Prologue
Furnishing a profession in law is not a rare interest but rather the majority’s excitement. The mannerism and the ethical patterns it carries cajoles. Venturing a career in law feels like embarking on a self-fulfilling ordeal; its outcome, per se, feels flawless with challenges but yet high expectations. Besides, the legal profession in India is often surrounded by myths and misconceptions, many of which tend to create an unrealistic image of lawyers and their lifestyles. Therefore, whether portrayed glamorously in popular culture or misunderstood due to limited exposure, these myths can mislead aspiring lawyers and the general public into holding unrealistic views and at times discouraging potential lawyers from being firm in their decisions to pursue their legal careers. In this article, state and debunk the five common myths about being a lawyer in India and shed light on the reality of this demanding yet rewarding profession thereat. Keep alert!
The five major myths about being a lawyer in India include the following:
Myth 1: All Lawyers Are Rich and Powerful
The perhaps most common perception is that all lawyers are rich. They earn exorbitant amounts of money and wield immense power. Therefore, while it is true that some lawyers earn substantial incomes, this is not the norm for everyone in the profession. The earning potential of a lawyer depends on factors such as specialization, experience, geographical location, and client base. Different specializations exist in the law firm and the potentials of earning exorbitant amount of money equally differ. While it is believed that corporate lawyers make more money than, say, criminal lawyers, different factors contribute the same. For instance, experience, level of expertise and popularity in the market are great determinants of financial capabilities of layers in the field.
Myth 2: Lawyers spend all their time in courtrooms
The next perception, as seen on televisions and movies, is that lawyers passionately argue cases in courtrooms, which gives the impression that this is all they do. Although courtroom drama plays a significant role in the profession, it does not encompass the entirety of the legal career. On several instances, most lawyers spend the majority of their time outside the courtroom doing different tasks such as contract drafting, research and drafting works, client meetings and case preparations. There are also in-house counsels who don’t do litigations but still excel in the legal profession. Therefore, though this belief might be true to certain extends, especially with litigation lawyers, other lawyers are not predominantly litigants.
Myth 3: Lawyers Know Everything About the Law
Another widely held view is that Lawyers know everything about the law. This might categorically be due to the mostly argumentative nature of legal professionals, which the common persons finds somehow threatening. However, the reality is that lawyers are interested in getting the best argument in all their conversations. It is true that during the course of legal training, people are made accustomed to critical debates and interrogating almost everything that comes their way. Law has is a complex field with a lot more specialisations that lawyers tend to choose according to their interests and make sure to perfect in their particular fields. Therefore, the belief that lawyers have encyclopaedic knowledge is not absolutely true.
Myth 4: Law School is cutthroat and competitive
Considering the bulk books and technicalities involved in the legal profession, my people holds the view that law school is characterised by strenuous struggles and stiff competitions in order to excel. However, the reality is that law schools are comprised of collaborations instead of competitions and strenuous struggles. The priority is to share a conferential collaboration where people work in teams or groups in order to devise better ideas and address critical issues. These group efforts defeats individual efforts and competitions in a gigantic scale.
Myth 5: A Law Degree Guarantees Success
This is yet another misconception about law and the legal profession. It is widely believed that earning a law degree automatically warrants a successful career, which might not be exactly the case. The truth in here is that a law degree is only a first step in a long journey. Just like any other profession, success requires networking, continuing learning and learning practical experiences through active participation in skill-developing activities. Merely obtaining a law degree without these elements is yet another unsuccessful studies.
Conclusion
Therefore, being a lawyer and excelling in the legal career in India and across the world is a challenging yet fulfilling career that requires hard work, dedication, persistence, and resilience. By successfully debunking these myths, we can better understand the actual realities of the legal profession and set up realistic expectations for those aspiring to join it. This can be regardless of whether you dream of becoming a litigator, a corporate lawyer, or a legal advisor; the path is far from easy, but it is also deeply rewarding for those who are passionate about justice and advocacy. Accordingly, recognizing the nuances of this profession can help so much in appreciating the immense efforts that lawyers put into their daily works and the critical role they play in society in securing justice to both their clients and also to the entire society by means of public interest litigations and ensuring that wrongdoers and criminals are held accountable for their bad and illegal actions.
By Charles Anyama Kalisto
