7 lamps of advocacy1

8/10/2019 7 Lamps of Advocacy1

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By K P C Rao.,B.Sc., FCS.,FICWA.,LL.B.,

Practising Company Secretary

[email protected]

"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion againstinjustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would

change the earth. "

William Faulkner

Advocacy is pleading in support of case. Advocacy is not a craft but a calling. Advocacyby an individual or by an advocacy group normally aim to influence public-policy and

resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and

institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to

protect an asset of interest. Advocacy can include many activities that a person ororganiation undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and

publishing research or poll or the !filing of friend of the court briefs!. "obbying is a formof advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on an issue which plays a

significant role in modern politics.

Elements of Adocacy

a) Accept brief in the Court

An advocate is a person who argues in favour of his clients in courts of #ustice. An

advocate is bound to accept any brief in the $ourts or %ribunals or before any otherauthority in or before which he professes to practice at a fee consistent which his standing

at the bar and the nature of the case.

b) iling the case

&n civil cases a suit is re'uired to be instituted by presenting a plaint to the court. %he

statement of a plaint regarding his claim is taken as a plaint. %he plaintiff presents his

case along with cause of action etc. through the plaint. %he plaint is also called the

written statement. (very pleading is re'uired to contain a statement in a concise form of

the material facts on which the party filing the plaint relies for his claim or defence.

c) !leading

%he fundamental principles of pleading are four)

*+ (very pleading must state fact and no law;

+ &t must state all the material facts;


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+ &t must state only the facts on which the party pleading relies, and not the evidence;

and

+ &t must state facts concisely but with precision and certainty.

%he ob#ect of the pleading is to make both the parties aware of their cases and allegations

made against each other. (very pleading shall be signed by the party and his pleader./rder 0& of the $ivil 1rocedure $ode deals with pleadings. &t contains several rules

relating to pleading. An advocate shall follow those 2ules in his 1leading. 3uit is

commenced by presentation of the plaint.

d) #amination$in$Chief

(4amination-in-chief is the way in which advocates present almost all of the evidence

through witnesses, whether as counsel for plaintiff or defendant. (4amination of e4pert

witnesses and the admission of e4pert opinions are also vital part of advocacy for which

special skill is to be achieved according to the e4pert evidence.

e) Cross$e#amination

%he e4amination of a witness by the adverse party shall be called his cross e4amination.

Witnesses shall be first e4amined-in-chief then cross-e4amined, later re-e4amined. %he

witness may be cross-e4amined to show his bias or pre#udice, to show an interest in theoutcome of the case. $ross-e4amination should be carefully done and to the e4tent when

there is a reasonable chance that it will advance their client5s theory of the case, or

undermine some elements of the opponent5s case or defence. 6ood cross-e4amination in

an art and it is learnt from e4perience and from observing senior advocates while cross-

e4amining witnesses as well.

&n cross-e4amination every 'uestion is re'uired to be asked with an ob#ect. 7y cross

e4amination discrepancies in the evidence of the opponent may be created. $ross

e4amination of witnesses is a procedural matter. &t should be done according to the

provisions of the &ndian (vidence Act, $ivil 1rocedure $ode, $riminal 1rocedure $ode

and other provisions of the law. While cross-e4amining, an advocate must not offend the

personal feelings on the opposite party.

$ross-e4amination must relate to the relevant facts. An advocate has no right to disgrace

and bully a witness by putting offensive 'uestions. %he witness may be cross-e4aminedon the same point and if there is a contradiction in relation to the transaction, the same

can be brought to the notice of the court during arguments. $ross-e4amination should not

be misused by an e4amination which is unnecessarily too long, ambiguous, improper,

aimless and uncertain. An advocate should not ask 8leading5 'uestions. $ross-

e4amination is an art and the advocate should use it without losing temper. 9uestions,

which affect the credibility of a witness by attacking his character should not be asked. &t


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is to be remembered that cross e4amination should be carefully done and to the e4tent

when there is a reasonable chance that it will advance their client5s theory of the case, or

undermine some elements of the opponent5s case or defence. %he opponent advocate

should not interrupt the cross-e4amining advocate. $ross-e4amination is a right of the

advocate; but it should not be misused.

f) %e$e#amination

%he e4amination of a witness subse'uent to the cross-e4amination by the party who

called him is called re-e4amination. %he main ob#ect of the re-e4amination is to e4plain

the points arising out of the cross-e4amination. %he re-e4amination is re'uired to be

directed to the e4planation of the matter referred to in cross-e4amination. &n the re-

e4amination an attempt is to be made to restore the credit of the witness attacked duringthe cross-e4amination. &n re-e4amination leading 'uestions must not be asked. &f new

matter is, by permission of the $ourt, introduced in re-e4amination, the adverse party has

the right to cross-e4amine upon that matter.

g) Arguments

&n arguing a case strongest points should be emphasised and the weak points should not

be raised as far as possible. Arguments on each issue should be written out. %he names of

witnesses and the documents in support of the issue should be early noted. An advocate

should study the record of the case with the ob#ect to discover the weak points and also

the strong points in the opponent5s case. An advocate should prepare the argument in such

a way as to meet them and prove them as insignificant. &f the advocate finds that a pointof the opponent is very strong and cannot be met, then it is better to concede it. %he weak

points in the opponent case should be emphasied much so as to prove that the weakness

is of such a nature that in spite of everything else cannot be sustained.

h) Appeals

Arguing of appeals in a $ourt of "aw is also of considerable importance. &n the #udgment,

the :udge will have some reasonable ground. A careful study of the case is re'uired to

find the points which were not noticed by the $ourt.

