Roadmap to becoming a successful lawyer

Law is a very broad field. A law graduate must be multitalented. He/she must know various fields because he may have to counsel a doctor in one case and simultaneously have to cross-examine a CEO of a private business house. Confidence and the power to convince are the keys to a successful lawyer. A law student should have a habit of reading. Following are some key points which a law aspirant should always keep in mind and should consistently practice in life.  

Gain Practical knowledge:  In the early career of a lawyer, one has enough time. It is our own decision how to spend this time. Either we may choose to gossip over tea in a Law office or should be present in a nearby courtroom to understand how practically cases are being put forward. We may keep our self busy over social media or choose to utilize a smart phone to read the latest cases of the Supreme Court. Students get only 25% knowledge of the law from a college, rest 75% knowledge we have to acquire from his/her observation where the law is implemented. 

Active Learning:  Students learn best once they are actively engaged in the learning process. A law student must actively participate in various events, intercollegiate competitions, debates, and law fests. These activities help students know practical knowledge and student gain confidence.

Language:  Case write-up plays a major role in the final decision. The write-up should be properly written, any mistake in the write-up may have a severe impact on judgment. In court official language is English, but a law student should have command over two languages English & Hindi.  

Watch the news and read the newspaper:  A law student should gain practical knowledge from all possible areas. Reading news can be useful to know law practically. News papers are good source of information. Reading 2-3 news papers daily can have very deep rooted impact on the career of a Law student.

Read Supreme Court’s judgments:  Supreme Court judgments play a major role in a country. These judgments are useful to know legal aspects of law as well as the constitution. The judgments of the constitutional bench are very important for a law aspirant as well law practitioner. These judgments give in-depth knowledge of the law.

Read & Write Editorials:  Editorials are also a great source of information for a law student. You must regularly read editorials published in major newspapers on daily basis. Once you start reading editorials then soon you will be able to write editorials and get them published in newspapers. Writing editorials will help you develop your face value. 

Reading core subjects of Law: Police or other law enforcement agencies have well-defined standard operating procedures.  These procedural codes are defined under the Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure code, etc. These codes are taught to students in law colleges. A lawyer must also be fully aware of these procedures. So students must have in-depth knowledge of these codes in depth. 

Study process of making Law:  In every country, laws are discussed, debated, and passed by the parliament of the country. Hearing these debates is usually considered a boring process. But the information behind these debates is very useful for law students. Law students, as well as practitioners, should watch all the sessions of parliaments. It will make us aware of the procedures involved in law-making. It also helps us to understand the powers of different constitutional posts. 

Watch dedicated Parliament channels: In India, there are few dedicated TV channels namely “Lok Sabha TV” & “Rajya Sabha TV” or “Sansad TV” for the telecast of the functioning of parliament. Whenever there is business going on in parliament, there is a live telecast of both Lok Sabha(Lower House) and Rajya Sabha(Upper House) on their respective channels. In the remaining time various debates, discussions are being telecasted on these channels.

Understand the process of writing citations: Citations are very important in preparing a law document. By adding the citations our work appears authentic. Well-defined citations help judges to understand and verify the facts easily. It gives a very good message of efforts & hard work done by the advocate. So an advocate must understand citations and these are managed while writing a law document.

If any law aspirant works upon these above-mentioned areas then I can assure you that you can become a successful advocate.