Seven Lamps of Advocacy

 Advocacy is one of the old and prestigious professions. Its main purpose is to serve society and fight for the right. An advocate holds a unique place in society, it is a blend of craft with the profession. In this article, we will discuss “The Seven Lamps of Advocacy”. Seven lamps of advocacy are some important characteristics an advocate must possess to excel in the profession. It is written by British Judge Edward Abbott Parry in his book “The Seven Lamps of Advocacy”. Sir Edward Parry was a famous dramatist and a British Judge who has written several books. He was born on 2nd October 1863 in Lendon, United Kingdom, and died on 1st December 1943.

Along with knowledge and skill, an advocate must possess these important characteristics namely honesty, courage, industry, wit, eloquence, judgment, and fellowship.

1) Honesty- Honesty in general means the quality of adopting truth and not involving in fraud, cheating, stealing, lies, and adopting immoral techniques in one’s work. An advocate must be true and honest to his profession and devote himself to honesty. As we know honesty is the best policy. An advocate must conduct himself with professionalism and must not indulge in any activity which amounts to professional misconduct. He should be true towards his clients and must disclose all the facts and positions with honesty. 

2) Courage- The profession of advocacy is full of threats, dangers, and the wrong influence of money and power. Courage is that quality that helps the advocate face all the threats, fear, danger, pain, misfortune, etc. Sometimes things may not go as the way the advocate thinks or wants, sometimes the case may not turn out in his favour and in such times an advocate must not lose hope rather gather the courage to overcome such a situation. An advocate must not take the pressure of the executives and politicians while discharging his duties. He must fight such pressure by showing a great amount of courage.

3) Industry- Industry must not be understood in its literal meaning but the process of study and outcome to succeed. An advocate must research and gather the knowledge of every profession and field to keep himself updated in this profession. Knowledge of everything is necessary for this profession. A career of an advocate starts with study and ends with the study because the law is never rigid as it changes from time to time.

4) Wit- Wit means being clever and expressing ideas in a humorous way. Wit is probably an underrated characteristic of an advocate. At times the life of an advocate can be depressing due to workload. Wit helps in relaxing the mind of an advocate and helps in lighting the surrounding.

5) Eloquence- An advocate must be able to speak fluently and must have the ability to persuade others with his arguments. Eloquence is an attractive skill as it attracts the attention of others. Speaking and using the right language is the most important skill in a Court of law.

6) Judgment- Judgement does not mean being stereotyped rather it is the ability or skill of an advocate to analyse the issues at hand and to ascertain the result on its merit. An advocate by doing a deep study of a case can open all shades of its consequences and can find out ways to deal with every possible situation arising out of it.

7) Fellowship- The public thinks that advocates are enemies of each other because they fight each other in Court. But it is not like that an advocate must always maintain a friendly relationship with his fellow advocates. They must share knowledge and ideas to help each other. The advocates are opponent parties in a case but not enemies.

8) Tact- Tact is another lamp of advocacy added by K.V Krishnaswamy Aiyer, in his book “Professional Conduct and Advocacy”. Tact means handling people and situations skilfully and without causing offense.