- Need of the hour
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and it demands rational and pragmatic approach in decision making .Recently the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan took a suo motu action against the legal education being imparted in Pakistan. In the verdict the apex court enthralled all those who wanted a visible change in the subject. There are a number of reforms that have been ordered. Indeed it is an inevitable fact that no structure can form in the society well until the legal skeleton is standing in its best form. Apart from all the reforms and policies to be implemented there are segments yet that need to be inculcated in legal educational framework.
All developed countries emphasise the incorporation of technical training as part of the legal studies. These technical training programs strengthen those skills that each law student needs to improve. A development program brings all students of law to a higher level so they all have similar skills and knowledge. By espousing this way of training there are variety of loop holes that are addressed likewise starting from legal knowledge to a brawl lawyer has to go through in his early years of practice. Berkeley Law University of California in order to develop technical skills among their attorneys is organising a finance week. The Fin-Tech legal program aims to improvise the financial skills among their law student and lawyers so that they can overcome contemporary issues of the United States in financial terms.
In Pakistan it has been observed that there are two sets of legal practitioners. One set belongs to foreign qualified lawyers and the others are the lawyers who after passing their law exams from local universities, subsequently enrolling themselves as legal practitioners. The former set of lawyers is better equipped with knowledge and quality practical trainings. Whilst the latter are well informed about the local civil and criminal laws, both have their equal importance and share. Abridging the distance between these two sets of lawyers can bring quality in the legal education in Pakistan. For the purpose the training programs would play a pivotal role.
There are certain legal training programs that are running in various shapes and forms enlightening the law students about various aspects of law and its practice. These programs are limited to certain areas, class of lawyers and obviously factor of lofty fees cannot be abandoned. The matter of legal education uplift cannot be sorted to full until or unless these training programs are introduced at a wider grass root level. The Pakistan Bar Councils and Provincial Bar Councils can play their roles in organising such technical trainings at national and provincial levels. This would not only enhance the quality of law graduates but would also abolish the inferiority complex among those who cannot afford foreign trainings and qualifications.
Legum-tech training should involve all from the legal back ground. The lawyers should be equipped to see into litigations more effectively
The main courses of technical training in the field of law envisage the elements from legal drafting to client’s conferencing. It has been observed that there are subjects in the curriculum of law like legal drafting. Such subjects are limited only to theoretical approaches only but the present time calls for practical approaches so that these subjects may help law graduates in practical fields. A period of 4-5 years is required by fresh graduates to get equipped again for such drafting on their ingress into the practical field. The training programs should educate areas of different courts and their jurisdictions. It is a great quandary that fresh lawyers on the start of their practice at civil courts curtail themselves only to that single court. The reason behind that is the lack of knowledge about other legal forums and courts of law. In legal drafting one cannot deny the importance of research and development. If we consider resources land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship and time. The “time” is the most essential of all the available resources. The world has entered phase of online research but conventional modes of practice has truncated lawyers going for online research of case laws and precedents. The legum-tech should spread the awareness about online case law research that shall not only be time saving but also keep researchers updated with latest development in laws of the land.
Legum-tech training should involve all from the legal back ground. The lawyers should be equipped to see into litigations more effectively via such program , fresh law graduates should be trained on modern footings as per required in the present time so they can start practicing on their own as soon as possible. Last but not the least, the currently enrolled students of universities shall be introduced with research and confidence building to face real time cases. US embassy in collaboration of overseas prosecution and development and training keeping such objectives in view organise international law moot courts. The students showing remarkable output are taken to international forums to illustrate their advocacy skills. The legume-tech training programs should look in developing moot courts that shall develop confidence to speak as lawyers among law students making them more professional and dedicated law personnel.
Practitioners or graduates who take the time to learn a technical skill often receive sophisticated emolument. Businesses, institutions and departments are always on the lookout for knowledgeable staff, as their clients expect to work with highly skilled teams who they have confidence in to deliver the results they need. Technically skilled lawyers can also save employers’, clients’ money, as they don’t require much training to get to a particular level. Plus they can prevent technical issues from occurring.
