Justice KV Viswanathan, Supreme Court Judge, today encouraged recently appointed Advocates-on-Record(AoR) to argue their own cases and not engage senior counsel by default. He remarked that engaging senior counsel was widely prevalent in earlier days, but the culture has significantly changed now.

He said: "There is somehow a feeling it's changed by and large now, that an advocate on record means that you prepare the case, or she will prepare the case, file the case and as a default engage senior. It was widely prevalent in the 80s and 90s. But it has substantially changed now. You must bring in a culture where, by default, you will argue the case. And in exceptional cases where the client insists, you would, of course, engage a senior. You should have that confidence in yourself. You should have the self-belief."

Justice Viswanathan recalled that his father was an AoR arguing his cases, and he never figured out what senior designation means. Likewise, he pointed out that Justice V Mohana, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Attorney General R Venkataramani always argued their cases by default.

He also warned the AoRs not to take any brief casually, as their duty as the only counsels to be able to file pleadings before the Supreme Court comes with a heavy price.

"My suggestion as an elder brother is to put a heavy price on your name. Don't sign anything casually. Anything that goes under your name must be accurate, precise, and above all, must add value in the case. Justice imagine, if a brief comes your way, the client has chosen you out of a wide array of thousands of advocates."

Further, Justice Viswanathan recommended AoRs always maintain clear communication with the client and learn the art of drafting. He said that in order to argue the case well, draft is paramount because it is through a good draft that will not only make a difference to the case but will also make a difference to their career.

"Please do not be casual in your drafting because, after three years in the court and having substantially practised here, I have realised that a good draft does make a difference to the outcome of the case. After all, at the end of the day, judges are looking for assistance in a brief. They want to pick up the point the shortest possible time. And a good synopsis and a cogent list of dates should be able to explain your case. That will require a lot of pains to be taken, but please take those pains because they just may compliment you for the draft. The word may get around, and that's the only way you can get your name known," he said.

Justice Viswanathan told the AoRs that he once heard a story about a senior counsel in Kerala who would communicate about every single development in the case to the clients. In those times when telephones were rare, he would write a letter to the client informing them about when their case would be taken, when the documents would be filed, the list of dates, etc. This made a huge difference because a client sitting 100 km away would feel assured that their case is in safe hands.

"Most clients, barring people who are totally illiterate, at the end of the day, deep down, know how strong or weak their case is, because lawyers would have told them over a period of time. But they want care to be bestowed by the lawyer, and most of the successful advocates on record are those who have excelled in this arena of maintaining communication with the client. And people have failed, those who did not communicate, who kept the client, you know, absolutely at a loss as to what has happened to his case."

Overall, Justice Viswanathan extended his warm wishes to the AoRs and told them to continue working for a uniquely rewarding profession.