Criminal Lawyer - As a career option

“I’m 93 years old and I can die any day but I assure that it will not happen before I get you justice from the Supreme Court.”

It can explicitly be inferred from the above lines the kind of gusto and passion the senior maverick advocate of The Supreme Court of India, Mr. Ram Boolchand Jethmalani, arguably one of India’s top criminal lawyers, holds in him.

This is the gusto every criminal lawyer should possess.

Criminal defence lawyers are the cornerstone of the justice system. In India, a man is innocent until proven guilty. This is an idea that we have to take seriously. It is said that 9 criminals may be acquitted, but no innocent man should even be convicted.

It is the duty of the lawyer to believe to take up the cause of a client who I believes to be innocent.

And because of access to such lawyers, we can call ourselves a country governed by law, where everyone has the right to a fair trial...and it is what separates us from barbaric systems with kangaroo courts.

Today, the state has to be sure of its case before starting prosecution because they know lawyers in defence will challenge them. It is this which prevents our system from becoming a tyrannical one.

Is a Criminal Lawyer employed by the Government?

This depends on whether the lawyer chooses to be a public defender or a private practitioner.

Criminal lawyers help clients fight or defend cases that deal with crimes/offences. There are varied areas of criminal law and criminal lawyers can necessarily specialize in either of them.

Various Kind of Criminal Lawyers

• Cyber-crime

• Violence against women

• Criminal trail

• Forensic science

• Sexual offences

• Murder

• Domestic violence

Despite all the glam and the gloss associated with being a high-value criminal lawyer, you actually need to be prepared for a lot of toil. Not just academic strength,  but also hard work and research over long hours are involved in making it big as a criminal lawyer.

You do not just fight a case. You “advocate” a client. You stand for him/her. You represent a client in court!

You need to possess some great interpersonal skills and develop keen analytic insight to go big guns as a criminal lawyer.

How Much Money Does a Criminal Lawyer Earn?

Initially, though, you might be making it low as an intern. But then, that is part of your growth curve as a lawyer.

Salaries may vary from court to court, state to state, and of course, from case to case. If you’re employed in a firm, it depends on the generosity of your senior lawyer.

Once you hit off with your profession and start getting individual clients, you could end up making lakhs per month. Google, “Salary of top criminal lawyers” and you will see mind-boggling figures opening up.

A Word of Caution for a Criminal Lawyer

Siddharth Luthra, one of India’s leading luminaries, says this about working as a criminal lawyer:

“Most litigation have a long gestation cycle. One not only has to prepare to argue the case in court but also interact with the police and other investigating agencies. The working hours are long and one has to be ready for phone calls at any time in the night (or day) since personal liberty, its deprivation through arrest or detention have no time.

Also at the start of a criminal case, the clients are desperate for relief and there may be a quick change of lawyers which can be quite disheartening. One has to be ready to face all these issues that can happen at any stage of one’s career.”

Eligibility Criteria to Become a Criminal Lawyer

• +2: No restrictions. Students from all three streams (Science, Commerce, Arts) are eligible
• Bachelor’s: LLB / BL (Bachelor’s of Law)
• Master’s: LLM / ML (Master’s of Law)

A Day in the Life of a Criminal Lawyer

Karan is a criminal lawyer who works as a private practitioner. He might have a plush home-chamber to meet clients but he will need to face the grime when he goes pillar to post collecting evidence.

From meeting police to investigating laymen, there is a lot of work that he will have to cover before a case hearing.

Here is an example of a criminal case involving charges of murder, Karan’s client was charged with the same. The client had killed his friend while on trek. Karan argued that the conduct was not pre-planned murder but only an accident.

With the right proof, he convinced the judge that his client was merely trying to shoo away a wild animal when his friend got accidentally shot at.

The Judge dismissed the case as an accident with no intention to murder and pronounced the sentence accordingly with a relevant fine.

Phew! Here’s what he usually does on a usual day:

6:00 AM: A quick cup of tea and breezing through a case brief to set the game rolling for the day! That is how a morning will begin for Karan once he is on a case. Some running notes scribbled here and there—and brainstorming will make him cover the basics well.

7:00 AM: Following up on notes he had taken earlier and making a few phone calls follow.

This sets the tone for the day. In case the case at hand is a bailable offence, then the first idea is to sail through bail. However, when fighting a non bail-able offence, Karan has to make strategy and idea on the next plea.

Depending on the complexity, the evidence at hand and the main conflict, the preparation of plea or bail application as applicable is the first step in Karan’s case.

9:00 AM: Karan seems to be caught in a tussle. Not enough evidence, not enough resources—the stress seems to get higher than he deemed. But then, suddenly a call for a heads up on the case comes through.

10:00 AM: Karan reaches the spot, meets the concerned intern/person and punches in the notes that will set the case in the right direction. He needs to back all his information and create a thorough ground for facts. The court accepts nothing but proof with facts.

11:30 AM: After the meeting, he is off to see his client. Taking the right information and building the chain of events is important to be fair on the case.

12:30 PM: Karan goes back to office and discusses the day’s details and information gathered, with his team/assistant.  After toying over all possible refutations to his claims, Karan takes a break.

In case he has a hearing, he reaches the courtroom. he begins with cross examining a witness and presenting the case to the judge. Once the process is over and the court is adjourned, it is back to the chamber for Karan.

Writing advices and having conferences are the other parts of the evening. Some arguments are prepared the very last minute before the final hearing.

5:00 PM: He asks for a report on the case progress and frames his mind of how best to present the same next day at the hearing.

8:00 PM: More discussions, deliberations, research and toying over the facts. A hard day later, Karan calls it quits for the day.

The example only proves that even the toughest of cases can have an edge that criminal lawyers can turn around. Did you find it interesting? Dis you find this article to be a fruitful one for you? Have your say in the comment box below! Enjoy Reading!