29/01/2026
Redefining the Profession
It was during 2007 and 2008 when groups of like-minded lawyers & Bar Associations, led by the then Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan, with the assistance of few political parties, rallied throughout Pakistan and started a movement for the restoration of judiciary, later infamously called the “Lawyers’ Movement”, in Pakistan. It was high time, new standards of judicial independence emerged and eventually the then Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was restored to office.
These events also coincided with the rise of mainstream and social media as power houses in Pakistan’s political landscape. How the Lawyers’ movement became a success is a debate for a different time, however it is safe to surmise that two elephants fought and grass was trampled.
The movement fueled passion and enthusiasm in young students to pursue legal education. The contributions of Bar Associations, once pastime and hobby of senior Advocates alone, became nuclear. Media houses began assigning permanent reporters to court premises, while learned Advocates became regular guests on evening talk shows. In this manner, the legal profession underwent a gradual yet profound redefinition.
Setting up legal practice for young and aspiring lawyers, although was always challenging, however the altered standards and with the new benchmarks for the recognition in both Bar and the Bench, became difficult. My early years of practice, qua the initial learning phase, in the District Courts and the High Court coincided with frequent strikes, often occurring on a daily basis and later reducing to once or twice a week, significantly hampering practical learning. Soon, I also realized that having an elder in the family, who is an accomplished and recognized law practitioner, is not a blessing as some might estimate. The margin of error was nonexistent, since the burden of expectations of clients and colleagues laid heavy, who never left the chance to remind me of my professional lineage.
With time, as is the case for most lawyers, after examining all possible avenues, I eventually got my head around the “new normal” and sought guidance from my father and colleagues. Surprisingly, the first advice was to not engage the services of a law clerk (munshi). The experience albeit cumbersome, taught the very basic phenomenon of being an Advocate which continued for several years. During the course, I also learnt that for any Advocate, organization qua maintaining the case bundle is the foremost skill to be mastered and as such any Advocate who is conversant with preparation and maintenance of the case bundle would never be embarrassed before any judicial officer/authority adjudicating its plea. In addition, drafting from scratch instead of precedents was recommended to be the preferred mode of preparing pleadings and this habit helped me to do better research. Advocacy was the last and only skill that developed over time, which seemed easy since the case bundle was maintained and drafting was first hand. In addition, over the course of practice, I also realized that retaining the client is more important that getting on board with one and you may only retain the client provided you’re honest, trust-worthy and deal with him professionally. Like every profession, there are no shortcuts but consistent hard work.
Due to a large number of entrants, the Bar Councils have laid down stringent mechanisms to firstly control the inflow, as well as to regulate licensing. The introduction of vocational training programs by Bar Councils has been hugely beneficial for all entrants, offering structured guidance to new entrants and contributing meaningfully to professional standards.
Hasan Rashid Qamar
Advocate Supreme Court
