Legal profession is much maligned

Affan Abrar Amin :

There is an old saying that “He who does not have any motion, advocates”. This perception is yet to change among the people of this region.

This proverb is not only a derogatory remark but also an affront towards the legal professionals and aspiring legal professionals. The question here is why is that?

A vast majority believes this profession to be the least significant and advises against this as a career option.

In our country whenever someone is asked what they want to be they seem to have a pre-set answer that is either they want to be a doctor, engineer or want to join armed forces or seek government jobs.

It is quite understandable that why people see legal profession as the last resort.

People here have lost the faith in judiciary as every party involved in a dispute whether they find it in their favour or not they seem to have tons of complaints against our judiciary and incompetent legal assistance.

Even some in the legal professionals discourage the idea of becoming a lawyer.

I personally have been told to not think about pursuing legal profession and that too came from the professionals. A lawyer back in 2020 said to me “Why don’t you try medical? What is the point of studying law?” I had the opportunity to interact with many parties involved in legal disputes.

One of them while speaking about their matter told me, “Lawyers cannot be trusted with anything, I am ill fated that I have to seek legal aid.”

And these opinions reflect how people evaluate and despise this profession. In short it is deemed as a curse. What is the reason behind this?

A number of law students when asked why they chose law the typical reply would be “Upon failure from other areas I opted for law”.

Rest of the students are either inspired by family members who represent this profession or they find law as the last viable option.

This is saddening but harsh reality. This lack of passion results in incompetence.

Everyone has the right to counsel in other words, everyone is entitled to a legal representation regardless of their position.

And on this once a famous senior Indian lawyer Ram Jethmalani said, “No lawyer shall refuse to defend a person on the ground that it will make him/her unpopular”.

However, in some occasion due to the lawyers’ lack of intent and not providing the required competent service courts have to rule against.

About which there is another quote from the former law minister of India Ram Jethmalani that “A lawyer without passion is just a legal robot”.

During my days at the court, a lawyer from a renowned firm stated that “We sometimes have too much in our plate due to which we can’t afford to provide everyone the same amount of competent service and this seems to be cheating the client”.

He further added, “We often fail to provide what the court is looking for and for this reason courts are left with no option but to rule against us”.

I have seen high court judges being highly disappointed by the arguments presented by the legal representatives.

One day a high court bench was so infuriated by the act of a lawyer that it stated “In this country lawyers are not trusted with anything. People refuse to keep lawyers as tenant.

I can foresee that day when people will refuse to marry their child with a legal professional.”

Another day at another court room the judge went on to say “Please advise your client to fire you or you stop representing them.

Because of your representation they will be punished even if the merits are on their side”.

Sometimes the courts suggest the lawyers to learn and prepare better and then appear before the court.

No lawyer can know all the laws but it is bare minimum expectation that they are providing competent service to their clients while representing them in a court.

Lawyers are supposed to assist the court to reach to a conclusion. However, it is seen that some of them are not putting enough effort.

There is a saying that practice makes a man perfect. If the law students are nourished properly, they will become good lawyers.

If we look at the law school admission process in our country it becomes apparent that why a very few students excel.

There is no entrance examination for admission in law school. Unlike law for medical students there is an entrance examination. The entrance examinations’ competitive nature ensures quality over quantity.

Only those who have passion for this would have opted for this particular profession if there was an entrance examination.
If we look at other nations, for instance in India, there are various Law Entrance Exams like the CLAT, SLAT, AILET, and LSAT.

Some universities also conduct their own entrance tests such as JMI BA LLB, MAH CET LAW, AP LAWCET, etc. And in countries like Canada and the US you must have an undergraduate degree first and only then you can appear for Law School Admission Test (LSAT) which is an entrance exam for law school admission. In Europe this profession is deemed as one of the elite professions in society.

And in other countries law schools usually provide with multiple facilities which is barely seen here this is one of the reasons why students don’t feel motivated enough.

When a lawyer is hesitant to pay 5k BDT to a 4-year integrated law degree holder or an apprentice lawyer, a call centre is ready to pay 14K BDT to an undergraduate in some circumstances.

We can’t blame the students who chose BPO over professional courses, this is what is majorly wrong with our system. It is high time we step up and change all the previous narratives and make things right.

It was very well said “For world, you may be seen as a first-generation lawyer, but for court, you are always a new hope, an advocate for change”. It is the new generation law aspirants who can bring the change.

It is time that law enthusiasts take the challenge and pledge to turn things around. “The law is the only thing that separates us from chaos and anarchy”.

Perhaps the courts are hoping a generation to come and do the required which shall result in changing the perception towards legal profession. “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress”.

I firmly believe one day a generation will surely change all of it, a change for the betterment of the entire society, and legal profession shall be hailed.

(The writer has Diploma/CertHe
in Common Law from University
of London.)