27/10/2021
To be a lawyer in India - its a struggle…but worth the effort too !
There are 3 kinds of lawyers:
Litigation lawyers
Corporate/in house counsels
Institutional lawyers i.e JAG, LLP, LPO ETC .
The latter two categories are still good when it comes to settling down in the initial phase and obtaining a job at these places even without having a law background in your family…you get paid for the work you do or the internship one might take up, during the law course, at these institutions.
But to get into litigation without having a background is tough for a fresher, if he/she doesn't posses the correct guidance.
I am a first generation law graduate, having no back at all and I want to get into litigation only… So let me enumerate the struggles, I have faced till now.. P.S. These are just illustrative points as i am still working hard to create a niche position for myself into this field.
Already established Lawyers are not going to tell you things, you yourself have to observe and learn: if you are working under any lawyer, he will never by himself take an initiative to teach you anything, also even if you ask him a lot of questions ..don't just rely on the information given by him. Go home and do an after research.
Interns are not taken seriously, neither their knowledge, nor their efforts: don't expect that you will be rewarded for your work. Some good lawyers do acknowledge the efforts of interns but most of them are not going to.
They will tell you to go either for judiciary coaching (to become a judge or join a corporate) and don't come to litigation: ***specially if you are a girl*** I just don't like the ones who discourage a person and make him/her feel incompetent for a particular profession..dont listen to their advicesif.. Be sure.. Be confident about ypur cboice.. Remind yourself this-’When they could do it ..why can't I ?’ (You have to constantly remind yourself of it, don't get brain washed..stick to your plan)
Difficult to establish clientage: for freshers it will be difficult to get clients as they seldom engage newbies.
No financial gain for atleast an year, or two: if you are a good observer and have a knack for law, you will have to invest your complete one year in understanding the knitty grities of this profession.
Harasment / sexual advances: This thing is only for girls! Courts are full of male advocates, clients coming from all sort of backgrounds…you will have to be your own hero. Save yourself from perverts. And trust there are many of them who will look sophisticated but are actually as****es.
Everything is not mentioned in the bare acts: The day to day trivial things are not even taught to us in the law school … so don't just stick to what's mentioned in the bare act …things happen a little differently too.
Develope the habbit of reading everything: This is really important, litigation is all about keeping oneself updated with the latest trends being followed by the courts in the specific kind of cases.
Don't loose hope and your spirits: The difficulty of wearing a black coat even at the temperature of 45°c + temperature, the constant running from one court to another, the congestion in the overly crowded court rooms, the vagueness of procedure, procedure being poorly followed, the system of taking unecessary adjournments, calous attitude of lawyers toward clients and of judges toward cases.. will dishearten you and might even shake your confidence in the judiciary but you should come with the spirit of bringing a change and a strong grip over your desire to become a good lawyer.
…all these are the problems which one faces in this profession but once you sail through all these , you shall get the wings to set the law in motion in the right way. And that's totally worth the struggle!
