STARTUP IN LEGAL PRACTICE : OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Prof.(Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon

[Text of the Speech of Late Prof .(Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon made on 25th June 2016 at the Bar Council Auditorium, while inaugurating the scholarship program "Rising of a Complete Lawyer" organized by a law firm

A New Model in Legal practice:

Let me congratulate Advocate Johnson Gomez and his partners for their new initiative in setting up “Lexpertians”, a law firm with a difference, the type of which at least the Ernakulam Bar has not seen before. Budding Lawyers Project is an idea whose time has come. How long we continue with a model of legal practice in which new entrants to the bar are asked to wait and watch for several years before they can stand forth as independent practitioners. Lawyering is a highly competitive profession where competence and hard work are rewarded from the beginning of one’s career, provided one has the know how to use the legal market to one’s advantage. What Lexpertians are promising to do is to let those beginners in legal practice find their way to come up on their own provided they imbibe the work culture which lawyering in modern context demands.

Mr. V. Shine, An International Business consultant by profession is the Chief Executive of L Expertians. Naturally, it is a marriage of Law, Technology and Business which will inform the work environment of the firm. Legal research, transactions and documentation will all be on-line which saves time, effort and cost to the advantage of the litigant who is informed on time the status of the transaction. In short, those associated with the new model of legal practice, whether they work singly or in group, have to be proficient in technology-enabled lawyering in e-courts and e-firms of the future.

The agenda that Lexpertians place before you is attractive, generous and futuristic. Firstly, it promises to train you in basic lawyering skills. Secondly, it expects to link you up in a network of lawyers, young and old, across the country and beyond. Thirdly, with the help of appropriate software and technological tools, you will be enabled to pool common resources to the advantage of all concerned. This will hopefully prepare you to handle trans-national legal work when the opportunity arises. In an era of trade in legal services, the possibilities of the network can be immense. Communication with client wherever they are situated will become easy and prompt improving the quality of legal services delivery. Fourthly, the “Budding Lawyers Project” of Lexpertians promises to organize technology-enabled para-legal services injecting greater professionalism and increased customer care on lawyer-client relationship. Finally, the project hopes to standardize all aspects of legal services delivery through strict adherence to internationally recognized protocols. Client interviewing and counselling will be according to this protocol. So also the decision on litigation or alternative dispute resolution. Hopefully these steps will keep the operations transparent, credible and conforming to ethical standards acceptable to the profession.

Well, the Lexpertians are in for change in legal services delivery from top to bottom. Technology is the driving force and talented young lawyers are the drivers. This meeting between the promoters and the budding lawyers is to find out how much ready are the budding lawyers of Kerala for the tasks ahead.

Transforming Law Graduates to Lawyers :

My analysis of career choices of law graduates today reveals a disturbing picture. Majority of them will enroll themselves as advocates only to seek employment with government, private companies or corporate law firms. Less than 25 per cent of graduates each year want to set up independent legal practice largely because of the connections they already have with established lawyers/law firms. Some of them economically well off start up in High Courts and tribunals in the company of their class mates/friends. Very few think of practicing in trial courts in the districts and taluks where the services are needed most. The reluctance of youngsters to start practice at grass roots is not because of lack of interest; it is said to be because of the frustrations they encounter in a corrupt and inefficient environment coupled with discouraging disposition of elders in the profession. If this analysis is correct in the Kerala scene today, the problem before Lexpertians is identifying that small percentage of law graduates who really want to stick to legal practice as their primary choice and are prepared to train themselves through sheer determination and hard work. I find it difficult to believe that all those whom I am addressing today belong to that category which Lexpertians are looking for.

There is yet another problem which the promoters might face when they start implementing the project. Given the poor quality of legal education being imparted in many of the colleges in the State, the average graduate cannot be presumed to have even the basic skills expected of a “budding lawyer”. A 1992 Report of the American Association of Law Schools had identified twelve fundamental lawyering skills essential for beginners in legal practice

These are :

(i) Legal Analysis

(ii) Fact Investigation

(iii) Legal Research

(iv) Problem Solving

(v) Communication

(vi) Interviewing and Counselling

(vii)Negotiation

(viii) Litigation

(ix) Mediation and ADR

(x) Recognizing and Resolving Ethical Dilemmas 

(xi) Office organization and management 

(xii)Professional self-development

        Each of the above comprises a set of varied skills which keep changing in content and application with changes in economy, technology and governance. There are very few law schools in the country which seriously attempt to teach these skills which require activities which provide experiential learning. Lexpertians therefore are well advised to have partnerships with law colleges willing to co-operate in organizing the teaching of the “Practical Training” curriculum in the LL.B. programme meaningfully. While doing so they may identify those deserving assistance and further training to survive in the profession on their own.  To those who are still inclined to practice at the grass roots, let me suggest few other traits which may keep them in good stead in the profession. A passion for justice particularly to those who are outside the system is desirable in the Indian context. Humility, tolerance and honesty at all costs will pay in the long run whether you remain in the profession or move to other vocations.

The Need for Justice Providers in Rural and Tribal Areas:

There is immense scope to start practice in the communities in rural and tribal areas of the country. Their problems requiring legal services relate to land, forest, water, agriculture, credit, education, health and small businesses. What corporate lawyers do for big companies by way of transaction work in urban centres is what the rural/tribal legal practitioners need to do for farmers and artisans before the administrators, local bodies, commodity markets and credit agencies. Their problems mainly require preventive legal services and administrative advocacy. Litigation is mainly before Gram Nyayalayas, Consumer Forums and Subordinate Courts. Alternative dispute resolution systems which exist in the countryside can be profitably utilized. Para-legal services appropriate to local needs have to be innovatively developed and put to use in a customer-friendly manner.

If L Expertians while serving the urban elite classes with technology-enabled, cost-effective legal services, can also develop an appropriate, cheap and expeditious model for delivery of legal services to the inhabitants of Wayanad,  Attappady, Idukki and Sultan Bathery areas of the State, the initiative will be gratefully welcomed not only by the legal community but also by the people of Kerala.

I wish the venture all success.