Making of a High Court Lawyer

By Soma Chaturvedi

Parthsarthi Mehd, Advocate

What are the prospects of Law as a career choice? All arguments overruled! But to sustain your interest, here's insightful evidence to help young aspirants make the right judgment about the profession.

Expect name, fame and money; but not without serious hard work, advises Parthsarthi Mehd, an advocate based in the High Court of Gujarat, in his ninth year of practice.

I can't imagine myself doing a dull thing over and over again no matter how much I am paid for it. High stakes and desperate men, the thrill of civilised war, the game of chess that is played out every day in the court room and outside it – is what I love, that is what inspires me, that is why I chose to become a lawyer.

And what a school of life the profession is! Law covers every aspect of life. The difference between a civilized society and an uncivilized one is the laws by which it is governed and consequently, every aspect of one's life is regulated by some law or the other. When the sphere is so immense and the scope so diverse, the possibilities of complications, interpretations and fields of work are almost limitless.

Inspiration in lawyers may vary, some do it for a social cause, some do it for fame, some have even done it by accident (and have been quite successful too), most do it for the money but I do it for the thrill!

Law colleges give you a fleeting glimpse of the various spheres of law, but nothing more. Like wine, one becomes better (and more valuable) with age (read experience).

The profession requires serious hard work, a detailed study and grasp of the factual and legal issues involved. Litigation requires quick thinking, excellent oratory and articulation skills and self-confidence. The pressure on every arguing lawyer is immense, since a client's fate depends on what he/she says (or doesn't say) and the ability to perform under pressure is mandatory. Participation in public speaking contests and debates would be a great way to prepare for life as a litigator.

Unadulterated common sense is what ultimately resolves the case. The case is never about settling the law; it is about the parties and their problems. The law gets settled as a side effect, not as the main agenda. It is therefore essential that a lawyer cultivates a practical and solution-oriented approach and knows the problems of the people he represents.

The laws of India are almost entirely in English, and a good command over the language is mandatory if one wants to get anywhere in the profession. This is equally important during drafting. Simple, effective and lucid drafting is required so that no confusion arises in the interpretation of documents later. So practice your writing skills if you want to enter the profession.

Cultivate an ability to work hard as long hours spent reading and researching are an absolute must.

I prepared myself by joining a lawyer's office since the day I started Law College. Unlike the full day colleges that the 5-year courses require, ours was a morning college which got over before court hours. I was not a lawyer then, so I could not argue in court, but I could do almost everything else, from research to first drafts. Though the final draft would always be done by a lawyer, I used to draft matters for practice. At first, my drafts never made it to court, but they were a wonderful tool for structuring my thoughts and preparing me for the times to come. I also used to read all the law reporters I could get my hands on, a practice which I still follow to keep myself updated on the various judgments pronounced by various courts throughout the country. And, most significantly, I went to court every day, which gave me a feel of the profession.

Interestingly, if you are an arguing lawyer, law also offers an exciting option of being a generalist. Various laws overlap in complex cases, and it is often advisable and preferable to engage lawyers with knowledge in a variety of laws to handle complex cases. Some of the top arguing lawyers, who are generalists, would easily make a few crore rupees a year. This, incidentally, is also the most popular area of practice.

As laws overlap, I would recommend that a fresh lawyer starts off as a generalist and becomes familiar with the field of law, even if he/she plans to specialize at a later point of time. All the areas of practice listed above are quite popular and are good areas to specialize in.

A lawyer does not need any special degree beyond his/her law degree to practice in a particular field.

Court timings vary, but are typically between 11.00 am to 5.00 pm. So not much office work gets done between 11.00 am to 5.00 pm. Consultation and drafting, for me, happens after court hours between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm. After dinner, reading and research for the next day's matters begins and goes on till late night, quite often till 1.00 am. or 2.00 am (though some lawyers prefer to do this early in the morning). The court does not work on weekends, so some of the longer meetings or drafting sessions are held over the weekend.

The most popular and most recommended option for the first few years is to join another lawyer's office as a junior and assist the lawyer in his/her cases. This acts as a "finishing school" for lawyers. One can start appearing in small procedural applications in the senior lawyer's cases so that one gets some arguing experience without anything going wrong for the client.

