- How certain lawyers came to not give a fig about anything or anyone
They are indifferent, violent, hell bent on being aggressive and all set to destroy whatever finds itself in their way. The hooliganism of black coats has reached new heights with the recent episode where they have waged war against doctors.
What does a man wearing a black coat, white shirt, black tie, and black pants look like? Well, a man dressed as such looks like a penguin. But since, we’ve been conditioned by exposure and are used to seeing black-and-white clad men around quite often, we recognize them as serious, law-abiding, respectable lawyers. Unfortunately, of late, they have lost their marbles.
In theory, at least, we see them as lawyers, at times more proud than Lucifer himself, in their profession’s signature attire and going to fight the battles between good and evil in courtrooms. Many of them equate their uniform with armour, necessary to shield themselves and their clients in a perennial war where one has to contend and overcome lost causes, ubiquitous pressure, and endless tribulation, day in, day out.
The life of a young practicing lawyer: Fresh out of Law College, a young lawyer starts his or her apprenticeship at district courts. Clean shaved, wearing knock-off Ray Ban aviators bought from a trusted pathan vendor, wearing a crisp white shirt, wrinkle-free coat, black pants and a sleek black tie, they seem all set to conquer the Islamabad katcheri, and then Islamabad High Court and eventually the Supreme Court of Pakistan with their unrivalled legal acumen, matchless logical prowess and simply flawless command of English language.
Sooner rather than later, they realize that the whole thing wasn’t working out as they are stuck in a rut learning nothing and running from pillar to post, seeking adjournments, holding mammoth files, trying their best to make sense of all the nonsense that is around them and in their free time (which was most of the time) they are either spending time sipping tea in Bar room with other fellow black coats going through more or less the same stuff.
Many of them equate their uniform with armour, necessary to shield themselves and their clients in a perennial war where one has to contend and overcome lost causes, ubiquitous pressure, and endless tribulation, day in, day out.
The Importance of Bar Elections: The year was 2014. The months were October and November. The city was Lahore. The location was High Court and Aiwan-e-Adal (where lower courts are located). The campaign for elections of Punjab Bar Council was in full swing, thousands of young and old lawyers were busy canvassing for the dozens of candidates, brochures were distributed with sheer force and abandon, almost every black coat had a badge of one or the other candidate, the atmosphere was charged with emotions, the slogans were deafening and the whole thing had an ominous feel of a battleground.
For those of you who haven’t heard of what slogans in bar election sound like, following are couple of examples:
Jeet payala peevay Gondal. Jeevay Gondal, Jeevay Gondal. (May Gondal be successful, long live Gondal, Long Live Gondal)
Yeh jo Kaala coat hai, Rai tera vote hai. (This black coat that you see, Rai it is your vote)
Rajay teri Jeet shala. InshaAllah, InshaAllah. (Raja Ji, by the grace of God, you’ll be successful)
From 8 in the morning till late night, the canvassing continued. It was fun, sweat, slogans, free meals, sprained ankles and meaning for lawyers. The idle folks had some reason to leave their beds in the morning.
What lawyers thrive on?: Campaigns, elections, strikes, and protests; these events test the grit and loyalty of an advocate. The regularity and rabid frequency of the aforementioned happenings punches a young lawyer in the gut within first few weeks of practice. He finds himself part of an array of campaigns in succession. Winners barely stop celebrating their success that campaigns for next elections start. The regular strikes and protests keeps one mindful of the fact that Justice for alive can be delayed a day or two but first they need to mourn the injured ego of their colleague.
Add to the above the following and you’ll have a more clear vision of the mad world lawyers live in. A volatile clientele, cut throat competition in lower courts, hegemony of senior, well-established lawyers, class divide, impact of social connections and standing in the society, and a plethora of other reasons make it tough for a budding lawyer to grow into an established lawyer to survive.
If things go well Bar and bench see eye to eye in most cases. Every time, when things go south, there are casualties. This time around, their Lordships decided to teach lawyer leadership a lesson in ethics. Well, the pupils were in no mood for a lecture and the pedagogue went into overdrive. The stick of contempt of court failed to bring home the bacon, and the few, dignified, robed and trained Lordships decided to not put up with the antics and acrobatics of the lawyers.
Couple of years back, the Punjab Bar Council, Pakistan Bar Council and representatives of various District Bars of Punjab demanded that Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah hang his robe, leave his gavel and go home because he has ‘committed misconduct’ and has taken ‘administrative decisions on political grounds’. In other words, the bars are uneasy with the head of a bench and demands that he be removed. This time around, however, they demanded only one thing that is ‘Izzat’ (respect) and nothing else. ‘We don’t want any relief, we want respect and we’ll get respect, come what may,’ one hears a lawyer leader reiterating.
Once again, they are demanding respect.
