OP: Since I was appearing in matters pertaining to the DRT, SARFAESI Act etc, which were relatively new legislation, I slowly began to get some visibility and recognition. In 2017, before Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul was elevated to the Supreme Court, 16 lawyers were given the Senior Advocate designation. My name was also in this list.
Once the senior designation came, I realised it was indeed a big change. The designation impacts a lawyer’s personal as well as professional life. While on the personal front, the change mainly pertains to how little time one has left for things other than work, on the professional front, the designation impacts a lawyer’s way of doing things. It brings along a great responsibility in terms of what a senior can now do for the institution, how they can impact the administration of justice, the next generation of lawyers, everything.
A senior immediately needs to introduce some discipline in the way he or she works. For instance, you can no more deal with a client directly. You don’t have a choice of setting out your own timelines.
It also opens a lot of doors in terms of accessibility to certain kinds of matters or briefs. It gives you a kind of recognition as well as a standing. A judge is inclined to give you an audience. Not because you have become someone special now, but because the senior designation is a sign that you have spent a certain number of years honing your skills. That you have secured some expertise on the subject and the judge now expects that you will be able to throw light on the subject at hand and assist the court.
This also mean that you have a greater level of accountability now, and you need to have a certain level of preparation.
That is why I often say that the moment the designation happens, it is like a new beginning, with much more responsibility and accountability. A designated senior is expected to contribute towards the march of law, to innovate and apply the law for any particular situation, to assist in helping a new law take shape.
Source: Barandbench
