If you are starting your journey at an AOR’s office, there are certain things that you must know and be prepared for.
You start the day by preparing a list of cases that are due for the day. You must know how to navigate the Supreme Court’s website and learn how to check cause lists. Some matters get deleted or dropped last minute, so make sure that they are noted properly.
You go to court at around 10 and mention cases out of turn that need urgent attention. Most mentionings happen for urgent reliefs that can’t wait or you might need an adjournment and couldn’t file a letter.
Court runs from 10am to 4pm between which you appear in court, argue, research, spend time reading in the library if you have no cases, network.
After 4 pm, you are back to the office and start preparing for your next day.
- as a junior lawyer you will have to conduct research on matters that are up for hearing
- Prepare case compendiums where required
- counsel new clients
- prepare/vet drafts
- check cause lists at the end of day
- Brief and assist senior Advocates engaged for that matter,
Senior briefings usually happen late in the evening or on Sundays, so you need to prepare a list of dates and briefing notes on days of briefing.
Sometimes, the client will ask for engaging a senior a day before the matter is listed. You will then have to fast track this whole process while ensuring that the quality of your brief is intact. Briefing a Senior Advocate is a gruelling, although an enriching experience.
Now if you want a job or productive internship at an AOR office, here are the top 20 things you must be able to do:
- Draft Synopsis and List of Dates
- Prepare case briefs for your AoR and Senior Counsels
- Draft Written Submissions
- Draft Grounds in Petitions
- Draft Counter Affidavits and Rejoinder Affidavits
- How to draft Substantial Questions of Law
- Know how to effectively carry out legal research from SCC and Manupatra
- Draft specific grounds in Interim Relief applications
- Identify and draft relevant Interlocutory Applications in the case
- Know how to file and move a Mentioning Memo
- Know how to prepare Letters for Circulation
- Know how to remove defects in the matters as raised by the Registry
- Navigating the Supreme Court website for Cause Lists, Notices and Circulars
- Know how to check the case status for pending cases
- Know how to draft Bail Applications
- Know how to effect service on an overseas Respondent
- Know how to effectively manage clients
- Know how to carry out Inspection of documents
- Know how to prepare Affidavits
- Miscellaneous: how to apply for VC links, apply for e-pass for entry of clients in the Supreme Court and file Online Appearance Slips
Look around you. How many of your peers and friends can do even a few of these things?
If you learnt how to do these things, will that provide a huge leg up in your career?
You will see a lot of people complaining that they are not able to earn well after qualifying as a lawyer. But did they take out time to learn these things?
In my opinion, nobody should be allowed to pass the bar exam without knowing these skills. But the fact is that most lawyers cannot do these things in the first place.
Which means if you learn how to do these things, you are immediately in a different league. You will be in high demand from senior lawyers and they will pay you well. Good for you.