Legal Action
The legal profession is one of the most popular professions in the world. Legal profession is a noble profession and just like doctors solve physical and mental problems, ailments and diseases. Advocates solve the legal problems, they fight the case for their client in the Court of Law , provide them legal advise on various complex Legal issues. Legal profession
In a layman’s language they are called lawyers, but that’s not the correct term, Lawyer is any person who has studied law or it can also be used for those who are studying law, but Advocate or Attorney or Barrister is the title given to practicing lawyers , in different parts of the world the title may differ. These are practicing lawyers who have enrolled with the Bar Council of their country & generally there is an exam to get this license, so after doing bachelor’s in law & giving this exam & registering with the Bar Council of the Particular country a Lawyer gets licence to practice before the Court of Law.
Scope of Legal Profession
The scope of the Legal Profession is very wide , it is like an Ocean, for those who want to practice have a lot of scope to practice. Civil, Criminal, Intellectual Property Rights, Debt Recovery Tribunals, Arbitration, Conciliation, Mediation etc.
Apart from becoming an Attorney (Licensed Lawyers to Practice before the Court of Law) it also includes Judges, Professor’s of Law, Journalist on Legal Cases, Corporate Lawyers, Arbitrators, Conciliators, Mediators, Solicitors.
However chiefly the legal profession is famous or popular because of the title of Advocate or Attorney or Barrister (licensed lawyers to practice before the Court of Law).
Solicitor (also licensed lawyers to practice before the law but there are separate exams for become Solicitor).
Reason for Popularity of (Advocate/Attorney/Barrister) profession?
Movies
One of the reasons for Popularity & curiosity among people about the profession of Advocacy is movies. As in movies when Advocates are arguing in the Court it creates interest among people about the profession.
Necessity –
It is a necessity for people to get in touch with the advocates, for any legal documentation work or any legal issues.
Just like people need to visit doctors during physical ailments they need to visit Advocates during legal problems.
Famous Cases –
When any case becomes famous which recognises any new things as Fundamental Rights or brings new change in life of common people it creates interest & passion about the field of law.
Qualification to Practice before the Court of Law
Generally Bachelors in Law & qualifying exam needs to be passed for enrollment as Advocate/Attorney/Barrister. Some countries may have slightly different requirements.
Who should choose the career of Law?
As far as skills & interest is concerned.
Passion –
For any field passion is the first thing that is required. Unless & until a person is passionate about something then they shouldn’t choose that as a career option. For law the same rule applies. One must have passion for the profession of law.
Reading –
Law requires a lot of reading, any average author book on law ranges from 800 -1200 pages or more. These are author books while studying law. For practicing lawyers separate books come which are much more huge. So for becoming a lawyer one needs to read a lot.
Interpreting & understanding laws-
The text of laws is very complex. Any person can not just simply interpret and understand the law. However the same task becomes easy for lawyers and Judges. As such chiefly the task of interpreting law is of the judges however lawyers have to understand & interpret the law in order to explain their side in the Court of Law.
Oratory Skills –
For becoming an Advocate/Attorney /Barrister one needs to possess great oratory skills. The verbal communication skills which are needed for this profession are of a very high standard. It is okay if a person isn’t great at it while choosing the career but the interest should be there. And the interest and passion should be to always speak in the public raising important public issues participating in elocution competition etc
Writing skill –
For becoming successful in the career of an advocate / attorney / barrister one must possess exceptional writing skills. The drafting skills which are expected from an advocate are of a very high standard. It is okay if a person doesn’t have great drafting skills or writing skill while choosing the career, however the passion and interest should always be there . Aspiring Advocates need to participate in essay writing competition, research paper, blog writing, writing about important public issues in social media etc.
Debating & Arguing Skills –
This is a skill which we all are aware of. Whenever we think of a lawyer, the image of a person debating & arguing vehemently & cogently comes to mind. Any aspiring lawyer needs to possess the skill of arguing & debating.
Convincing Skills –
For becoming successful in the career aspiring advocate / attorney / barrister needs to have great convincing skills. It is not only about arguing in the Court of Law, but also the ability to convince the Judge.
Logical-
Any aspiring Advocate / Attorney/ Barrister needs to be logical & also sound logical. Logic plays a major role in the profession of Advocacy. As without logic it is very difficult to convince the Judges.
Attitude & Approach needed
Fearless –
Having a fearless attitude is a must for practicing as an Advocate/Advocate/Barrister. Without a fearless attitude it is impossible for any person to practice as a lawyer. Fearlessness is not only required for fighting cases before the court of law but also there is a risk of life involved in some cases. In Criminal cases or big cases , Political cases etc Advocate may receive life threats or threats to back out from the case etc.
Polite –
Advocates need to be polite while addressing Courts , Judges can scold if Advocates speak harshly in the Court.
