Practical Training

1. Concept of Lok Adalat and Role of Lok Adalat in providing access

to justice

Lok Adalat (People’s Court) is one of the alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, where
the cases or disputes which are pending in a court or which are at pre-litigation stage are
settled in an amicable manner. It is a statutory body under the Legal Services Authorities
Act, 1987. This system is based on Gandhian principles. Lok Adalats serve very crucial
functions in India due to many factors like pending cases, illiteracy, poverty, high vacancy in
courts etc.

Reason for establishment of Lok Adalats:

1. Equal justice and free legal aid: Article 39A of the Constitution states that citizens of India
are entitled to equal justice and free legal aid. Hence, the Parliament enacted the Legal
Services Authorities Act, 1987 to create national, state and district level authorities to
establish Lok Adalats.
2. Speedy trial of the disputes: The basic features of Lok Adalat are the procedural flexibility
and speedy trial of the disputes. There is no strict application of procedural laws like the
Civil Procedure Code and the Evidence Act while assessing the claim by Lok Adalat.
3. Reducing backlog: The other reason was to clear the massive backlog of pending cases in
the Indian judicial system as well as to bring speedy justice to all. The matters in Lok Adalat
do not linger on for years but are settled within a day.

Role of Lok Adalats:

1. Dispute settlement: To hear and settle long pending cases, which are disposed through
compromise and settlement. It can hear both civil and criminal cases.
2. Justice: The aim of Lok Adalats is to bring justice to poor and underprivileged people of
India. It ensures that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by
reason of economic or other disabilities.
3. Alternate dispute resolution: The system of Lok Adalat, which is an innovative mechanism
for alternate dispute resolution, has proved effective for resolving disputes in a spirit of
conciliation outside the courts.
4. Reducing litigation: It can take up pending cases as well as those that are in pre litigation
stage. The verdict given by the Lok Adalat is final and binding, and there is no provision for
appeal. But the party is free to initiate a new litigation in court.
 Limitations of Lok Adalats:
1. Complexity: The biggest disadvantage with Lok Adalats is that repeated sittings at short
intervals with the same judge are almost not possible which breaks the continuity of the
deliberations.
2. Lack of confidentiality: Lok Adalat proceedings are held in the open court and any
member of public may witness these proceedings. Thus, the element of confidentiality is
also lacking. This also impedes the process of exploration of various resolution options and
ultimately the success rate in matters where parties desire confidentiality.
3. Forced injustice: Lok Adalats are fora where voluntary efforts intended to bring about
settlement of disputes between the parties are made through conciliatory and persuasive
efforts. Many times victims are forced to settle at lower compensation.
4. Diminished party autonomy: It cannot be said that the parties remain in absolute control
of the proceedings in contradistinction to what happens in mediation.
5. Needs consent of both the parties: The most important factor to be considered while
deciding the cases at the Lok Adalat is the consent of both the parties. It cannot be forced
on any party that the matter has to be decided by the Lok Adalat.

Conclusion :
The Lok Adalat Movement can be successful only if the people participate on voluntary
basis in the functioning of Lok Adalat. This can be achieved by restraining themselves from
invoking the jurisdiction of traditional Courts in trifle disputes.

2. Legal literary and Objects of Legal literacy

Definition of legal literacy

Literacy is ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve
one's  goals and to develop one's  knowledge and potential". In recent years, focus of
literacy has changed from an imphasis on level of schooling to focus on functional skills.
   Therefore the current courtroom, literacy is the ability to use printed and written
information to function in the courts and to achieve one's  goals related to the justice
system. Even if a person is literate enough to deal with daily routines, he or she may not be
a literate enough to understand the language and procedure in the Court.
Laird Hunter, in reading the legal world register following ideal operational definition of
legal literacy.
"People using the legal system must be able to guide themselves through a process that
they understand and at appropriate places along with the way,

1) Recognise they have a legal right or Responsibility, in order to exercise or assume it;
2) Recognise when a problem or conflict is a legal conflict and when a legal solution is
available;
3) know how to take necessary action to avoid problems and where this is not possible, how to
help themselves appropriately;
4) know how and where to find information on the law, and be able to find information that is
accessible to them,
5) know when and how to obtain suitable legal assistant ;
6) have confidence that the legal system will provide a remedy, and
7 ) Understand the process clearly enough the perceive that justice has been done.

