Why did you become a lawyer?
Ever wondered why? Well, I still do!!
Many times, I go down the memory lane to ponder upon my choice of a legal profession. Surely, have not inherited an established law practice, then what really motivated me to join the so called ‘noble profession’? May be the whole charm of acting in assertion of your rights for yourself or for those around you and the frills attached to the profession were my reasons.
Howsoever, lame these may appear, don’t they stem from a personal belief in doing what you were perhaps cut out to do? Till date, I’m touted as an idealist by friends and family…and can’t resist the temptation to raise this question on a forum dedicated to lawyers.
I don’t think law is such a mainstream or happening profession in India unlike the West. MBA’s, Doctors still rule the roost in the service industry. Yet, hordes and hordes of people opt for it. Out of preference or necessity?
Any thoughts?
5 Replies
Good question, Legate. Over the years, I have asked this question to hundreds of lawyers at almost every legal writing class, training session, or gathering I have addressed. Initially, I was a bit taken aback by the answers - but now I can almost predict what the answers will be. There is a distinct pattern that emerges from the replies. Unlike computer engineers, doctors or software professionals, who were actually drawn towards what they studied, most of those who took up law were trying to avoid another course, for whatever reason!! In other words, they were not drawn towards the legal profession but were running away from another profession and landed up doing law.
Here are some replies to the question “Why did you study law?” Some of them are really honest.
1. “Sir - time pass. After degree I had nothing to do - so I took up law.”
2. “Parents wanted me to study medicine - but i did not want to land up dissecting dead bodies. So I took up law!”
3. “Easy degree to obtain. Very easy to get admission to a law course.”
4. “I used to talk a lot - and my friends and parents encouraged me to take up law.”
5. “I wanted to take up a course where I did not have to study Hindi or Maths!!”
6. “I wanted to serve society.” (really pseudo answer)
7. “As a citizen, I wanted to know what my legal rights are so that people cannot cheat me.” (another pseudo answer)
8. “I was influenced by by books/films on law.”
9. “My dad (or grand-dad, uncle etc.) is a lawyer. So I took up law.”
A close friend of mine, who is a fairly successful lawyer today, took up law because he wanted to continue playing Volleyball for Bangalore University. In his days, law was the most inexpensive and least difficult degree to obtain. Just enroll - and by default you are a lawyer after three years. This way - he got to play Volleyball for BU for three more years!
Today, all the recognition he gets is from the profession.
Many students from the “neo-law schools” too admit that they took up law because they did not want to be engineers or doctors!
After asking them their reason for studying law, I next inquire how many of them took to law because they thought they had good English writing skills. Invariably nobody answers in the affirmative. That’s the irony. Law has got more to do with writing than oral skills. Yet - very few take up the profession because they believe they have the writing skills to succeed in the profession.
Legal Dodo
Today many people take up law because they want to be a lawyer. Better still - some have very focussed career objectives as to what they want to do with their law degree - some may want to be a corporate / transactional lawyer, some may want to do criminal litigation … and some even think specifically of NGO work or a stint at the United Nations.
Many people are interested in law today because a five-year course from a top national law school can easily lead to a job of 10 lacs + p.a. with the option of joining a law firm, a merchant bank, or a top tier company.
And of course, there are cases where poeple come to law school despite getting through a top DU college or even an IIT / REC. Mostly, its for the career oppurtunities that a law degree affords today.
@ Legal Dodo, very interesting (and funny) observations indeed! Though, I’m a bit uncertain about your exact term of reference when you say that such are the people you come across while training them, presumably if you’re talking about training sessions at an LPO then I’m afraid it explains your emphasis on what you address as “Pseudo” comments.
No offends, but some may be a miniscule amount of social interest litigation is motivated and driven by such “pseudo” thinking individuals only. They’re called social engineers. Don’t think it’s worth expounding on this further, only wanted to bring home the point.
And yes, you rightly mentioned about recognizing the aptitude for a certain discipline which in the case of law is the ability to be coherent and articulate. However, that seldom is the ‘governing factor’ for opting to become a lawyer.
@ Anonymous, wish I could personally meet and congratulate you for your shining optimism (truly the need of the hour), but alas, you don’t seem to speak for the majority as inherent in your statement itself.
“Many people are interested in law today because a five-year course from a top national law school can easily lead to a job of 10 lacs + p.a. with the option of joining a law firm, a merchant bank, or a top tier company.”
Your ‘many’ is unfortunately just a ‘handful’. I mean, what is the percentage of fresh law graduates from the elite NLS’s vis-à-vis the whole corpus of lawyers produced each year? FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!
Well my reason is as simple as they come - I did an aptitude test !!
doesnt it similarly applies to doctor and engineers or other professional/ businessman.
It may be a matter of choice or compulsion.