TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: A good lawyer is one who conveys the points of law and facts with humility and persuasiveness without aggression, Justice A P Lavande, the chief guest, told advocates at the two-day Continuous Legal Education Programme organised at High Court of Bombay at Goa premises, by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.
Two hundred and fifty lawyers attended the conference on ‘Developing Skill of Advocacy.’
“Today, the job of an advocate has become very difficult, as every day, hundreds of thousands of laws, primary and subordinate legislations are passed, and lawyers find it extremely difficult to keep themselves abreast of these numerous provisions. As a result, it becomes difficult for them especially juniors, to render service to a client,” said Justice Lavande, adding that programmes like these allow junior lawyers to interact with seniors and improve their understanding of the nuances of the law.
“Please hold such functions not just in the capital city, but at the district level and also at the taluka levels,” Justice Lavande suggested.
Guest of Honour, Justice Mahesh S Sonak of High Court, told the gathering that if there was any serious plan to develop the skills of advocacy and in turn the skills of judging, then programmes like CLEP were an absolute imperative.
“Today we live in an age of specialization, and specialization is all about knowing more and more, about less and less. In a small state like Goa, this might seem out of bounds for most lawyers, however, specialization in some subject, however small that subject, is both advisable and achievable,” he said adding “In his area, the lawyer should strive to achieve mastery, this should be his forte.”
Guest of Honour, Advocate General of Maharashta, D J Khambata said that it was crucial for lawyers to keep up with the latest techniques, the latest learnings, and the highest standards of practice.
“When working on a case, research the matter in advance. It may be difficult to research it 100 per cent, but at least research it to 70-80 per cent,” he argued, pointing out “In many cases, when pleadings are filed, it is obvious that the drafter of the pleadings has not bothered to look up the law, and has made a cardinal blunder, and a blunder in pleadings can never be corrected. A bad pleading stays with you right up to the Supreme Court.”
Earlier, the Advocate General of Goa, A N S Nadkarni, who was also the chief coordinator of this programme in his welcome speech said, “I have seen a number of lawyers disheartened because they started fumbling around the bar or they found the profession not very charming. There are plenty of challenges in the profession, but at the end of the day, we all have to be very serious as the judges put in a lot of hard work.”
He also argued that it was not right to while away judicial time “as judicial time is very precious, and therefore this training programme organized by the Bar Council of Maharashta and Goa is an excellent step taken by the council, and I’m sure the lawyers of Goa will take the maximum benefit out of it.”
Earlier, Justice A P Lavande along with Justice M S Sonak, Advocate General of Maharashta D J Khambatta, Advocate General of Goa A N S Nadkarni inaugurated the two-day CLEP and also the Indian Advocates Multistate Multipurpose Cooperative Society branch at the High Court premises. Also present were Law Secretary, Pramod Kamat, Chairman BCMG Pramod Patil, Vice Chairman, BCMG Vipin Bendale, Member of BCI Satish Deshmukh, and senior advocates.
The function will conclude on Sunday, where Justice R C Chauhan, Judge, High Court, Bombay, will be the chief guest.
