An Advocate is a professional in the field of law and is a person who is professionally qualified to plead the cause of another in court of law. Advocates are trained in the skills of professional advocacy.
Advocacy is set to be a skill. When an advocate or legal advisor puts forward a particular argument in a court with a view to persuade the court to come to a decision favorable to their respective client, is said to be advocacy. Advocacy encompasses a range of various skills which are in valuable and important to lawyers. The advocacy can be done both in written and oral form.
Advocates need to inculcate a range of abilities including drafting, case analysis, using skeleton arguments, making oral submissions, cross examining witnesses, and the ability to put forward a strong case. Advocacy is set to be an art. It is best done when an advocate stays true and loyal to their personality. The skills related to advocacy are not only confined to the court room but even apply to other forms dispute resolution such as arbitration and mediation and also the work lawyers generally do with their clients.
Qualities of A Good Advocate
The following qualities are important, indispensable for becoming a successful lawyer:
- A Good Voice
A good voice is one of the most important components of an advocates identity. Good voice makes it better to understand the concepts. Having an effective voice is essential for the legal profession. An advocate must be flawless and magnificent while speaking. An advocate should know to speak his mind and to get his point across.
- Command of words
An advocate should have good command over language. He should know how to speak properly, clearly and without fumbling. An advocate should posses good knowledge of grammar. Command of words means to have or be in control of the language or to have good knowledge. Basically an advocate should have mastery of good command over language.
Confidence is the feeling that one is sure about his own abilities and opinions. Confidence is an important aspect of the solicitor-client relationship. Without a lawyer being confident, a client may be unwilling to accept his advice and it would be of a bad impression in the court of law.
Persistence is the ability to continue to get up no matter how many times you’ve been knocked down. An advocate should have will power, flexibility, strength of character, determination and a desire to succeed at all costs. Persistence is an important trait for an advocate to develop because it is intimately interlinked with ones own personal development and self-improvement. Persistence helps to keep up the work. Persistence makes it much easier to face the challenges and improves work.
- Practical Judgement
Judgement is an intellectual capacity. An advocate should be in a position to judge the merits and demerits of a case on hearing the brief. The practical judgement means the study of the case in deep by considering all shades of the consequences. Practical Judgement indicates seeing the right point of case in right sense. It is very important to have a practical experience to have good practical judgement.
- Experience of handling cases
Pathway of becoming a successful advocate requires a combination of education and training. Experience of handling cases brings goodwill and reputation to an advocate. To gain a better understanding of cases and handling it is very important to have an adequate amount to experience. When an advocates is well experienced it helps the clients to be assured and give them a sense of confirmation.
Honesty means straightforwardness. Honesty is the combination of uprightness and fairness. It shows the qualities of truthfulness, sincerity, and frankness of a good advocate. The best advocates have always been devotees of honesty. The nobleness of a legal profession lies in honesty. It is very essential for an advocate to be truthful and honest towards his profession, clients, court and society as whole.
- Background of legal and general knowledge
An advocate should have good knowledge about almost everything. An advocate should inculcate the habits of reading and studying throughout his life. He should have proper background knowledge and good general knowledge. General knowledge is an essential component of crystalized intelligence. Having a good legal and general knowledge is of utmost importance for a flourishing legal career. When an advocate starts to practice he should have a better understanding of legal knowledge.
Apart from all these qualities, the other important qualities for an advocate to inculcate in himself are,
- Good Memory
- Moral Behavior
- Good Conduct, etc.
Legal profession is a very noble profession. An advocate requires various skills to become successful in his profession. He requires many different qualities and an open-minded thinking ability to flourish in his practicing years. Even though Advocacy is considered as a tough profession, but without possessing the above mentioned qualities a lawyer cannot be a successful lawyer.
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