VIDHIGYA: The Journal of Legal Awareness

The term advocate is directly derived from the Latin, and denotes a person who is called in to plead on behalf of another. The thrust of his function is therefore that he should present the case of another, and in so doing, he will use all the arts of oratory which seem to him to be expedient, and which are at his command. An advocate's role is multidimensional. While exercising his role he has complex obligations towards himself, to the court, towards his client and social responsibility to the society. That the counsel is not a mere agent of the client would be clear if we look at the nature of his duties and relationship with the public and the court. The legal profession is always in the vanguard of any action initiated to protect the rights of the citizen. It helps the court to interpret the law and apply it in letter and spirit in the case before the court. It also strives to find out the defects and deficiencies in the law with a view to amending the law to plug the loopholes therein. A lawyer's contribution is not seen in terms of calculative methods but its impact can be felt by generations to come. A lawyer must be very careful about his attributes and behavior.