'Advocacy Skill Has To Be Honed To Suit Judges' Approach' : Tips By Sr Adv C S Vaidyanathan On Effective Lawyering

In the latest edition of LiveLaw's legal practitioners' webinar series, Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan threw light on some of the most desirable practices that lawyers could adopt while speaking extensively on "The Future of Advocacy in India". At the outset, Mr. Vaidyanathan expressed his concern over the lack of urgency being shown by Indian Courts in dealing with matters of personal liberty. He said that Habeas Corpus matters used to be given their due and disposed of swiftly, something that does not happen anymore. "Habeas Corpus petitions would be heard! If it is filed today it will be listed tomorrow. There was no question of counter affidavit in such a plea. The file had to be produced. In 24 to 48 hours, the Habeas Corpus petitions would be disposed of. I think there is something which we have lost over the years. The urgency in regard to dealing with personal liberty matters which was very much there , unfortunately has been lost." Throughout the rest of his talk, he emphasised on the need to keep oral arguments focussed and written submissions crisp. Not only are these essential for an advocate to present his case effectively, but it is something that would help reduce pendency of cases. Expressing great concern over pendency, Vaidyanathan said that the problem shakes the confidence of the people in the justice system and it is incumbent upon lawyers to keep up their faith in the system. "Our relevance as lawyers is only when the credibility of the institution is at the highest, when the faith and confidence of the people is at the highest. If we are not able to deliver justice to the consumers of justice then it gets shaken. We have 3.5-4 crore cases pending. …People should not be encouraged to take law into their own hands, they should go through the system to get justice. That is part of our role as lawyers, to not only enable the people to continue to have faith, but to enhance their faith in the system", he elaborated. Vaidyanathan noted that though there have been a number of amendments etc. to try and tackle this problem, not much has changed. "I feel both judges and lawyers have been very very reluctant to make changes where necessary", he added in this regard. Towards this end, to facilitate a better justice system for the people, Vaidyanathan made various suggestions regarding skill development of lawyers. Starting with the need to keep written submissions brief, Vaidyanathan stressed that Petitions should never be long. In order to ensure this, one must write their own plaints, and not dictate them. In today's times, he said, technology is being abused by both lawyers and judges. "If you dictate you are going to make it longer, which is what is happening. Technology today is being abused, by judges and by lawyers because 'cut and paste' means you take out from everywhere and put it. I have seen judgments of the Madras HC which were half a page or one page long, handwritten judgments. When you sit and write your thoughts are also clear but when you dictate you ramble. Precision in drafting is one of the most important things", he said. In this light he also stressed on the importance of summarising a case properly to be able to catch the attention of the judges. If you do not put forward your point in a focussed manner, you will not be able to attract the judge's attention to your grievance and the ultimate goal of getting justice for your client will not be fulfilled, averred the senior advocate. "I was AOR for 13 years, and the synopsis I prepared would never be longer than 1.5 pages, preferably 1 page. If you can't put across a case in 1 page in Supreme Court, you are not going to hold the attention of the judges. Whatever is the case, you should be able to put over your point in 1-1.5 pages. …As lawyers, we are here to ensure that our clients get justice. For that, you have to be able to attract the attention of the judge to the injustice that has been done, the injustice that lacked remedy and the point that they must consider. Once you manage to do that through a 1 page synopsis, the Judge will look into the details more closely." Vaidyanathan also highlighted that Judges work under 'tremendous strain', and amidst this, to get justice for one's client they must be able to put across your case in a focussed manner. Moving on to oral arguments, in the same way, he said that lawyers must develop the skill of putting across their arguments in the most effective manner. Time management, he averred, is of essence. Recalling his early days in Chennai, he stated, "Judges in Madras High Court would not read up and come in those days, like they do in Supreme Court these days. Arguments would be put across effectively in 2-3 minutes. 70-80 admissions would be wrapped up in the first half of the day. Appeals would not be longer than 1.5-2 pages. Crisp, sharp questions of law would have been...

'Advocacy Skill Has To Be Honed To Suit Judges' Approach' : Tips By Sr Adv C S Vaidyanathan On Effective Lawyering

Nilashish Chaudhary

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