             Translating the information and meanings of the legal system to learners and the
people with Limited literacy skills requires that lawyer and other clearly understand it dual
nature of legal literacy ,the ability to read and familiarity with the legal context."

Legal literacy is commonly understood as knowing the primary level in law. When citizens
particularly marginalized or underprivileged groups, know what the law has to offer them,
they can recognise and challenge injustices much more forcefully. The first step towards that
knowledge of the law, which can transform people's lives,  is legal literacy. CHRI firmly
believes  that it is essential to use this knowledge as a tool for vulnerable ground to be able
to understand and   critique the law, to familiarise themselves with the scope of their rights
under the law, and eventually to assert their rights as a means to take action and bring
change. 

               With this aim in view, CHRI,  one of the NGO started its own legal literacy
programme by preparing a series of pamphlets at flyer on citizens rights, while also
interacting with the police so that they know now only their Rights, but also their duties, c h
r i has disseminated information on the following
   
 police organisation

 how to register an FIR

 citizens right during detention and interrogation

 right of scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes

 citizens right to Legal Aid services

 citizen right to bail

       
                This has been done by the broadcasting confirmation through radio programmes,
disturb distributing flyer and pamphlets , and organising the legal literacy camp for  
women's microfinance enterprises and those groups who have a wide outreach. The aim has
always been to educate the maximum number of people and capacity build from within the
communities, so that they are in a position to educate others and more importantly,
Challenge violations.

3. What is Public interest litigation

Public interest litigation is the use of the law to advance human rights and equality,
or raise issues of broad public concern. It helps advance the cause of minority or
disadvantaged groups or individuals. Public interest cases may arise from both public
and private law matters.

1.Public Interest Litigation means litigation for the protection of the public interest.

2.Public interest litigation is the power given to the public by courts through judicial
activism.

3. The court permits public interest litigation at the instance of public spirited citizens
for the enforcement of constitutional o- legal rights.

4.Eg: A PIL relating to Air Pollution. Air Pollution is not an isolated problem affecting
only one person. It is an issue affecting the society. Hence, the court entertains
petitions from any member of the society relating to low industrial chimneys or any
other thing that is causing the problem.

CASE LAW

1. The Bombay High Court on 31 August, 2006 directed the broadcasters to give
an undertaking that they will abide by the Cable Television Network Act 1995
as well as the court's orders by tomorrow, in view of larger public interest.

A division bench comprising Justices R M Lodha and S A Bobde were hearing

a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Professor Pratibha Nathani of St
Xavier's College alleging that films without certification by the Censor Board
for Film Certification (CBFC) allowing 'free public exhibition', were being
shown on cable channels, which have a bad impact on children. Hence, such
films should not be shown and action be taken against those still running
such content on their channels.

The court on 23 August had allowed the cable operators and channels to
screen only 'U' and 'U/A' certified films.
 However, before that order, the police had taken action against the Multi-
system operators and seized their decoders due to which they could not
telecast certain channels. Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjay Apranti
told the court that they did not have a problem if the channels provided the
cable operators with new decoders.

Also, Zee Television and Star Television networks applied for the declaration
in writing that they would abide by the said Act and court orders.
The court also directed seven channels -- Star Movies, Star One, Star Gold,
HBO, ZEE Movies, AXN and Sony Max -- to furnish a list of all the films that
they were to screen to the police.
2. The first reported case of PIL in 1979 focused on the inhuman conditions of
prisons and under trial prisoners. In Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar,
the PIL was filed by an advocate on the basis of the news item published in
the Indian Express, highlighting the plight of thousands of undertrial prisoners
languishing in various jails in Bihar. These proceeding led to the release of
more than 40,000 undertrial prisoners. Right to speedy justice emerged as a
basic fundamental right which had been denied to these prisoners. The same
set pattern was adopted in subsequent cases.

