Arham & Yunus Law Firm

30/04/2017

On attending a client

He needs immediate attention. After ensuring his physical comfort, we have to walk with his emotions first to establish a rapport with him that is essential for further relationship. Our intent should be, to truly and accurately understand his problem, causes thereof, and find out an efficient and effective legal solution of it. In this way, he will find us a good listener automatically.

We may take notes while talking to him for important dates, figures, incidents, facts etc. The most important thing we have to consider, is his highest concern, emphasis, or repeated words and sentences. His body language especially tone can help us a lot in this regard.

Once clearly knowing his IMMEDIATE CONCERN and thinking over it, we should directly talk about it. We must discuss its legal and factual pros and cons, honestly. This is the time, when a client makes his mind whether he will be engaging you as a lawyer or not.

We must show our complete knowledge, professional experience, legal vision about his IMMEDIATE CONCERN. Our words, body language, tone, inviting and answering his questions, observing his behaviour, play a crucial role here.

This is the time, we have to be honest and kind to ourselves as well because we may exaggerate our legal skills and the expected relief in order to get the brief. If we do not precaution, we invite unwanted stress, anxiety, and consequential frustration for some pennies. We lose peace of mind, health, professional image not only in the eyes of client, courts, colleagues but in our eyes as well, believe me. It sips away our spiritual confidence without which we become shallow, energy less, self doubting/reprimanding/negating.

While assessing fee, we may consider our professional input, duration of the assignment, contest by the other party, worth of relief sought for, financial capability of client, our current engagements, distance of the place where we have to plead, from our office, the referrer etc.

If client does not engage us, this is his fundamental right. We should be as polite, courteous to him as we were before his refusal to engage us.

ALLAH PROVIDES US THE MEANS TO SURVIVE BUT NOT THE CLIENT.

20/11/2016

19/08/2016

WHY JUDGES REFUSE THE RELIEF PRAYED FOR?

It could be misconceived in view of any provision of law, case law, based upon poorly knitted drafting leaving no space for the judge to grant the same, lacking supportive evidence or effective arguments.

Sometimes, they follow a policy nowhere mentioned in law books. They consider for example,

Self set or unanimously agreed upon ceiling limits on grant of relief with reference to its nature, extent, timing, quantity or amount of case property (like quantity of narcotics and amount of cheque dishonoured), period spent in judicial lock up so far etc,
That I have refused the same relief in recent past to someone else and if i allow it, it would be discrimination against the previous litigant,

The immediate social circumstances prevail upon the judges who are human beings as well (like in these days the courts are super conscious about giving any relief to a child abductor),

They follow their consistency which is not commonly known by ordinary litigants.

The conduct and repute of concerned lawyers play a pivotal role as well. If it is negative in the mind of judge, he may withhold, delay, dilute and confuse the relief, in an attempt to save his own judicial repute.

On the other hand,

Some courts fail to understand the facts, law, case law and conduct of parties and their counsel, in their true perspective. They lack objectivity and see things subjectively or as they are told by their colleagues. They appear as still growing on the plains of maturity, competency, ,judicial understanding. They lack courage to grant what is due.

Some courts intentionally refuse the same for personal reasons.

Some work casually while others seriously depending on the personality of judge, his motivation towards work, litigants, lawyers.

If the judge is in his promotion zone, he becomes extra conscious and prefers to refuse instead of granting.

The load of work and timing of decision have their own cost. It is always easy and comfortable to refuse the relief instead of granting the same as granting the relief requires mental labour in the form of independent reasoning, thorough study of file, and authoring of detailed judgement etc.

If the judge is to leave on summer vacations etc, he would avoid deciding matters positively as he has to clear his backlog before relinquishing charge at the station where he is posted.

In any case,

Refusal of relief, does not mean end of world for the litigant or lawyer. It does not mean that each and every court is incompetent, corrupt or coward. Nor it means the lawyer was incompetent, corrupt, ineffective and inefficient.