Patience-
Protracted trials isn’t something unheard of. Cases could take 15-20 years. Patience is a must for this profession.
Persistence –
It is very difficult to establish your practice in this field. To start practicing as an Attorney brings endless challenges. Willingness to fight holds the key.
Confidence –
Lot of confidence is needed for this field. Confidence can be built over the period of time.
Self Conviction –
One must have self Conviction that he wants to get in this field only. Just cause other options aren’t possible and trying this field generally doesn’t work. It may work if later on one develops self Conviction.
Courage –
Courage is needed as lot of times Judges or seniors might scold freshers , thick skin is needed to survive in this field. Even after becoming a renowned Attorney one may get scolded in Court Room as some judges tend to be very strict.
Education Required
That depends & varies country to country but apart from bachelor’s in law any aspiring Advocate/ Attorney must learn for his own benefit History/ Political Science/ Religion / Economics/ Sociology etc. An Attorney must Develop interest in current affairs, political news , international relations etc all these things may or may not be part of the curriculum of the law course but aspiring Advocate must learn these things for his own benefit. As law doesn’t operate in isolation it operates within all these institutions.
Challenges in the profession
Financial –
It is very difficult to start your career in this field especially while starting for 5-10 years. A lot of struggle is there. Especially in the starting five years. It may be a different situation from country to country. But low stipend or no stipend or low salary or no salary all such things could happen in some of the countries at least as fresher. Apart from that, buying law books is very expensive. Law books are very costly.
Struggle –
There is endless struggle in this field. Struggle won’t ever end but it may ease to an extent if you establish your independent practice.
Mental Toughness –
One needs to be mentally super tough to establish practice or even start his career in this field.
Physical Toughness –
Physically also one needs to be super tough as a lot of physical work involves travelling from one Court to the other, or going up & down right & left within the same court building as there are different Courtroom numbers. And there may be a lot of cases to attend & it can be in different Courtrooms or different Courts.
Benefits of Legal Profession
Independence –
Once you learn the basics , procedures of Court & after gaining 3-5 years experience you can start working independently. You can be your own boss.
Respect –
There is a lot of respect which an Advocate/Attorney/ Barrister gets from the society.
Noble –
Just like doctors, being an Advocate/Attorney/Barrister/ Solicitor is a noble profession. Doctors save lives , Advocates save lives in the Court of Law.
Power-
Once you become an Attorney, the world respects you also for power. People think twice before cheating on you or unnecessarily messing with you.
Social Work-
By fighting cases for indigent poor people you can contribute to society. Generally the fees of an Attorney is very high & poor people find it difficult to manage the same.
Money –
One can earn big in this field after successfully establishing independent practice. However that should not be the purpose for becoming an Attorney. The purpose should be to fight cases. One of the reason why Attorney fee’s are costly cause initially they couldn’t earn even basic standard of earning & lot of expenses they make hence once established they charge a good amount of fees. There is nothing wrong with it however one should after becoming financially strong also consider charging low or sometimes even no fees for indigent poor people. Also one can fight cases for low fees or no fees at the start of his practice to help the poor & gain experience of litigation.
Life of an Attorney
How’s the life of An Attorney?
It’s tough & challenging , as we already discussed it’s difficult to set up independent practice and even to start practice. The reason for Popularity of the profession is that Black Blazer ,White Band , and Gown however different countries have different requirements. But it is the attire of an Attorney/ Advocate/ Barrister that an aspirant advocate desires to wear one day & live the life of an Attorney. It is tough, challenging but it has rewards too.
Judge–
For becoming a Judge /Magistrate apart from a degree in law , candidates need to pass some additional exams & some posts have requirements for having some practical experience as an Attorney/ Advocate/ Barrister. Different countries may have different requirements.
Judges also get very high respect & it’s a very Noble profession they get lot of respect.
Challenges for being a Judge
Isolation –
After becoming a Judge there are a lot of restrictions on socialising. As Judges need to be neutral there are many restrictions imposed.
Difficult Task-
it’s a very difficult task listening to Advocates , Reading & judging various documents, previous case laws, it’s a very challenging task.
Being Impartial –
Most important quality a Judge needs to possess is being impartial. It’s not easy being 100 percent impartial.
Controlling Emotions
Judges are required to decide cases by Law , Judges have wide powers but their discretion has to be based on logic & previous case laws & based upon the purpose of applicable Acts.
Conclusion
In this essay we discussed why the legal profession is so popular & we spoke about various career options in the legal profession.
We discussed Scope of Legal Profession, various facets of the Legal Profession in detail , who should select the option of law , what are the qualities, qualifications needed & what are the challenges in the field.
I conclude by saying that “Legal Profession is one of the most Noble professions & there will be complete anarchy without the Law”.
By: AMIT LAXMICHAND GALA
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