4.What is case comment and its structure

A case comment is your opinion about how a particular court decided a particular case.
A case comment lays out, reflects on, and critiques a court's decision and tells the reader
what you think about the decision.

Structure of a Case Comment

The body of a case comment or note comprises of four appendages. These are:

Introduction

A case comment ought to in a perfect world start with a short passage recognising the
subject of the case to give the peruser a reasonable thought in regards to the issues you are
going to address in the remark.
The subsequent section ought to be a short proclamation of facts expressing just the piece
of the factual matrix which is fundamental to the issue being talked about. From there on,
you ought to compose the demeanour and what was in the end held in a case in an exact
way.
 Background

The reason for composing this segment is to let the reader get the general thought
regarding the genuine topic of the case before you start your analysis. The absolute
initial step to do this is to draw a framework of the advancement of the law paving the way
to the case under review by addressing milestone cases and noteworthy legal turns of
events. This encourages the reader to assess the court’s choice and comprehend your
contentions all the more unmistakably.

Analysis

This establishes the primary appendage of the case comment. Here you have to ask
yourself four relevant questions1, to be specific-

1. Was the Court’s decision correct ?

2. Does this choice change/acclimate with existing law? Was the reasoning consistent with
past thinking in comparative cases? Is it likely that the choice will altogether impact existing
law?
3. Did the court legitimize its thinking?

Was its understanding of the law suitable? Was the thinking legitimate/reliable?
Did the court think about all/preclude a few issues and contentions?
Also, if there was oversight, does this debilitate the value of the choice?

4. What are the strategy ramifications of the choice? Are there elective methodologies which
could prompt increasingly fitting open approach around there?
On the off chance that you have responded to these inquiries agreeably, 80% of your
activity is finished. As the sole reason for the case comment is to dismember a specific legal
issue, you should be amazingly cautious here as to not address any incidental or fringe
issue. Your response to these inquiries must be validated by sensible declarations and
satisfactory thinking.

Conclusion

The conclusion to the case comment ought to embody the principle embodiment of the
creator’s discoveries and contentions. It isn’t generally important to arrive at a resolution to
settle on whether the court’s decision was correct. You can basically end your analysis by
quickly expressing the effect of the case and bringing up certain lacunae (assuming any).
 5. Functions of authorities established under Legal Services
Authority

Introduction 

The concept of legal aid has spanned across centuries, going back to the year 1919, when
Reginald Heber Smith, in his book Justice and Poor, promoted the concept of legal aid and
disparaged the legal profession saying that access to justice should be open to all without
any obligation to pay. Without equal access to law, he wrote, the system robs the poor not
only of their only protection but places it in the hands of the oppressors, the most powerful
weapon ever invented. 

In India, legal services exist at three levels i.e.- The center, state and, the district level. The
central government establishes the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) and the
Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC). 

National Legal Services Authority 

Members of NALSA Members of SCLSC

1. The Chief Justice of India as the Patron-

in-chief. 1. Judge of the Supreme Court as its
2. A judge of the Supreme Court chairman.
nominated by the President as the 2. Other members as prescribed by the
executive chairman. government and nominated by the
3. Other members nominated by the CJI.
Government in consultation with the CJI.

Functions of the Central Authority

1. Lay down policies and principles for fulfilling the provisions of the Legal Services
Act.
2. Frame the most economic schemes for providing legal aid to the poor.
3. Utilize funds at their disposal to be given to the State and District authorities. 
4. Organize Legal Aid camps in rural and slum areas. 
5. Undertake and promote research in the field of Legal aid, with special emphasis
on providing legal aid to the poor. 
State Legal Services Authority 

Members of SLSA Members of HCLSC

1. Chief justice of the High court as the

patron-in-chief.
2. A judge of the High Court nominated 1. Judge of High Court as its chairman.
by the governor as the executive 2. Other members are prescribed by the
chairman. state authority and nominated by the
3. Other members nominated by the Chief Justice of the High Court.
state government in consultation
with Chief Justice of High Court.

