Internship Report of Misbah Khurshid a student of law i.e. LL.B from University of London- External Program (SZABIST Law School)for internship with Abrar Hasan & Co.- Advocates & Legal Consultants (www.ahcolaw.com)
Working at Abrar Hasan & Co …. has been a great learning experience. The purpose of the internship was not limited to revision of the law (theory, i.e. the books) but also a lot of emphasis was put on work ethics and the daily routine of the office, which made this 3-week internship different, and a great learning opportunity.
During this short period I learned a lot of things such as:
· Research work, looking up case files, ALD (Pakistan annual law digest) and different acts (such as PPC, CPC etc.)
· Reviewing case files reading material of essence such as facts, prayers to the court, appendix, affidavit, counter affidavit and rejoinder affidavit etc.)
· Filing system and organizing different material related to a specific case and compiling it together)
· Fraud and Anti-Corruption workshop
Most of the work at a lawyer’s office/firm is research based and no case can proceed without a number of hours on research. The research process involves reference to law books (such as different acts), ALDs (Annual Law Digest), case files etc. Annual Law Digest is a compilation of certain important judgments with important references as head notes.
The entire judgment is not recorded in the ALD, ……………… Importantly, I learned techniques and approach to be taken when doing research-based work. Being organized while working is helpful and saves a lot of time and trouble. Relevant acts must be identified at the first and then the definitions and relevant sections must be skimmed through.
Matters heard in the court are either civil or criminal. Civil matters are basically suits having a wider and broader scope compared to criminal matters …………. A petition there are two parties the petitioner and the respondent. The judge gives his opinion (operative part) out of which if some part of the judgment is used or applied it becomes the headnote …………. For civil matters the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) is referred to whereas for criminal matters the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) is referred to. The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) also regulates criminal matters and acts as a complete guide to a lot of issues and cases. Furthermore, parties can obtain relief from the court by virtue of the Specific Relief Act 1877, for example; damages, specific performance etc.
More importantly, what I learned through this internship was that lawyers are officers of the court as generally courts are seen as interpreting laws and have more competence and are more knowledgeable along with relevant experience that makes lawyers officers of the court.
The firm deals with financial matters, custom, tax and related matters such as cooperate law but mainly focuses on civil litigation matters mostly related to tax and finance.
In this short period of time, I was given the opportunity to read through the original case files of some cases. It was a way of understanding how the files are compiled and how so much material is organized accordingly. If there is one thing that I have learned from my mentor it is that it is wise to record everything in writing either as a soft copy or a hard copy. It then becomes a proof document. At the firm the importance of writing and recording has been stressed upon from time to time. Hence the files are huge as they act as a record of everything that has been discussed or submitted formally in the court.
Most importantly I was introduced to creation of a working paper that is there for every client and that records important information such as exchange of emails from time to time, discussions in meetings, points to be argued, potential arguments, research on each point of argument. Furthermore books have been color coded and been recorded with each book’s measurement in soft copy to save time and encourage organization of work.
Furthermore, files are made in a chronicle order with relevant paging and date. Flagging involves theme of the suit and further it goes about the contract, defendant, plaintiff, issue, and contention of relevant parties, prayer from the court and payment.
I was given the task to create a database for the Specific Relief Act 1877 (SRA) and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on Microsoft Excel. I learned about these acts and their provisions and this polished by excel skills. Creating a database is very handy in the long term as it is recorded in soft hence it can always be referred back to from time to time.
For the fraud and anti-corruption workshop I was assigned the task to research through the National Accountability Ordinance (1999), Prevention of Corruption Act (1947) and the Pakistan Penal Code (1860) PPC to find out the legal/statutory definitions of fraud and corruption respectively. Most of the legal text was in relation to public officers, civil servants and government officers.