This got me thinking about other professions including law, and therefore this law. The reason I write about law is the importance of it in the growing litigious environment amidst the legal shambles. No other profession gets such negative coverage, be it the advocates agitation/strikes, 'tareek pe tareek'..While reading about this topic, I saw that the list of misconducts cited in the below article is mind boggling
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/professional-misconduct-of-lawyers-in-india-1665-1.html
Without much ado, I proceed to my grouses
- · Advocates strikes/hartals/bandhs-even at the cost of their clients
- · The culture of adjournments
- · ‘Eternal’ arbitrations
- · Probono very care, legal services cell hardly in vogue
- · Preferential treatment to Senior Counsel-unjustified that their reputation is formalized and fee earning capacity enhanced, by the result of a opaque process without any continuing obligation
- · Too much separation of work-Advocate, Solicitor, Counsel-many folks to pay fees
- · Limited effort to insert ‘Plain English’ in drafting
- · No scale of fees/standard rate chart-
Remedies
- · Startups to assess win/loss odds like in UK basis type of matter, number and outcome of hearings, case status(upheld/overturned)-This is a formal assessment of succcess rate and efficiency which could help for mass litigation matters
- · Automate ‘routine’ stuff like legal contracts-This while reducing bread/butter business, would help lawyers do more value adding work
- · ADR allowing for other professionals such as CA/CS/CWA, who are regulated more strictly
- Simplication of laws, procedures and court/police procedures, so that the common man can represent himself/herself in court and largely via written submissions
- Restriction on # of matters a lawyer can take at a time(~ceiling on tax audits of CA) so that the culture of adjourments reduces
- Court Management Introduction to address delays in proceedings
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