However, the more I decided to pursue this course, the more I realized that thinking like a lawyer might not be my forte as I was more inclined towards a creative perspective and judged mainly based on emotions. However, I recall an instance wherein a highly experienced senior lawyer during one of my internships told me that the real danger ensues when once you start thinking like a lawyer and cannot think any other way.

On our first day of law school, our Vice Chancellor told our first year class that before we even embark on our journey of becoming lawyers, we must learn how to think like them. One of the brave hearts in the batch asked him that how do we know when had we learned to think like a lawyer, in reply to which our Vice Chancellor replied that it is when we get paid to think.

The more we got involved in the intricacies of the course, the more I saw that thinking like a lawyer actually changed and modified our reasoning skills and structures. Reasoning came before memorizing and law professors were adept at filtering out students who only memorized but couldn’t reason their issues.

Essentially, thinking like a lawyer means thinking within the confines of inductive and deductive forms of reasoning. We had readily entered into a world full of rigorous dialogues, when we started off as law students. In this particular world, abstracts were first formulated and then described and thus, a general principle or rule was discovered, then distinguished from another general rule. Narrowing down the focus along with intensifying the same became our strong points in the initial years of law school itself. Law school gave us retreats and surprises; rewarded us when we performed well and ridiculed the same when performed poorly.

The entire process of law-like thinking teaches us to be defensive, to protect the interests of our clients and how to go about that. The process involves slow moving, finding potential risks, taking adequate measures to overcome those risks and most importantly, never letting the clients see that you are stressed.

Realistically speaking, more work could be accomplished if pursuing legal knowledge wasn’t the only goal. The driving force behind this was the entire competitive nature of the profession. It reinforced certain views and diminished others. In any case, our very nature of thinking was altered. The final goal was to become more rational, logical, categorical and linear thinkers, who were trained to separate the reasonable from the unreasonable and truth from the lie.

Henceforth, ambiguities were less tolerated by us as we learnt to think in a new way and we viewed human affairs through new glasses. The entire process was a quantum leap and intellectually transcendent. We did believe that we would be paid enough to think in the future.

During the advanced course of our internships towards the end of third year and in fourth year, I realized the importance of such mental gymnastics are attributed to the plasticity of human mind and that, in the due course of time, the values learnt in a law schools begins to overflow into our personal lives. We do unconsciously relate and analyse other human beings with our new mindset and it begins to tint our views and judgments.

Honestly speaking, such a journey has its own downsides and I did lose out some friends and acquired new ones who thought in a similar way as me and saw the world in the same light as I did. The senior lawyer I met during my old internship was indeed right. We could not think in the emotional manner anymore and could not make creative choices or manage or inspire people. However, we became self dependent in due course of time and were not dictated by anyone or their opinions, thus the price paid was worth it. Although, now-a-days, several lawyers want to get their creative and emotive mind back and for that reason, they’re switching careers to a more innovative and different field.

The post How to Think like a Lawyer appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.

In India, the Advocate’s Act 1961 makes it mandatory for advocates appearing in the Supreme Court, High Courts, Subordinate Courts, Tribunals or Authorities to wear a dress that is sober and dignified and since then we have been following the British constitution it was never changed in India even after the British left.

Also, in India the Advocates Act lays down details of the dress code, but aberrations started surfacing when some women started wearing printed saris in court. Women lawyers in India can wear saris, salwar and now trousers, but certainly not jeans. They are not expected to wear loud jewellery or bright lipstick — things that would distract attention in the court room.

Likewise, the dress codes have been modified slightly in other countries as well to conform to local cultural requirements, values and traditions. But till now may countries follow the old traditional dress code of British i.e black robe and a wig.

In Afghanistan and Iran, the chief justice wears a white gown and black turban.

In Australia, court dress varies according to the jurisdiction.

In United States Lawyers wear normal business attire in courts of all levels. So its not a fixed dress code system all over the world but every country want their lawyers and judges to be dressed formally so that privilege and decorum of court can be maintained.

The dress code is not merely a status symbol, but brings out discipline among lawyers and gives them the confidence to fight for justice. The dress code also differentiates the lawyers from other professionals.

But just think about the lawyers in Black in India during summers. Even ordinary people, wearing white or light shade clothes perspire heavily in temperatures hovering between 38 and 48 degrees Celsius. One can easily imagine the plight of lawyers, attired in black coats.

It would not be out of place to mention that in most cases, courtrooms and the adjoining places only in superior courts are air conditioners available. Other courts that constitute the majority continue to function in the old fashion, served by air coolers subject to availability of water.

The same way, the comfort of air conditioned chambers is enjoyed by only privileged advocates who function from officially allotted rooms or shared accommodation in metro cities. But in most of the districts, many lawyers sit under tinned or thatched roofs and even under trees, swept by hot winds — and don’t forget, wearing a black coat.

Petition for changing this dress code has been filed in Kerala high court.

So as a conclusion, it was a culture that started from Britain and passed around in remaining world that we later on can term it the better way as,

Lawyers wear black coat so that they have to defend the case of each of the side and black is the colour of defence. To say that law is blind. To say that law is only based on weight of evidence and not on colours of people.

So now you have got the answer of this question, ‘Why Lawyers wear Black?’

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The post Read to Know: Why Lawyers wear Black? appeared first on Legal Desire Media and Insights.