How to become a Successful Lawyer – A Complete Guide

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How to become a Successful Lawyer – A Complete Guide

25 ,April 2022

It is rightly said that skills and knowledge go hand in hand. There is no set recipe of success; one can only focus on hard-work and working on improving your skills constantly. That’s what sets you apart from the rest. Every law graduate dreams of becoming the top lawyer in India, there is no straight jacket guideline or shortcut to become a famous lawyer in India rather here we can discuss some essential qualities and skills every individual willing to become a famous lawyer in India should incorporate in themselves.

Knowledge:

Law is all about knowing the intricacies and in depth knowledge of law. Once you possess the base knowledge of the subject it’s easier to; understand the situation, advise the client and finding loopholes if the case is against you. A good lawyer knows how to mend the law.

Manipulation/Interpretation:

One of the most important skills a lawyer should possess is manipulation; the candidate should know how to turn the table in his favor by interpretation the law according to their client’s need. A good lawyer is someone who wins a losing case.

Confidence and Persuasiveness:

If a lawyer lacks persuasiveness, there is no use of his knowledge. If you are not able to confidently put across your arguments the case will never be in your favor no matter how easy the case is. Therefore Confidence and persuasiveness are key prerequisites to become a good lawyer.

Oratory Skill:

To become a successful lawyer you need to be exceptionally good in expressing yourself, your thoughts and arguments, it is scientifically proven that voice modulation helps in expressing your views more effectively. Every good lawyer should be able adjust his voice and vocabulary according to the situation.

Perseverance:

It is generally known to all that legal field requires a lot of patience and perseverance and success does not come overnight. Candidate must patiently keep working hard and not get disheartened during initial years and leave.

Empathy:

Legal profession is one profession which requires the professional to have an empathetic corner for the clients as well since they come to lawyers mostly in misery. It is good to earn money but they should charge seeing the client’s paying capacity. We see a lot of top notch advocates earning in lakhs and crores after reaching a certain level but they too empathetically charge their clients.

Command over Technology:

With time things have drastically changed in the legal industry. The industry is now switching from paper to screens. Even case reports and judgments, hearing dates and other basic necessities are also available online and if the candidate is not technically sound he can find problem in matching the pace with the competitive world.

After possessing all these skills apart from the regular training received from colleges, you hold an edge over others. Choosing the right law college also holds importance in building your legal career. There are two options for those, willing to do law. You can either start your legal journey after graduation with 3 year LLB degree or right after class 12th with 5 year integrated law course. There are a lot of colleges offering LLB and BALLB courses however it’s important to choose the right college. Before choosing the right college you should gauge the college on some basic criteria such as placement records, infrastructure, faculties, fees, rankings by reputed educational surveys etc. only upon doing a thorough research on the given parameters you should decide your college as this is the stepping stone to your legal journey.

Some of the top law colleges in Indiaare National Law Universities, Faculty of Law, Delhi University, Christ University, Jindal Global Law School, Lloyd Law College and Symbiosis Law School. Based on your parameters you can do your research and then choose your college.

To get a better understanding let us see who the top most famous lawyers of India are.

  • Late Shri Ram Jethmalani – Sir was an Indian Politician, Union Minister of Law and Justice and the most famous lawyer of the country. He was known as the best criminal lawyer of the time and used to get almost all high profile cases including Harshad Mehta and L.K. Advani case. He undoubtedly was the highest paid advocate and would charge approximately 25 lakhs for each hearing.
  • Harish Salve – For 3 years, Sir was the Solicitor General of India. He is primarily known for arguing the first Anti –Dumping case in the Supreme Court of India.
  • AryamanSundaram– Adv AryamanSundaram is a senior advocate specializing in corporate law, constitutional law however he deals in all sorts. He is known for representing the Board of Control of Cricket of India. He handles some high profile cases like representing Anil Ambani and many others.
  • Fali S. Nariman–For his contribution in law and judicial system, sir has received the prestigious Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Prize for Justice. Apart from being an unmatched advocate he is also an internationally acclaimed jurist. He is best known for appearing in the case of Golak Nath.
  • KK Venugopal – The Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardee is one of the most famous lawyers of the county. He has contributed in the drafting of the constitution of Bhutan.
  • Gopal Subramanium – He is a Supreme Court advocate who has seved as the Soliciter General of India and also Chairman of the Bar Counsel of India at the same time. He is considered as one of the most famous and highly paid advocate.
  • Ashok Desai – He was an advocate at the Supreme Court of India who is primarily known for being the both Attorney General of India and Soliciter General of India. He is also the Padma Bhushan and Law Luminary award holder.
  • KTS Tulsi –He is one of the most senior and respected senior advocate practicing in the supreme court of India. He deals with majorly high profile cases like that of Robert Vadra. He has been representing the Government of India in the Supreme Court besides formerly being the President of the Criminal Justice Society of India.
  • P.Chidambaram - Sir has served formerly as the Finance Minister of India apart from being a reputed and experienced lawyer of the Supreme Court and high court.
  • Abhishek Manu Singhvi – He is one of the most famous advocates of the supreme court of India and received acclamation for becoming the youngest Additional Solicitor General of India apart from being a highly competent advocate.

These are a few famous advocates from all around the nation, all having their individual capacities but there is something common to learn from all of them and that is the willingness to not give up. None of these advocates became famous after their first case, they believed in themselves and worked hard in reaching the zenith they are in. As discussed before there is no shortcut to become the top famous lawyer in India but there is a lot we can learn from the experience and wisdom of the luminaries of the legal fraternity. The most important thing to realize in this field is that learning never stops, there is something you learn everyday and even if you lose a case doesn’t make you any less good of a lawyer by the time you have given your best for your client. There have been days when even the top most lawyers of the country lost their cases but that doesn’t make them any less worthy. Young and budding advocates too need to understand that losing a case is not a defeat to the career and they should not get disheartened if the judgment is not given in their favor. A good advocate accepts defeat and celebrated victory.

Hope this article helped you to get a clear picture of what sets top advocates apart from the rest.