I remember being told when I graduated from Law School in the year 2000, there were too many lawyers and too few jobs. Back then there were probably 39 other graduates in my class. Today, I am told there are about 150 students being churned out of Norman Manley Law School alone. Lawyers may be "a dime a dozen" as is often expressed by a certain Permanent Secretary, but "good lawyers are few and far between." There is always a lot of room at the top so aim to be exceptional in your area of practice. If you do what average lawyers do, you will be paid what average lawyers are paid.
Be Humble
I am almost certain every Jamaican has, at some point in their life, heard the expression, "humble calf drink the most milk". It applies to the practice of law as well. Be prepared for a lifetime of humbling moments in and out of court. Before attending Law School I worked in the Family Court for one year. In that year I learned about some of the things that really annoyed the Court staff about young lawyers. The most annoying of which was arrogance in the midst of ignorance.
If you decide to work in the Courts as a prosecutor straight out of Law School believe me when I tell you, Law School does not prepare you for every possible situation that may arise during your practice of Law. You may have received the award for Criminal Practice and Procedure at graduation but when you step into that courtroom, on your own, you will discover a whole new world outside those textbooks. Some things you will just have to learn along the way and the more arrogant and ignorant of your ignorance you are, the more embarrassing the experiences will be.
Lawyers who become Clerks of the Court usually have to rely on the Deputy Clerks for guidance. There are no "how to be a Clerk of the Court" programs or handbooks. Similarly, those who go into private practice will find themselves relying on experienced paralegals. In most courts and law firms, the Deputy Clerks and paralegals, are wise men or women who have learned Court procedures through years of practice and observation. Deputy Clerks can guide you with tips on how to prepare your cases for trial, manage your list of matters in court, how to make endorsements quickly, explain the acronyms court staff use when endorsing files and even help you to ask the appropriate questions in examination-in-chief and cross-examination ... IF YOU ARE HUMBLE AND RESPECTFUL to them. However, you must also be prepared for the rare possibility of being snubbed by the deputy clerks, even if you are naturally humble and respectful as well. Why would they snub you? They don't even know you. Well, unfortunately for new lawyers who are appointed as Clerks of the Court some Deputy Clerks have had the misfortune of working with your predecessors who were simply arrogant and disgusting to work with. In other instances, your presence may have cost them remuneration they received while acting as the Clerk of the Court. Plus, they are more experienced than you are. You may even be as young as their youngest child and here you are, fresh out of Law School and suddenly their superior. See where I am going? You do not have to be a doormat but you also do not have to laud it over everyone who has not gone to Law School that you are a lawyer either. You can learn something new from anybody, even the people you think you are superior to. So be humble and be sensitive to the people you work with.
Re-Read all the Legislation governing the Practice of Law Generally
I am confident that not one of our colleagues who has been disbarred applied to Law School with the intention of being disbarred within 5, 10, 15 or 20 years of practice. Some of our colleagues are disbarred for sheer dishonesty and others for sheer ignorance. Don't allow ignorance to cause your demise. Take the time to read and re-read the relevant legislations governing the practice of law to remind yourself of the legal framework within which you operate.
Download PDF copies of the Statutes and Regulations to your hard drive and read them occasionally. The General Legal Council's website has a list here.
You can also do a Google search for articles regarding professional conduct of advocates.
Never mislead the Court
This bit of advice falls under the topic of reputation but I think it should stand alone. Never ever lie to the court to win a case. Always be forthright and remember that it is your obligation, as an officer of the court, to provide the court with any authority that assists the court, even if it goes against your case. The last thing you want any judge to do is to form the opinion you are dishonest. You do yourself and your clients, current and future, a grave disservice. In the same way lawyers talk about judges, judges talk about lawyers. The bench must be able to trust you to do what is legal and ethical at all times.
Be Courteous and Respectful to the Court and Your Colleagues
If you will be late or absent for any reason, in addition to having counsel hold on your behalf, please take the time to have your office call the judge and counsel for the other side to inform them of your difficulty before court starts. A little courtesy goes a long way ... with some judges.
Clients will come and clients will go. Some will go without paying your fees but you will always have colleagues at the Bar. Do not get into the habit of being obnoxious to your colleagues to gain brownie points with clients. Treat both your client and your colleagues with courtesy and respect. Don't take your cases so personally you disrespect, attack or malign your colleague who is also, only doing his job. Representing opposing sides does not make your colleague your enemy.
