KOHIMA, OCTOBER 20: “There have been many instances and incidences throughout my career while practising law, which were enough to discourage anyone, but it was the motivation to help others that kept me going”, stated Justice S Serto of Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, on Wednesday, at the Bar Room, Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, on October 20.
Delivering the keynote address at the 3-day seminar on legal profession for lawyers, organised by the High Court Legal Services Committee, Kohima Bench, in collaboration with the High Court Bar Association, at the Bar Room of Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, Serto said that practising law is a very challenging profession because there are no source of income at the initial stage and one has to make many sacrifices.
The profession becomes more challenging for those who practices law in tribal communities because they (the communities) think that the Government takes care of the payment, he said.
“Being a lawyer, one also has to know all the things starting from the smallest to the biggest task. Starting from stitching one’s petition, to filing, editing, cross-checking and framing an argument, a lawyer must know how to do all these things in order to be efficient”, said Serto.
“In spite of all the hardships you will face along the course of your profession, it is the impact you make on someone’s life that that makes the profession a fulfilling one”, he added.
Senior Advocate at Odisha and Kolkata High Court, Laximdhar Pangari, a resource person for the seminar, also explained the difference between Article 226 and Article 227 of the Constitution of India and Service Jurisprudence.
“While it has been a common practice to use the two Articles together, there are key differences between the two on closer scrutiny. Once you study the salient features of Article 226 and 227, it will be easy to distinguish them”, he added.
Pangari also said that no judge, lawyer or an advocate can claim full authority over law because it is constantly evolving and a lawyer has to keep on updating with knowledge if one wants to be effective.
In this regard, he encouraged aspiring lawyers of Nagaland not to be too afraid of Judges while making submissions inside the courtroom.
Senior Advocate at Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, CT Jamir also addressed the gathering on professional ethics.
He said that the seminar was long overdue as the High Court Legal Services Committee is organising such programme after a gap of 10 years.
He dwelt on how lawyers should dress, speak and conduct themselves inside the courtroom.
The senior advocate also stressed on the importance for a lawyer to be up to date with not only the law but in other subjects as well.
“By virtue of being a learned counsel one should behave in a gentle manner and must be willing to learn through participation, practice and dedication”, he said.
The senior advocate stressed on the importance for a lawyer to acknowledge the risk and danger involved in the case. One must proceed with cautious steps in representing someone because one mistake can lead to loss of freedom and life, Jamir stated.
(Page News Service)
