'Lawyers must get rid of the 'shark' image'

The Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir, on Saturday said that the legal profession is the best profession that he can think of. People repose faith in lawyers but lawyers need to get rid of the image of being ‘sharks’, according to him.

The CJI was addressing fresh graduates at the fourth convocation of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU). He awarded gold medals to the students who had shown outstanding performance in various subjects.

Delivering a speech about constitution and ethics of lawyers, Kabir said: “Generally, lawyers are referred to as sharks. Let’s try to get rid of that image. At the same time, people put you on a pedestal.”

Referring to chief minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the occasion, where he advised students not to delay cases, Kabir said, “Don’t delay things, don’t take dates. These are small tips. Such things really make a lot of difference.”

“Sometimes we sit in Supreme Court and think whether we should issue a case notice or not. One thing we keep in mind is the other side. Is it really necessary to bring a person to New Delhi to answer something? The amount of money and time that have to be spent are considerations,” said the Chief Justice.

As per Kabir, “In the legal profession you are master of your own destiny. You can make or break yourselves and your career. You have to answer to nobody except your conscience and, of course, your clients. You have a duty to the courts as well. Keep all these things in mind.”