Be Fearless
Please remove all self-defeating thoughts that float around in your head telling you you are not capable of winning a trial because the lawyer on the other side is a senior counsel or even Queen's Counsel. I cannot say I have ever felt fearful of another lawyer being brighter than me. That's probably because of the impact of the Desiderata poem on my life. I accept there will always be greater and lesser than me. I believe that once I prepare my case thoroughly and I know the law I am equipped to respond to objections and argue points of law that may arise. You have to accept that you will not win every case and you cannot predict the outcome of any case so do not tell any client they will definitely win. Just be prepared.
When you start feeling afraid of senior counsel or Queen's Counsel or the "ever deh pon tv sounding eloquent counsel" you will ruin the case you prepared. You've got to fake it until you make it. Pretend you are not afraid! Do deep breathing exercises to calm yourself if you must. Do whatever it takes, but relax and handle your trial one question at a time.
In time you will find that many of these counsel you fear haven't been keeping abreast of the law and in those instances, you can "out-argue" them. Do I need to quote Biggie Smalls for you?
Dress Appropriately for Court
Who would have thought I would have to mention this? Yet it appears to be something that is taken for granted by many new counsel, particularly females. Judges have noticed the steady decline in counsel's regard for the Practice Direction which sets out the dress code for counsel appearing in court. It seems, gone are the days when judges would simply tell counsel who is inappropriately dressed, "I can't hear you or see you" and move on with their list. I am almost certain if judges stopped accommodating inappropriately dressed attorneys that issue would quickly resolve itself. You are best advised to obtain a copy of that Practice Direction, read it for yourself.
Do not be a know it all! Learn to take a hint
Many new counsel step into court bursting with confidence that they know the law because they got the subject prize in that area. Kudos to you. Like I said before, "be humble." Learn to take a hint. When a judge or senior counsel refers to you to something, take a hint. The judge or attorney is actually trying to guide you without embarrassing you. So know when to shut up and listen up!
Find a mentor
Lawyers tend to be extremely busy people but successful people are always willing to share the secrets to their success with people who are genuinely interested in becoming successful too. If you are serious about becoming the best attorney you can be, identify an accomplished attorney and ask him or her to be your mentor.
Like I said, lawyers tend to be extremely busy people so, if you are not serious about becoming a better attorney or learning from an attorney you admire, please do not waste the person's time by asking them to be your mentor. If you are also not willing to work at becoming a successful attorney, do not waste a potential mentor's time. Whether you know it or not the person can tell if you are really serious and when they realise you are not serious they will cease wasting their time and effort on you.
Develop and Protect Your Reputation
Some people believe they can piggyback on their parents' or close associates' reputations to be a success in life. While piggybacking on other people's reputations might open a few doors for you, it cannot guarantee you a permanent seat at the table if you have nothing between the ears or you lack integrity.
What do you want your reputation as an attorney to be with your clients, your colleagues and judges? Do you want to be known as the attorney who is always thoroughly prepared, honest and who knows the law? You need to decide what kind of attorney you want to be and work at being exactly that.
Prepare, prepare, prepare
In order to do your best for your client, you must always prepare your cases thoroughly.
One of my most embarrassing courtroom experiences was due to lack of preparation. In retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened to me in the first three years of practice.
I tend to be a little on the thorough side and was generally a prepared prosecutor. When I went to the Director of Public Prosecutions Department my excellent organisational skills landed me in the Home Circuit Administration Unit within two months of joining the office. I was NOT PLEASED!
One of my responsibilities included attending the Mention Court on Fridays. The first time I was assigned to the Mention Court there were four matters listed. One matter was being indicted by one of my colleagues who was out of town so I went to my senior expressing concern that I would not have the physical file in court. My senior told me, "You don't have to read those files and you don't need to have a copy of the file in court either because the accused persons are in custody and they are not on the list for bail application. If the lawyer shows up just inform the court the matter is not on the bail application list, you do not have the file because it is being indicted and set a date for bail application."
Normally I would have read and summarised the cases so even if a bail application was being made I would be prepared. When I called up the first matter, defence counsel indicated he wished to make a bail application so I rose to my feet and told the then Chief Justice, Lensley Wolfe, "The matter is not listed for bail application today and I do not have that file with me because it is being indicted. May the application be accommodated next Friday?" The Chief Justice was not having it. He said, "Once an accused is in custody a bail application can be made at any time and the crown has a duty to be prepared to respond to it. The man has a constitutional right to his freedom so his attorney has a right to make a bail application on every occasion if he so desires." He was so right. I was soooooo wrong. That was merely his opening statement. He proceeded to lecture me for another 30-40 minutes while someone was sent to the DPP's office to retrieve the files.
