NATARAJAN IYER (Proprietor) 27 January 2017

The Lawyers' PEACE OF MIND

This advocate used to practise as a junior in the law firm of a reputed advocate ( 1980s batch ).

His son, a young man around 21/ 22 was conversing with me, in a light chat.

When we were discussing a builder and his wealth, Out of the blue, this young man issued this statement.

' Sir, my father always maintains that even the average-calibre advocate would manage to have a savings of 2 to 2.5 crores before he / she winds up practise.

The advocate of good calibre would easily manage to have a savings of Rs.10 crores before he / she winds up practise.

Sir, we have all high-end facilities at our house. We have every luxury one can desire of. We go abroad holidaying and have almost reached saturation point.

But, there is NO PEACE OF MIND at all in the family sir. Although we have all the luxuries, I do not feel like going home sir.

This is not the problem I alone face. Many children of advocates, who are known to me, have the same statement to issue.

There is NO PEACE OF MIND. '

I had no answer to his statement and I just changed the topic.

But as I started thinking of his statement, I had this question

" what could be the reason for successful advocates, who live in close proximity to the law of the land - The most powerful force of a nation - LAW; to

suffer from lack of PEACE OF MIND ? "

Readers, share your inputs.

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1 Replies

Dr. Atul [9013898936] (Lawyer, Scholar) 27 January 2017

I think that's way too broad a generalization where a person is imposing his individual perception on an entire class. In my experience in practise as an advocate and with advocates ranging from interns to designated Seniors, I've come across all sorts of lawyers (I don't mean the so-called 'in house lawyers' as I have no personal or hearsay knowledge about their lives).

There are some lawyers who practise as any ordinary, routine 'job' or 'service'. They go to the Court in the morning, do their 'job', return home, earn reasonable money and spend time with their family (these, I find, the most dull and boring kind)! On perhaps the other end of the scale are those who earn tons of money and indulge in all sorts of debauchery. In neither of these category have I sensed any unhappiness or lack of peace of mind.

Then there are some others who are good, intelligent folks who enjoy their work and have no qualms about demanding a fee commensurate with their efforts. These, perhaps have some difficulty in balancing personal and professional lives and something short of a complete peace of mind, yet, nothing disturbing really on the whole.

For yet others, practise is like a drug; they work single mindedly, untiringly; demand, and are paid good fees though fees is not their primary or sole motive for working; take them away from their work and they grow pensive and they are also perhaps the ones who are not happy despite money.

An average chap, in my experience falls in the first type that I've mentioned.

Those unhappy despite being close to the source of power or those having delusions of grandeur on account of being close to 'power' are anomalies in my opinion ... that lack of peace of mind may very well be attributed to other factors not directly related to law practise but to the unhappy personal lives of successful persons in general, but there, I'm out of my depth!