I was a big time mooter during my time.

my first concern is : if you are not able to understand whats going on in a court room inspite of being a mooter, then there is something wrong in your understanding of litigation.

I have a difference experience and I properly understood whats happening in a court room. (as a law student mooter) (during internships)

My second point would be, in real life arguments (as in the moot court type) constitute only one part of the whole picture. you have to know client dealing, getting money out of them, running an office, preparing defence or prosecution/ plaintiff evidence and many things like that.

you require a major support system to be a litigator. something that you would take for granted in a moot court set up.

Mooting shows the best, most glamorous part of litigation.

Its like your girlfriend wearing the dress you like best on her.

I love litigation. but would strongly advise against it, if you lack a support system. it would majorly effect your life and how much you earn.

If you dont have financial support, dont go into it. system is full of nepotism, and not worth it.

Damn Kian

had i known you would like my comment would not have posted anonymously!!

My litigation based internship was prior to the few moots that I have done. I reckon my understanding of court procedures would have significantly increased by now. The non functional microphones and the quality of oral english were also a tad bit under powered, which might have contributed to the confusion.

Could you please elaborate on the support system mentioned by you? Would you discourage someone from walking the road of an arguing lawyer working under a senior? who say is working in a city away from home, on a meager allowance?

” If you dont have financial support, dont go into it. system is full of nepotism, and not worth it.”

Is this caste based nepotism you speak of? Or nepotism for family bred lawyers?

see the thing is this.

it will take some time for you to establish yourself in litigation. a lot of time. I am talking here say that you will be around 40 45 before someone will take you seriously.

Think about it. would you go to a young lawyer when for the same money you can get a supposedly more experienced guy ?

So whats the way out ? someone gives you “chances” or you be proactive and get these “chances”.

In all probability, between two equally qualified persons, the one with better contacts and is more networked tends to beat the other guy. dont harp too much on the qualified persons criteria, by qualified I mean qualified to do the job at hand and not inherent greatness that you might have more.

and the qualified job at the beginning is pretty lame. even a panchvi pass can do it. but it tends to build over time and with experience.

So how does a fresh law grad, still to face the real world, work on his contacts ? sometimes he is inherently good in making such contacts and sometimes his relatives/ family help him out.

what ends up happening is the person with better contacts, better networking ends up ahead because he learns a lot due to the exposure he gets. you on the other hand, are still at the starting line.

This is a mojor risk with your career, and my sincere and honest advise will be, please dont think it will happen in future, have a plan and see past performances to gauge your success. take help of elders in family.

For a better understanding of litigation here in India, you need to understand this:

Stage 1 Junior lawyer: learn about CPC/ CrPC, court decorum, basic laws, evidence, everything and anything. this should depending about exposure take about 1 -2 maybe three years. trial court level

stage 2 : still a junior lawyer : consolidation phase: where you start using your knowledge to take baby steps to go up further, learn further. 3 -5 years

Stage 3: mid level lawyer: more confident. can do a lot of stuff on oneself. requires minimal supervision 6- 9 years

Stage 4: Superman !

Now here lies the difficulties, you simply cannot do all this, unless there is a constant stream of cases coming. this is the most difficult part of litigation work. Those who have mastered this, will hide it and guard it with maximum opaqueness.

And assuming that you are a first generation new guy in this system, in a new town, living in a PG, it would be exceedingly difficult for you to get new clients. the truth is, instead of you, your neighbour would prefer going to a better known resident of the area who is a lawyer than come to an out of towner young lawyer like you.

The nepotism that I was talking about, was that some of your colleagues, get more chances as they have somebody in law to help them. A judge, a politician, a relative/ parent at a strategically placed govt position who give them cases to work on, and polish their skills. etc etc.

Caste nepotism is not something that I have seen. so cant comment on this. But yes I have seen some litigant favouring a lawyer from their own community.

litigation is a good option, if you play your cards right and focus that its not just about arguments. And that networking from day 1 is extremely important.

take care

Abhishek

Man, this totally shattered my confidence :(

will you suggest someone who has no legal/political background, to start in delhi or in his home state (where the high court is in a really small city)?

I would strongly recommend a few years in the home state with massive, simply massive, MASSIVE, M-A-S-S-I-V-E efforts in making sure that every tom dick and harry know you in the state high court.

run for election if you have to for the local body. lose. but at least people will get to know you. they will get to know your name, your phone number etc etc.

Then, then after a few years, say 4 -5 years or even less, come here to the supreme court, and let everyone in your homestate know that you are there in SC. beg, borrow, steal for cases for appeal. In the beginning there will be less but later build upon it. brick by brick.

give the AOR paper and then increase your practice.

or alternately join a corporate law firm. get good money. but getting in there too you require network.

remember this. Law is majorly about networking. everything else comes second.

thanks for the reply …