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The distinguished legal luminary Mr. Fali Nariman recounts his varied experiences, anecdotes,
reflections and memorable instances in his practice to provide a number of useful practical tips to
the budding lawyers who desire to enter the profession. He persuasively argues about the need to
do away with certain commonly prevalent vices and pitfalls and at the same time inculcate good
habits which will form the recipe of success.

The personal integrity and dedication to the profession rather than the client is his foremost
lesson. He recounts as to how one should not fall in the ‘sporting chap syndrome’ of filing a case
just because the client wishes to, despite having full knowledge that there are little chances of
success. He also cautions us to not fall prey to the madness of citing case laws without
understanding the facts and gravity of the issues first, a condition he refers to as ‘case law
diarrhea’. At the same time, he impresses upon the need to have knowledge of the reputed
judgments up to the date because these form the armory of the lawyer. He beautifully explains
the importance of being clear and succinct. One should be simple and methodical in his approach
and think logically like a lawyer and not like a philosopher.

The anecdotes which he shares form an endearing reading as they are informative and very
educative in nature. He gives us the practical advice of arguing the worst argument first and then
moving on to the less worse of the two, as the court would be more sympathetic in that case
having already cornered the lawyer before. The importance of erudite scholarship through the
incident between Justice Bachawat and advocate Vishwanath Shastri as well as the experience of
Blanco while writing Halsbury’s Law of England is marvelous and even Mr. Nariman feels
envious of such scholarship which he finds is rarely on display these days.

He attributes the success ladder of a young advocate in the legal to the phenomenon of
Parkinson’s Law which means the amount of work available is directly proportional to the better
application of mind, more experience and greater sharpening of the mental faculties and vice
versa. He takes pains to distinguish the difference between ‘work’ and ‘monetary reward’ and
calls a fixed monetary reward as the worst enemy of hard work since there is no incentive to
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work in that case. Then he moves on to underscore the point that it is the duty of the client to
state a case on the point that is being argued in the court even if it is can be distinguished on facts
but cautions an advocate to never cite an overruled case. In his opinion , it is also always better
to understate a case rather than overstate it because of the natural urge of the judge to cut down
the lawyer to his size if the advocate professes that the law is ‘watertight’ and immediately
demands a judgment in his favour. This may be counterproductive.

Another learned advice which comes from Mr. Nariman is to not ‘count your chicken before they
hatch’ meaning thereby that one should never be too cocksure about winning cases. He explains
as to how the unfortunate death of Chief Justice Chainani of the Bombay HC in 1960s led to a
reversal of fortune for him as he lost his case, through the presiding judge (Justice Tarkunde) was
kind enough to let him know that the notes on the files of Justice Chainani showed that he was
ready to deliver the judgment in his favour.

Mr. Nariman, having a wealth of experience from his long practice in the court also refers to
certain phrases that must be avoided as they risk the danger of offending the judge like ‘I have
never heard of such a thing’, and ‘Your Lordship will bear with me’. He also points out the
fallacy of exaggerating arguments, use of rhetoric, over smartness, the folly of being funny or
cracking jokes and putting absurd arguments by referring to interesting incidents. Anger and
vitriol can be the nemesis of any lawyer as is evident from Mr. Nariman’s personal experience as
well his narrations of Lord Eldon and Judge Ruth Ginsberg. Another golden lesson is to have a
pleasant demeanour and resist from quarreling with the opponents or being nasty with them as
the major part of any advocate’s life will be spent with the colleagues at the bar and a ‘sense of
camaraderie’ at the bar is must for preservation of the continued sanctity.

Another important message that we draw is to address the court in a correct manner befitting the
stature of the judicial hierarchy. He also gives a stern warning against making an incorrect
statement consciously as this might lead to the judge ‘mentally blackballing’ the lawyer which is
practicing lawyer’s ‘greatest occupational hazard’ as his statements are not trusted on their face
value. A judge should never be criticized in public or the Bar or before clients. If a lawyer is truly
aggrieved and unhappy he should take the advice of a balanced non-opinionated senior lawyer
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and go in appeal if necessary but not resort to cheap gimmicks. Patience, gravity, dignified
silence and the art of learning to lose with dignity as only one side can win a case are essential
qualities of a legal professional.

As the media has become very important these days, Mr. Nariman points the folly and idiocy in
giving interviews or talking to the media in cases where a lawyer has appeared. This not only
smacks of despicable publicity but is also unfair to the judge as well as the opponent as they
cannot retaliate and refute. A criticism of the judgment is best appreciated if it comes from third
parties who are disinterested and can take an objective view. Mr. Nariman alludes to the instance
of the great legal luminary, Mr. H.M. Seervai who, in his leading Volumes of Constitutional of
India severely criticized the Supreme Court’s decision in Escort’s case where Mr. Nariman had
lost the case in the Supreme Court in appeal after winning the same in the High Court. The
happiness he felt on reading those passages was immense and fulfilling as his stand was
vindicated even though he had lost the case in a court of law. The same would not have been
true, if he as an interested party went around criticizing the judgment which would have looked
bizarre, absurd and devoid of respect for the judiciary.

Finally, the art of time management is one of the key traits any lawyers need to master. The
inadequacy of time should never be an excuse especially when it’s pre-set. Furthermore, the true
skill of a lawyer lies in hard work and forensic skill rather forensic eloquence, flamboyance or
verbosity especially in the modern times where time is scarce. Also, according to Mr. Nariman,
the notion that great cases are won or lost because of their inherent strength or weakness is
fallacious because advocacy plays a vital role as a judge is also human. He quotes the example of
the great lawyer Mr. Kanhaiya Lal Misra, the formed Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh. A
lawyer should also have an outstanding memory as the great lawyers like Bhulabhai Desai have
exhibited this trait. Other attributes are good sight and food hearing, good indicators that age has
taken the better of an advocate and its time to gracefully retire.

Mr. Nariman has given important practical instructions to the students of law. The treatise forms
a must-read for anyone who wants to practice in a Court and make his own way. The author is
courteous, modest, witty and very humble in his approach and the beauty of his approach lies in
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the fact that he authoritatively delivers his message successfully without being too prophetic or
preachy about the same and yet wins the heart and head of the reader in terms of sound logic and
behavioural sagacity.