Seen Lamps of Adocacy

Advocacy is an honourable profession. Advocates are part and parcel of $ourt. %heir

efforts solve the conflicts in the society. Advocates defend the rights and liabilities. %heyhold uni'ue place in the society. Advocacy is not a craft but a calling; a profession

wherein devotion to duty constitutes the hallmark.


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"egal profession is regarded to be a noble one. A good advocate should possess some

essential 'ualities and e'uipment. :udge Abbot parry in his book %he 3even "amps of

Advocacy< called these important characteristics of advocacy as seven lamps of

advocacy< and listed them as honesty, courage, industry, wit, elo'uence, #udgment and

fellowship.

&) 'onesty

=onesty means the 'uality of straightforwardness; freedom from deceit, cheating or

stealing and not telling lies. %he best advocates of all generations have been devotees of

honesty. (4ample for honest character is Abraham "incoln, who founded his fame and

success on what some called 8preserve honesty5. %he nobleness of legal profession lies in

honesty itself. An advocate should not do illegal practices. =e should not do any actwhich will lead to professional misconduct. =e should disclose the real facts and legal

profession to his clients frankly. =onesty, integrity and character are inseparable. %hese

there virtues together are essential for the success of an advocate. %he great sages of lawhad sucked the law from the breasts of knowledge, honesty, gravity and integrity.

() Courage

$ourage is the 'uality that enables a person to control fear in the face of danger, pain,

misfortune, etc.; an advocate must possess courage. =e should face the pressures from

outside with courage. 3ometimes he has to fight against 3tate. =e should not fear about

the e4ecutive and politicians. =e must perform his duty to safeguard the interests of his

client. Advocacy is a form of combat, where courage in times of danger is half wonbattle. $ourage is as good a weapon in the forum as in the war camp, According to

$harles =utton5s. 8'e hath in perfection the three chiefualifications of an advocate*

+oldness, $$ +oldness and +oldness.

-) Industry

Advocacy is needed a life of industry. An advocate must study his brief in the same way

that an actor studies his part. 3uccess in advocacy is not arrived at by intuition but

through industry. &ndustry is the 'uality of being hard-working; being always employed

usefully. "ord (ldon 3ays, An advocate must live like a hermit and work like a horse


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) /it

Wit means clever and humorous e4pression of ideas; liveliness of spirit. Wit flows from

intelligence; understanding and 'uickness of mind. Wit lessens the work load of an

advocate. &t rela4es his mental strain. /ften the wit of an advocate will turn a :udgefrom an unwise course, where :udgment, or rhetoric would certainly fail. %he lamp of witis needed to lighten the darkness of advocacy.

0) louence

%he success of an advocate depends upon his elo'uence. (lo'uence means fluent

speaking and skilful use of language to persuade or to appeal to the feelings of others.Fluent speaking impresses the listener. As advocate must be fluent, skilful in using

appropriate words to impress the $ourt. (lo'uence attracts the attention of the listener.

(lo'uence is related to the art of oratory. 8(lo'uence of manner is real elo'uence5 andthere is a physical as well as psychological side to advocacy.

1) 2udgment

:udgment is an intellectual capacity, 8the inspiration which enables a man to translate

good sense into right action5. &n #udgment one has to estimate, consider and form an

opinion about the issues with good sense and ability. An advocate could be in a position

to #udge the merits and demerits of the case on hearing the brief and seeing the document.

=e should inform his client the legal position openly after #udging the issues. =ere#udgment is not 8giving the decision of the case by the :udge in the $ourt5. :udgment

means the study of the case in deep by considering all shades of the conse'uences. &nnothing does the lawyer more openly e4hibit want of :udgment than

in proli4ity. :udge Abbot 1arry has referred to #udgment as one of the seven lamps; but he

refers to it essentially as an intellectual capacity, 8the inspiration5 which enables a mean to

translate good sense into right action e.g. 8seeing the right point of his case5 and the like.

3) ellowship

Fellowship means the membership in friendly association or companionship. Fellowship

is e4actly like great public schools, the boys of which have grown older, and have

e4changed boyish for manly ob#ects. %hough the advocates are opponent parties beforethe bench but not enemies with each other. %heir conflict ends as they come out of the

door steps of the $ourt. >aniel Webster says, "awyers on opposite sides of a case are

like the two parts of shears, they cut what comes between them, but not each other


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opinion e4pressed in e4actly the same blunt, unmistakable manner. 7y keeping the lump

of fellowship burning, advocates encourage each other by sharing the knowledge to walk

in the light of the seven lamps of advocacy.

?@*+ 4actB.0.Brishnaswamy Aiyer, in his book 5!rofessional Conduct and Advocacy6

adds one more lamp i.e. tact. %act means handling people and situations skilfully andwithout causing offence. An advocate must be in a position to tackle and win his client,

opponent party, opponent advocate in a smoother way. Cany people of une'ual ability

have failed for want of tack. An advocate should not 'uarrel with $ourt or loose temper

over trifle things in the $ourt and outside. Cen of un'uestioned ability have suffered for

'uarrelling with the tribunal or for standing on their dignity over trifles, for getting their

clients, or for losing their tempers; they are men of parts but more properly refers to the

human side of putting into action the result of one5s #udgment.

7 lamps of advocacy1

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