"Lawyers are leaders of the society. It is you all who should initiate the change in the society. You start. Others will follow," Former CJI R.M. Lodha
Since the pre-independence period – lawyers in our country have contributed a lot in shaping our nation and society. Whether inside a court of law or outside, whether on the floor of parliament or at the state legislature- in the struggle for freedom or for framing our constitution it is the lawyers who spearheaded the movement in almost every arena. The role of lawyers are not just confined within the court or dealing their clients- they have been an integral part of administration of justice and justice not only in legal sense but which is social, economic and political.
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law."
In India, the term "lawyer" is often colloquially used, but the official term is "advocate" as prescribed under section 2(a) of the Advocates Act, 1961.
The legal profession has a social dimension and the lawyer has the social role to play in society. A lawyer is expected to reply promptly and completely to any communication from the Society, not improperly obstruct or delay the process of Law and investigations, audits and inquiries, comply with the orders of Law Courts and advise their clients accordingly.
As a whole, lawyers and civil society have one common feature, i.e. they are the champion and sentinel of fundamental and other civil rights of people. Lawyers advance this cause through judicial methods and the civil society through peaceful and democratic movements. Our national history bears ample testimony to the fact that members of legal profession and civil society have played significant role not only in the nation building process but also in securing good governance for the country. Persons from every profession have played their role in making of India but one professional community stands out amongst all in its contribution towards shaping destiny of India for the last more than 100 years. And that is Lawyer Community. Mahtma Gandhi, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel, Dr. B.R. Amebdkar, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Gobind Ballabh Pant, Chakravarti Raja Gopal Achari amongst others have sacrificed the best part of their life in bringing the freedom for mother India from the colonial rule.
As far as possible, Gandhi ji advised his clients to settle with their opponents out of Court. A large part of his legal practice was in the interest of The Law and The Lawyers www.mkgandhi.org Page 6 public work, for which he charged nothing beyond out-of-pocket expenses, and these too he sometimes met himself. Where poor people were concerned he charged them very low fees, or did not charge at all. In fixing his fees, he never made them conditional on his winning the case. Whether his client won or lost, he expected nothing more nor less than his fees. At the same time, he never issued a notice of demand against a client who committed a default in payment of fees due to him, threatening legal proceedings if the debt was not speedily liquidated, and steadfastly refused to invoke the law to secure payment of his fees, for he held that his client, if an honest man, would pay when he could, and if a dishonest man, would not be made the more honest by the use of legal compulsion.[1]
A lawyer is a privileged class not only in India but in other countries of the world as well. Their profession is a noble one. There is no match to the status of lawyers from other professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Architects, Chartered Accountants etc. Lawyers’ role is not limited to represent their clients in the Court. This class of people in statutory robe plays a greater role in the society. Outside the Court premises the lawyers play a leadership role in the civil society. A large number of lawyers also represent their villages and towns by way of elected members in the Panchayats, Municipalities, State Assemblies, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. While sitting in Assemblies and Parliamentary Houses, the lawyers can well be termed as Ambassadors of the respective Constituencies. In this backdrop the importance of the legal fraternity in the good governance of the country cannot be over-emphasized. Ever since the independence of India, an appreciable number of representatives in all the legislative bodies mentioned above have been the lawyers compared to the people from other profession which clearly tells the whole story.
India witnessed two big civil movements in the year 2012. One under the umbrella of ‘India Against Corruption’ to bring probity in public life and the other one by general mass to protest murder of a young woman after sexual assault and raised a demand for stringent laws to contain such offences. To show its solidarity with media and civil society, lawyers in different corners of the country also came out on the streets. As members of society and having to play an effective role in the battle for protection of life, liberty and dignity of women in India the lawyers had genuinely showed their concern on the issue.
Another aspect is also worth mentioning herein that is that legal profession is monopolistic in character and this monopoly itself inheres certain high traditions, which its members are expected to uphold. From the ancient times, the legal obligations of the Advocates to conduct cases of poor litigants without reward when so required has been recognized not only in our country and in England but also in US and other countries. The preamble of the Constitution of India assures justice, social, economic and political to all citizens of the country. Art. 14 & 16 of the Constitution impose an implicit responsibility on the state to ensure none is deprived of legal assistance for reasons economic disabilities. Article 39A also goes on to mandate that the State shall provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or scheme for securing justice to all. However, despite this mandate poor remain deprived of appropriate legal assistance till date since independence. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Hussainara Khatoon Vs. Home Secy, State of Bihar[2] came down heavily on this sad plight of the poor. The lawyers of our society have to have this thing in their mind and they should not use their professional skill only to earn wealth but also towards fulfilling the dream of the Constitution framers and percolated under Article 39A; as Justice G S Singhvi of the Supreme Court of India said Young lawyers should take up social responsibility as part of the legal profession and adopt new roles for the benefit of society.
On June 17,2013 in a lecture in Kashmir University the then Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir said the image of lawyers, who were depicted as "sharks" in cartoons, needed to be changed to that of a socially responsible citizen. "You should participate in legal aid work. There is a social commitment (for lawyers). Law is not something you do for only yourself but for the society as well," he said. Justice Kabir said there were plenty of avenues for law graduates in the changing world but they should also do their bit for the society.
To say the least lawyers are individuals who have a wide range of responsibilities and duties when it comes to their profession. Their role in society is even more important as they act as a voice for others. They are to act as representative of the mass at almost every stage of our society not only to fulfill their professional needs but also to fulfill the dream of our forefathers.
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