The first 10 years are the formative years for any professional, and the same is true for a lawyer. Work starts trickling in as a lawyer gradually builds a reputation and a clientele of his/her own to be ready to start private practice. The work profile will remain the same once the lawyer starts private practice, but the stakes and complexity of the cases one is capable of handling as well as the standard of fees go up as experience builds.

Much later in the life of a practicing lawyer, come two interesting options. One is to join the higher judiciary. It is less of a job and more of being one of the pillars of society. The remunerations are very good and the social prestige and status that one gains is among the highest that any job anywhere can offer. The second option, though not a job one can apply for, is being designated a Senior Advocate. A Senior Advocate is a special designation awarded to a lawyer by the Judges of the High Court or the Supreme Court if they are of an opinion that by virtue of his or her ability, standing at the Bar or special knowledge or experience in law, the lawyer deserves such a distinction. A designated Senior Advocate does not file matters in his or her name, but is only engaged by other advocates to conduct and argue matters. They command great respect in the profession and are amongst the highest paid of all litigating lawyers.

If, on the other hand, the lawyer has taken up a job as a law officer in a company, than the usual hierarchy of a corporate job would be followed.

A rather attractive option these days is joining or creating a partnership firm of lawyers. It may be something as small as a few lawyer friends practicing together or it may be a huge firm with hundreds of partners. A young lawyer, fresh out of Law College, usually joins as an associate and works up the ladder to ultimately become a partner.

Being a self-employed professional can be rewarding as well as scary. There is no boss above you and you are the master of your time and your work. However, there is no 9 to 5 job, no monthly salary and you cannot just come home and forget about work.

Private practice in any profession has never offered job security, and the same is true for law. With the uncertainty of new cases comes an uncertainty of income. However, as a lawyer's reputation spreads, satisfied clients refer other clients and a solid foundation is created over the years. But this reputation is personal and very fragile and a mistake could easily destroy a lawyer - client relationship which took years to create. Client satisfaction is not about winning a case, but in his being satisfied with the work put in by the lawyer and the ability of the lawyer to minimize the losses.

Remuneration for a beginner is quite bad, but as one grows in seniority and stature, it increases by leaps and bounds and some of the top lawyers easily make a few crores per year.

Work-life balance is certainly not as good as some of the other professions; most lawyers would be slogging it out way past midnight. Social life and family time do tend to go for a toss once the practice builds. However, a lawyer is still self-employed and one can adjust one's schedule to permit a short break anytime one wants. Courts in India still have vacations similar to school (though they may be dropped anytime), so a lawyer can plan vacations with relative ease.

Social status would again depend on what kind of a person you are. An honest, hardworking lawyer can reasonably expect to be quite successful and very well respected.

A fresh graduate can always join a big law firm or the legal department of a company and expect a respectable package as in any other industry. However, this is more like a job than a profession and most big firms or companies would not allow their employee to have an independent clientele during the time that they are employed. Future prospects in a company are similar to any good corporate job and partnership in a big law firm is also very lucrative if one eventually makes it to that level.

For a fresh graduate who joins a senior lawyer's office with the goal of starting a private practice later on, the pay packet is rather small and is certainly lesser than what can be expected in other industries. However, the senior lawyers may give some fees on a case to case basis for assistance rendered. The real income starts coming in after putting in a few years of practice, by which time independent clients start coming in and the lawyer can start quoting his/her own fees.

The fees charged by top lawyers varies greatly from city to city, but top lawyers in Ahmedabad charge upwards of Rs 25,000 per hour of consultation and upwards of Rs 1,00,000 for every appearance. The fees charged by some of the leading Supreme Court lawyers are even higher. With time being the only limiting factor to income generation, though the start is small, the future prospects are immense.

For someone who is not interested in litigation, a non-litigating practice is also a very lucrative area of law and presents itself as a very good option. The scope of work involves drafting various legal deeds and documents for takeovers, mergers, contracts etc.

Always be sincere to the client and try to do your best for them. People don't litigate without a reason, to represent them is a serious job. If you are the "sab chalta hai" types, please do something else for a living.