.

I Eth"1cs, Accountancy for Lawyers & Bar-Bench Relation

38 Profess1ona
i
4. SEVEN LAMPS OF ADVOCACY
Lord Brougham said. that a 'lawyer ri:ust, know everythin
about something and something about ~V:erythmg. A_good advocat
should possess some essential quahties and equipment. Judg
Abbot Parry in his book entitled, 'The Seven Lamps of Advocac:y
refers to the qualities, which an. advocate should p~ssess~ The
are:
I. Honesty 2. Courage. 3. Industry. 4. Wit. 5. Eloquenc
6. Judgment; and 7. Fellowship.
1. Honesty: Honesty means the -. quality .. o
straightforwardness; freedom from deceit, cheating o
s"iealing and not telling lies. The. best advocates of al
generations have been devotees of honesty. Example fo
honest character is Abraham Lincoln, who founded hi
-fame and success on what some called 'perverse honesty'
The nobleness of legal p~ofession ,lie.~ in .honesty
- . . .,
' .
itself.
He should disclose the real facts .and legal- po~ition t
his clients frankly. Hon~sty, integrity and character are.
inseparable. These three virtues together ·are essentia
or the success of an advocate. •, - •
. .
urage: Courage is -the quality. that enables a perso
£Ontrol fear in the face of danger, pain, misfortune,
__An_ advocate should. (ace the pressures from outsi.9e
coura e. metimes he has to fight against State.
hould pot fear about the executive and politiciaJlS.
ust perform his duty to safeguard the. interests of
ient. _Advocacy is a f~rm of combat \\;'here courage
fa~e of danger· means ~innirig µalf the battle.
e 1s as g~od a weapon in the forum as in •the
les Hutton's. He hath in perfection the three
• - & ~. . . .
I

lifications of an advocate - Boldness Boldness

'll~~~l~mp .quotes 'the dry drud~~ry of the

ead~o~d.- A~vocacy is indeed a life ·of industry
wyer ~ust _study his _brief in the same way that
r studies his part. Success in advocacy is not
 Advocacy: A Noble Profession 39
derived at by intuition. Lord Eldon says, 'An advocate
must live like a hermit and work like a horse'. Advocacy
is an intellectuaJ_ profession. Intelligence and knowlcd e
w1 be sharpened wit·-h-aidwor. a~d strenuous efforts.
_Advocacy is the profession, which rcq·ui~c 'study' and
'study' throughout the career. Industry brings a good
fame and .name to an advocat~.. IJaw changes day-to-
day. T'o ace uire u Jtodatc knowledge an advocate 1nust
refer international and national 1ouma s, re erence oo s
of his library and the bar library. 1-Ic has to work hard
like a spider to the P~rn;,fA\ of his ,client. 1 .. .,.,.., .._/~
. w· 1rJ.eU,~~ ,n tA f'vU.lff Wl • rYl.MlfJp1
•4 . .W
, 1t:_ 1t means clever anti humorous expression of '-1
jdeas; liveliness of spirit. Wit flows from intelligenc~--
"
understanding and quickness of mind. Wit lessens the
workload of an advocate. It relaxes his mental strain.
The lan1p of wit is needed 'to lighten the darkness of
advocacy. Often the wit of a lawyer will tum a Judge
from an unwise course, where judg1nent or rhetoric would
certainly fail.'
5. Eloquence: The success of an advocate depends upon
his eloquence. Eloquence mea1!s fluent speaking and
s. kilful
. u,se of 1gRfl]Jegy to ~ersuade or to appeal to the
feeling ·of others. Fluent- speaking impresses the listener.
An advocate must be fluent, skilful in using appropriate
words to impress the Court. Eloquence attr?cts the
attention of the listener. Eloqu~fice is related 10 the art _
of oratory. . 'Eloquence of manner is real eloquence'
and there is a physical as well as psychological side to
advocacy. 4/ ·Lu Iv tuf!SeL . ,• .
6. Judgment: Judgment"il an intellectual capacity~· 'the
inspiration which enables a min to translate gobdl\nsc
into right action'. In judgment one has to estin1atc,.
.9on&ider and form an opinion about the issues with good
• sense and ~bili.ty;. An advoca~e could be In a positi~n. to
Judge the merits and demerits of the -case on hearing
the brief a~d seeing the document. He s·hould inf<)rm his
client the legal position openly after judging the issue~.
 Professional
,40 ~~ Ethics, Acco for Lawyers
untancy:=: Relation -
& Bar-Bench---
~~ ~~ ~.. .::: .:= ~-- --= --- --- ---
/=-
Here judgment is not 'givi ng the deci sion of the case
by the Judge in the.C ourt '. !~d ~en t mea ns the st~
of the case in deep by ~ons1der1ng all shad es of the
consequences. In nothing does the lawy er mor e openly
exhibit want of Judgment than in prolixity.
7. Fellowship: Fellowship means the mem bers hip in friendly
association or companionship .. Fello wshi p is e x a ~ ·
a great public school, the boys of whic h have grown
older, and have exchanged boyi sh for man ly objects.
Though the advocates are oppo nent parti es befo re the
bench but not enemies with each othe r their conf lict ends
as they come out of the doorsteps of the Cou rt. Daniel
Webster says, 'La:wyers .Q!! oppo site side s of a case are
like the two parts of shears, they cut wha t com es
betw een them, but not each othe r'. The re is n~
discrimination of age, ability, expe rienc e and riche s etc.
between the advocates. All are equal. By keep ing the
lamp of fellowship burning, adyo cates enco urag e each
_other by sharing the knowledge to walk in the lig} rtof
the seven lamps of advocacy.

In_ add~tion_ to the ab~ve seven, K. V. Kris hna Swa my

Aiyer m his book entitled, 'Prof essio nal Con duct and
:'"dvo~acy' adds~includes one ffiore qual ity of an Advocate,
S~ t as the eighth lamp as explained belo w:
It is not feasy to _des
th cribe tact but its
b - 'fac~is,.(as ~ lan_ip):ed Men .
a sence easily notic
suffered for quarrelling wi~h the tr·~ u~qu estio ned ~bili ty ha~e
1
dignity over trifles ti tt· . un~ or for stan dmg on the1r
their
tempers; they are 'me~rg;f m!rt~he~r ch~nts, or for losin g
handling peo le an • - p ut with out tact. _Tact means
.. t cau • ffence.
_ n a vocate must be in a
lient
opponent part o anent ods1t10n to tackle and hwin .
• a vocate in a smo ot er wa . _An
a vocate should not quarrel with C
t mgs m e ourt and out 'd ourt _or lose tern er over trifle
founded on judg men t but • si e. - Tact mvo lves and is in reality
0f • • more prop erly re £ers to the hum an side .
puttmg mto actio n the
resu1t of one' s judg men t.