Law and Legal Career

Advanced nations and progressive societies are known by the respect people give to the Law of the land and compatriots. India is a nation, where people do not follow law, and law abiding people are termed as weak. While those having no regard for law is considered to be influential and powerful. No wonder the legislatures of the states, and the center is full with lawmakers who are not law abiding citizens, but criminals and corrupt. 

The March 2017 Assembly election results in the state of Uttar Pradesh elected large proportion of candidates with criminal background. According to reports almost 40 per cent of the newly elected MLAS have cases pending against them in courts. This is a trend which can be a case for any other state assembly.  And it is an awakening for the state, as the people are looking for honesty, integrity, transparency in public life. The other pillars of democracy are not immune to this phenomenon.

The bureaucracy and police are known for being corrupt and subverting the freedom of the people. The Media is also selling fake news and promoting paid news to serve the interest of some corporate house or some Public Relations firm. Engineers and Doctors are also known for their corrupt practices. Hospitals charge exorbitantly which makes quality health services inaccessible to the common people. Even the field of sports is full of people who fix matches, throw matches, and indulge in unfair practices to win the game or loose the game. The lawyers and judges are part of the society and hence the issues of nepotism, corruption also haunt the judicial system. Still Lawyers,  lower courts and higher courts are looked upon by the people with optimism, hope and expectations.

It is this hope which rests on the shoulders of the judges, lawyers and the judicial system to impart justice to the people. This is the future of law. The profession not only gives a career with respect in society, but it also rewards lawyers with handsome money. After graduating with BA LLB, the young lawyer can join the court or law firm with confidence to serve the society and make a good living in the areas of civil, criminal, revenue, and taxation cases. The BBA LLB Graduates apart from having the regular avenues can also join the corporate world with higher salaries. The corporate world hire lawyers as full time advisors. A new avenue in law field is emerging with rise in disputes, grievances, and wider scope for restitution, and mediation in resolving them. Gender violence and cyber crimes are also rising with more cases being reported and more people being cheated by fraudulent methods online. The tax fraud by Vodafone, the problem of bad loans, issue of Vijay Mallaya, issue of Lalit Modi and many other such cases only gives an idea of the huge requirement for quality lawyers in the country.

According to estimates around 4 lakh  lawyers are required every year to join the field. And if you add the number of posts of judges in Supreme Court, High Court, District Courts, lower courts, the requirement is much more. Many new areas of law is to be explored. The cases of RTI, and PIL have risen many times. Similarly cases of family disputes, relation disputes, harassment are rising due to awareness among people. More FIRs are being registered than earlier. More people are dying on the roads, more people are getting injured, and India do not have proper mechanism to punish the guilty and compensate the victim. There is no limit to opportunity for good lawyer. We are still in our initial stage, and in coming years, more reforms will take place in jails and the concept of justice will undergo a transformation with more emphasis on inclusive approach to justice. The world of transgender, third sex, gays, LGBT rights, minority rights, tribal rights and giving respect to the accused  remains areas which have not attracted due attention in India. Families are breaking, wives are filing complaint against husband, hubbies are complaining of cruetly and harassment, girlfriends are accusing boyfriends of harrassment and cheating, workplace harassment is rising. In India, a sense of fear prevails among Dalits (#Jhajhar, #Guna), Tribals(#Jharkhand), and minorities over issue of animal / cow slaughter, and many individuals have been lynched publically on suspicion or some argument. At other level, intolerance is high, with hate crime on rise in all societies and people taking law into their hands.  All this means more work for lawyers and more opportunity for the law stream.

Let us face it. Indians disregard law and openly violate the rights of others. They take pride in bashing up,  and bullying.  As Confucius Said, "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame." 

With vice ruling the world, only law and enforcement of law can bring sense of justice to the world. The future belongs to young lawyers.