concerned authorities so that in future the members of this noble profession may not be harassed or humiliated. A  official circular should be issued to all police stations directing the personnel to give due respect to the Advocates who come to police station for professional work. (Accessing records visiting detainees etc).Bar associations should also instruct Advocates that lawyers who visit  police stations for professional work do not violate the standards of the profession There is a necessity for implementing alternative mechanisms to deal with complaints on tussle between police, and Advocates. Such  a complaints unit,  or some other mechanism viz Tribunal presided by Judges ,police officers, Office bearers of bar association, prosecutors and responsible pubic spirited persons is the need of the hour.

No profession is without its rotten apples. The practice of law is no exception. If we do not try to discipline ourselves there are others who can, and in all probability will.  Therefore  our aim should be to provide for an ambience that positively influences the public perception of advocacy, how we conduct ourselves in communities, inside and out side courtrooms, and  to demonstrate professional competence. Let us together rededicate ourselves to the proposition that, above all, our commitment as Advocate is to the rule of law and that ethics is absolutely necessary if we are to sustain our profession and our country. Let us, therefore, commit ourselves to the code of etiquettes.

The Sesquicentennial celebration  is not merely to mark its heritage;  we should use the 150th year  as a launching pad to generate  some thought provoking concepts  for a major innovation in the  Legal delivery system.  

K.SURESH BABU

ADVOCATE

9,RAJA COLONY,SECOND MAIN ROAD,

COLLECTORS OFFICE ROAD,

CANTONMENT,TRICHY 

Email: lawyersureshbabu@gmail.com