I was embarrassed on so many levels and I deserved it! I do not know what was more embarrassing, the fact that he knew my father very well from I was wearing nappies; the fact that he was my Criminal Law tutor at Law School; the fact that the court reporter was recording every single embarrassing word that fell from his lips or the fact that he punctuated all his statements with, "I am so disappointed in you. I expect so much more from you." I really wanted to cry but that's another tip, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER CRY IN COURT." I had to tip my head back to prevent those tears from betraying me as I barely managed to utter, "Yes mi lud" each time he paused for breath. When the cases arrived he allowed me to prepare them and I responded to each bail application that was made.
Later that afternoon I saw Chief Justice Wolfe outside the Supreme Court as I walked to the parking lot with my pile of cases for the following week. As I walked towards him I wished the earth would swallow me or he would at least go inside. He spotted me. He probably heard my silent wish too. He greeted me pleasantly. I replied politely, still ashamed. I decided to apologise. I told him, "I was wrong not to prepare the cases. It will never happen again." He said, "The law is a very jealous mistress, you have to pay attention to her. I don't expect you to ever go to court ill-prepared again."
I can't say I never did but it RARELY ever happened! My fear of developing a reputation for being ill-prepared would not allow it. The second time I showed up in court unprepared was years later. I was assigned to the Western Regional Gun Court appearing before Justice Leighton Pusey. I received a huge pile of cases very late the evening before court to prepare for the following morning. I stayed up all night and prepared all but one file. I had to get ready for court or be late. Being late for court was not an option. I went through my list and when I got to that file in court I asked the court for permission to read the file as I did not get a chance to prepare it. Justice Pusey said he was shocked that he lived to see the day that I had not read one of my files and told me to take all the time I needed. I suspect that if I had a reputation for being unprepared the court would have been less accommodating.
Ensure you know the facts of your case, review the relevant legislation, review the procedure, place copies of any relevant authorities on the file.
For criminal practitioners, I recommend that you always travel with a copy of:
- Legislation governing the court you are appearing before.
- Legislation under which the accused is charged. (For prosecutors this means several pieces of legislation.)
- The Evidence Act and Amendments
- The Bail Act
- Authorities, authorities, authorities especially if you practice outside of Kingston.
Be Organised
If you are not naturally an organised person you will need to learn this skill to survive the practice of law. You don't need to be a master organiser but you must be able to organise your time, files, diary and thoughts to be effective.
Invest in yourself
No matter where you find employment always remember you are solely responsible for your career path. I don't know of any law firm or company in Jamaica that has a Human Resources Department that charts or plans the professional development of its employees. Don't be satisfied to attend only the compulsory Continuing Legal Professional Development seminars offered by the General Legal Council. Use Google to find workshops and seminars in the area of law that interests you. Buy your own set of law reports. Buy your own practitioners' texts and subscribe to any legal service provider you believe will assist you. Develop your personal professional development plan and follow it.
Live within your means
Forget about trying to keep up with the Joneses. Live within your means. There are many people who have it in their heads that lawyers are rich. That includes recent graduates. Who cares that you have student loan payments to make?
Some lawyers make the mistake of trying to maintain appearances they simply cannot afford. It is very easy to fall into the trap of believing since we are lawyers we "must" live in certain communities, dine in certain restaurants, drive flashy cars, wear designer handbags, clothes and shoes. There is nothing wrong with owning all these symbols of wealth if you can afford them but when you cannot afford them, well let's just say, the temptation to misappropriate clients' funds will grow increasingly irresistible and the weaker your willpower, the stronger the likelihood the General Legal Council will someday be called upon to protect the public from your weakness.
I was once asked if I am really a lawyer and drive "that car"? That car happened to be my clean, reliable, 2000 Honda Accord motor car that I still own and at the time the question was posed, I had no car payments for. So why would I have needed another car?
You have to know yourself to survive the unfounded expectations of people like these. You must know and believe that if you want to be "that lawyer" with all the "status symbols" you can be, in time. Just don't drown yourself in debt, cheat clients and commit criminal acts to get there. There is enough "bling" in the world for everybody and you will have your "bling" when the time is right.
Start a retirement fund the moment you receive your first pay cheque
Depending on your age people will laugh at you but do it anyway. Those same people will laugh at you when you reach retirement age and can barely make ends meet. Save something every month. Even if you think you cannot afford to, save something. It isn't how much you earn it is how much you save from what you earn that truly matters.
These are the best books I have read about saving money:
The Millionaire Next Door
I hope my tips help my young colleagues at the Bar along their journey. Chief Justice Wolfe told me, "the Law is a jealous mistress" but I have learnt, "The Law is also a faithful mistress. If you curl up with her regularly, she will ensure you reap the rewards of knowledge and respect. With those two in place "bling" is sure to tag along.
I encourage you to aspire to be the best lawyer you can be. Be honest. Be diligent. Be courageous.
First Published here.
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