In my entire life, whenever I had to deal with lawyers, whether it was for a minor or major matter, whether it was in the lowest or the highest courts, whether it was life & death or not very serious, whether the lawyer was senior, junior, beginner, professional, experienced, male, female, young, old, whether I paid in advance or as and when required, whether the fee was in lakhs of Rupees or thousands, whatever, I have never ever had a good experience of a professional, efficient, humane lawyer. Picking up calls or calling back, responding to mails or even to simple phone messages, seeing me at the time of the appointment or coming to a meeting on time, each of these activities which we take for granted in our regular course of business of life, was seen as something extraordinary or impossible to do. With no reason whatsoever why they found it so difficult to be civil, courteous, and professional in their behaviour.
The only exception was when the lawyer was either related to me by blood or a dear friend of mine. And even then, I had to struggle to get an audience with them or expect them to simply call back. Is it some kind of a power game? Or is it a genuine inability to read a watch or operate a phone or an email system? or is it just some sense of misplaced privilege or indispensability? Because if that was the case, doctors should have been the least polite, rudest, and most unprofessional of the lot, for doctors indeed are very difficult to switch mid-treatment. Not so much a lawyer.
And this is across the board, regardless of fees or matter or seniority or age or location. Of course, these uncivilised and unprofessional habits are also seen in other professions, like doctors, accountants, architects, pilots, financial advisors, and so on, but it is not as frequent and not as common. I mean, I remember waiting for a doctor beyond my appointment time in some cases, but I do not have a single memory of a pilot being late for a flight, or a CA simply vanishing into the ether and unreachable for days, if you know what I mean. This is unique to lawyers, of all hues and kinds. Interestingly, I have seen this only in India. In the UAE, UK, USA, Australia, and Hong Kong, I had employed lawyers who have been prompt, professional, courteous, and efficient (and yes, before you jump on me, there have been rare cases there too, but to repeat: rare). So, what ails the Indian coutnerpart then?