This could be consequence of human diversity of thought, perception and act. Both judge and lawyer may be equally positive. The lawyer is to plead, pray and judge is to grant or refuse. Both are slaves of their own visions.

Every one has to play his role. It is part of life. What required is, a positive and pleasant attitude keeping in view the end of life.

A professional lawyer after going through a transient heart burning over refusal of a due relief, recollects himself, and starts anew like a care free child who gets collapsed while waking after hitting something, cries for a moment, re-dresses his clothes, gets up and re pursues his suspended activity, i.e., law practice here.

14/01/2016

Muhammad Yunus Awan Advocate High Court (Former Judicial Magistrate Section 30), briefing media on the actual facts of recent gang r**e case after cross examining the alleged victim during statement under section 164 Criminal Procedure Code, at Cantt Courts, Lahore, on 14th Jan, 2016.

31/12/2015

CLIENTS' EXPECTATIONS

Not a single lawyer on earth can fulfill all expectations of all clients. Some clients intentionally express over expectations for more performance. Some expect for their own anxiety, ignorance of law, procedure, pendency of Courts.

Some expectations are natural and reasonable. In order to handle them effectively, a wise lawyer tells his client the relevant law, procedure, probable cost, litigation time and legal consequences before accepting a brief and leaves the client to make a rationale and well informed decision. He does not push or press the client to engage him then and there.

We can name it as educating the client. It is a must for a good professional practice. A lawyer should be able to distinguish between a legitimate expectation of a client and vice versa. To work hard to fulfill the valid expectations of client, is the paramount duty of a professional lawyer.

An undue expectation should be nipped in the bud otherwise it will serve as a constant source of tension for the lawyer throughout his engagement.

No client can ride the back of a lawyer unless it is bent. The fear of losing brief, prompts a temporal lawyer to accept rather raise the due or undue expectations of a client. Subsequently and naturally he fails to deliver, resulting in permanent loss to his professional repute.

A lawyer has nothing but his professional repute. Clients pay for the repute of a lawyer. Repute is product of consistent character based on ethics.

IT IS BETTER TO LOSE A HUNDRED CLIENTS THAN TO INVITE A DOT TO ONE'S REPUTE.

26/11/2015

HOW TO SELECT A LAWYER?
Read the blog post by Muhammad Yunus Awan

24/11/2015

LITIGATION

It requires clarity of objectives, pressing need to go, visionary strategy, pooling of resources ( time, money, contacts, energy, advices etc ), continued struggle despite some possible or unexpected bad patches as we experience while travelling on road and the will to pursue it up to the logical end.

On road some times, we face gridlock but we do not stop our journey, however, we may review our already taken route keeping in view our destination.

We check and up to date our vehicle before travelling. We pray to Allah for safe journey. We choose a faithful driver well conversant with vehicle, route, contemporary issues, destination, and ability to react positively to the unseen road scene.

Pleasant scenes remain unable to stop us permanently on the road. Exhaustion evaporates on nearing the destination. We follow the traffic rules. We observe line and lane. We accommodate others while giving way to them. We overtake or overtaken as well.

We obey traffic warden. We continue journey patiently and ultimately reach up.

Its all litigation.

21/11/2015

WHY JUDICIAL CASES GET DELAYED IN PAKISTAN?
Read the blog post by Muhammad Yunus Awan

21/11/2015

A lawyer is just like a farmer. With bona fides, a farmer first decides what, why, where , when and how to sow.

He makes his strategy, puts it into action by preparing the land, sowing the decided seeds, nurturing, pre-planning, saving them from adverse attacks and unexpected weather, waiting patiently to see the final product whatever it could be.

Thereafter he thanks to Almighty Allah and goes for next. On each and every step, he depends upon and prays to Almighty Allah alone while exercising all of his physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, social and professional abilities, skills, resources to the best of his judgement and capacity.

The last bad crop fails to discourage him from trying the next and the last good crop does not make him arrogant enough to forget the Divine Input.

Inputs to farmer and outputs to Almighty Allah.