Internship Report of Sheikh Arsalan Ahmed 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)
Opting for a legal internship was a remarkable decision I made. Studying law books and having an impressive academic record is not at all sufficient to understand this profession. Actually, it is one of the many constituents required to have a better understanding of this field. For me at least, it answered the most complex question that has bothered most or almost all inexperienced law students throughout, that is, ‘what is law about and what exactly does this profession asks for?’
During this one month internship program initiated by Mr. Emad-ul-Hasan, I not only got an opportunity to visit the High court quite often and witness several hearings but I also learnt the expertise required in order to convince and compel a judge to have no reason to disagree when one presents a case. This essential skill is rarely taught at a law school until one has practical experience of the court’s proceedings. Courtroom conduct, ethics and demeanor are only known to a person if he or she has witnessed courtroom proceedings very often.
Legal research and Drafting are everyday job for a lawyer, however, very few lawyers seem to do it efficiently.
Efficiency and productivity are two vital components of this firm. Every document is computerized regardless of its significance at Abrar Hasan and Co. This not only made their lives easier but also save great amount time that could be utilized to perform another job. However, I observed to the contrary at Karachi’s High Court where efficiency and time was not really valued. A judge could decide to discharge whenever he desired which seemed to waste a lot of valuable time of those who waited since the hearings had commenced. There is no harm in discharging the session, if informed at least an hour before so those who cannot possibly be heard can leave and do something more productive than waiting for that hour only to know that they will not be heard on that day. It’s quite frustrating for some and brings inefficiency to the system.
Furthermore, a prominent advocate’s demise led to courts closure which was quite shocking for me as, clearly, a magnificent advocate like him would have never wanted their departure from life to become an obstacle in someone’s right to get justice timely. A more pragmatic approach would suggest that everyone has to die someday or the other, if a court’s holiday is declared on every great lawyer’s demise, this system would degenerate at a faster pace.
The judicial system of Pakistan, not being an exception, also has a great room for improvement and we being part of the new generation are supposed to improve. Quick adjudication is imperative for this system to improve as a famous legal maxim suggests rightly, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” There are several ways of improving this which are known to most of us but one of the few I would like to mention is, to include a written synopsis on which a judge could decide a case upon in the absence of the other party. The practice of not showing up is quite common in this profession and some use it deviously in order to gain more time and render the decision fruitless. This practice needs to be eradicated from this system completely which will raise the hopes of the citizens of Pakistan and their expectations from the judiciary which is currently deteriorating due to such pitfalls.
Additionally, the bureaucracy needs to be checked upon too as issuing show-cause notices in a mala fide manner by some needs to be deterred by the judiciary by penalizing those who abuse their power.
Nonetheless, I was awestruck when I saw some very noteworthy innovations within the judiciary like its online website which is updated on a daily basis and enables everyone to know the details regarding the hearings. This is a very efficient way of notifying the people concerned including lawyers.
At Abrar Hasan and Co., all documents were computerized and the rightful use of this machine was taught. All case files, letters (sent/received), samples of documents, tasks, case list etc were recorded either in Microsoft word or Microsoft excel. Mr. Emad being tech-savvy updated all the files accordingly and even taught me the way he prepared affidavits, legal diligence report, suits, petitions and advisory opinions for his clients. I also got an opportunity to research through the Pakistan Penal Code and Pakistan Annual law Digest regarding a case on incitement. I also witnessed a rare case regarding leasing on software and computer where the significance of a notice was stressed upon which not only delivered some legal information but also warned me to make sure, throughout my life, not to treat such requirements lightly as a minimal issue can aggravate because of non-fulfillment of such requirements.
Moreover, many young lawyers showed up at Abrar Hasan and Co. for consultation regarding various matters. Mr. Emad seemed very keen to assist them and advise them accordingly regarding their issues. Listening to such queries and their solutions further enhanced my legal knowledge and experience that I was gaining.
This profession (especially those who aspire to litigate) requires immense hard work and dedication in order to ascend your career-ladder initially. However, this trend tends to slope downwards as we age through the years, which is actually very beneficial. This was my first legal experience and I consider it to be worthwhile. It really elevated my passion to study and set foot in this profession as soon as possible.