B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 7 Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System 2014 Jun Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: what "equipment" means for an advocate (the knowledge, skills, character and tools he needs to succeed and to serve the client and the court); the classical idea (Quintilian, Parry's seven lamps); the intellectual equipment (law, procedure and evidence, facts, general knowledge, language); the practical skills (preparation, drafting, examination of witnesses, argument, judgment); the moral equipment made binding by the Bar Council of India Rules (rules 1 to 4, 11, 15, 17, 24); the material equipment (library, chamber, accounts, technology); continuing education; what poor equipment costs (V.C. Rangadurai v. D. Gopalan); a conclusion.

Meaning

The equipment of a lawyer is everything he needs to do his work well and to succeed in practice. It covers knowledge, skills, character and the practical tools of an office. A law degree and enrolment only open the door. An advocate is trusted with a client's liberty, property and reputation, and he is an officer of the court. Success at the Bar comes to the one who is fully equipped and keeps his equipment up to date.

4. General knowledge. Cases involve accounts, medicine, commerce and human behaviour. Wide reading helps him understand them.
5. Language. He needs clear English and, in most courts, the regional language too. Good drafting and good speech both depend on it.

2. Practical skills

1. Preparation. Parry counted industry among his lamps. A well-prepared brief is the advocate's main weapon.
2. Drafting. Plaints, petitions, affidavits and deeds must be accurate and complete. A defect in pleading can cost the client his remedy.
3. Examination of witnesses. Examination-in-chief and cross-examination are separate arts. Cross-examination needs preparation, restraint and a sense of when to stop.
4. Argument. Modern eloquence is the ability to present a case clearly, briefly and in order, so that a busy judge can follow it.
5. Judgment and tact. He must know which points to press, when to settle and how to advise a client honestly about his chances.

5. Willingness to serve. He is ordinarily bound to accept a brief in the courts where he practises, at a fee consistent with his standing (rule 11).
6. Diligence. In N.G. Dastane v. Shrikant S. Shivde, AIR 2001 SC 2028, advocates kept a waiting witness from being cross-examined. The Supreme Court held that adjournments sought without just cause for that purpose can be professional misconduct.

4. Material equipment

1. A library. Bare Acts, commentaries and law reports, today largely through online databases.
2. A chamber and staff. A place where clients can consult him in confidence, and clerks or juniors to manage files and dates.
3. Accounts. Rules 25 to 30 require him to keep accounts of client money and to separate fees from expenses. The income tax law also requires him to keep books.
4. Technology. E-filing, online cause lists and video hearings make a computer and digital skills basic tools.

Conclusion. A lawyer's equipment is much wider than his degree. He needs intellectual equipment (law, procedure, facts, general knowledge and language) and practical skills (preparation, drafting, examination, argument and judgment). He needs moral equipment, most of which the Bar Council of India Rules make binding. He also needs material tools, from a library to modern technology, and the habit of continuing study. The advocate who has all of these succeeds at the Bar and serves both his client and the court.