*Why is there unruliness in the legal profession in India?* (Part 3)
*By Balbir Singh Sooch, Advocate, Ludhiana*
*Legal Profession caught between Politics and Professionalism: Will the Real Lawyer Please ‘Stand Up’? Written By Barrister Tureen Afroz:*
*Gone are the days when legal profession used to be socially considered as a noble profession.*
*The image attached to the legal profession, once held high in the eyes of the people, is now under increasing attack, mostly by the lawyers themselves.*
*Common men used to look up to the lawyers as an expert of law as well as a social engineer, standing for the cause of humanity and voicing against various social, political and economic injustice.*
*Social image of the lawyers was thus to be equated with those of a real hero, who would always be on toe for guarding mass conscience. Lawyers were seen as successful vocal leaders of many social movements against exploitation, social, economic and political. People's confidence and respect for the legal profession was so high that a lawyer in a family would surely add to its social reputation.*
*However, the social image of lawyers is very much in crisis these days and that should alarm not only the profession but also the society, at large.*
*The nobility attached to the legal profession demands certain "professional duties" to be performed by the lawyers. The lawyers' professional duties and responsibilities can be categorized into four different groups:*
*Duty towards the Court: A lawyer is said to be an officer of the court. It is his paramount duty to assist the court to meet the end of justice. The lawyers are not to misguide the court or to intentionally obstruct the course of justice just to benefit his fraudulent client. They should avoid any kind of corrupt practices that might help them to win the case in hand.
The lawyers should remember that they are required to perform their professional duties in such a way that common men's respect in the justice system is maintained at high level all the time.*
*Duty towards the Client: A lawyer should provide his best professional service to uphold the cause of his client and to use his expertise in assuring justice to his client from the court. The efficiency, with which a lawyer would represent his client, should never be compromised. The lawyers should utilize their 'due diligence' in handling their clients' case. They are expected to further the cause of their clients with utmost sincerity and to avoid any conflict of interest. Moreover, the lawyers should maintain the confidentiality of their clients' cases so that the matter does not get prejudiced.*
*Duty towards the Colleagues: Lawyers have certain professional responsibilities towards his colleagues, no matter whether they are associates, senior or junior, or lawyers of the opposite litigating party. Lawyers should always be respectful to each other and should maintain a healthy working environment both in the chamber and in the court premises.
It is against professional ethics to criticize the efficiency of other colleague lawyers or to speak ill about them in public.*
*Duty towards the Society: The lawyers are considered to be social engineers. They have a duty towards the society at large. As respected citizens of the country, the lawyers should behave in such a way so that the legal profession stands as a model profession in the society.*
*Lawyers should of course raise their voice against any injustice inflicted upon innocents. They all should work, both individually and collectively, to establish rule of law in the society. Lawyers, as experts in law, should know that their views do influence public opinion and as such, they should guard against mis-utilization of their image in the society.*