Functions

The state authority has the responsibility to give effect to the directions issued by the
Central authority. It provides legal services like the central authority and also conducts Lok
Adalats. Besides this the authority also has other functions as follow:

1. Give legal services to persons who satisfy the criteria under the act. 
2. Conduct Lok Adalats for all types of cases 
3. Undertake preventive and strategic Legal Aid programs.
4. Perform other functions as notified by the central authority to the state authority
from time to time. 

District Legal Services Authority 

Member of the DLSA- District Judge as its chairman, other members nominated by the state
government in consultation with the Chief Justice of High court. Every district authority has
to give effect to such directions that are issued to it by the State authority, it also has to take
cognizance of the directions that are given by the state authority. 

The district authority has the following functions that it needs to perform
 1. Coordinate the activities of the Taluk Legal Services Committee and other legal
services in the District.
2. Organized Lok Adalats within the District.
3. Perform such other functions as the State Authority may fix by regulations.

6.Law Office Management

Office management is organizing and administering the activities that normally occur in any
day-to-day business or profession in office environment. Efficient office management of a
lawyer comprises a number of vital functions, including time management, organizing the
paperwork and workspace, managing cases of multiple clients simultaneously, and being in
control of all activities and responsibilities. A lawyer could be wasting precious time because
of misplaced files or documents or missing deadlines or call works or improperly attending
the clients etc. In order to successfully manage a law office, regardless of size of the
profession, one should adhere to some basic guidelines.

They are given as below:

1.      Location of the office The office a lawyer should be proximity to the courts so that it is
convenient to the clients, lawyer himself, his juniors and other staff. A lawyer appearing for
district courts, High Courts, Supreme Court etc. apart from his regular courts locally may
also have the office in the city in which they practice. As per Rule 5(iii) of the Supreme Court
Rules 1966 every advocate appearing before the Supreme Court shall have an office in Delhi
within a radius of 16 kilometers from the Supreme Court.

2.      Size and features of the office: The office space should be sufficient to accommodate
the seniors’ office, juniors’ office, staff working area, meeting hall / waiting hall, rest rooms,
library and documentation room. The office should have properly constructed with enough
ventilation and ambience. It should colored decently and should have enough electrical
fittings, taps, wash rooms, plug points, etc.  

3.      Employment and human resources: The advocate should staff his office sufficiently to
meet the volume and quality demands of his work load. Normally it should be staffed with
the minimum of below persons: 1)      Junior advocates; 2)      Computer operator with
knowledge of typing and shorthand; 3)      Office boy; 4)      House keeping assistant (part
time or full time). As per Rule 12(1) of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966 an advocate / firm of
advocates of the Supreme Court may authorize their staff member to attend the registry for
presenting or receiving any papers.
4.      Equipment and furniture requirements Furniture The office of a lawyer should be
furnished with sufficient number of good quality chairs, working tables, sofa sets, discussion
tables, dining tables, etc. While selecting the furniture he should look for the durability,
design and elegance. The lawyer should be kept in mind that, the furniture should be neatly
arranged in a way that they are not crowded. Lack of ambience in the office may cause
suffocation to the clients and feel leaving the office at the earliest. The office and the
furniture are to be maintained regularly and properly. Equipment The below are minimum
requirements of the office and electrical equipment: 1)      Computer peripherals; 2)      Fax;
3)      Water cooler with water dispenser; 4)      Paper shredding machine; etc. If the lawyer is
able to afford air-conditioners he may install them as well. Crockery and cutlery: The office
shall contain enough crockery and cutlery to serve food, snacks, beverages, etc. to the
clients whenever necessary.

5.      Storage of documents A lawyer should give much importance to the documentation of
his client cases and files. Timely retrieval of documents and files is very important. So, he
should arrange his documentation room in such a way that files could be traced by any
member of his office without dependencies on one person. Proper indexation of documents
and files are to maintained in computers as soft copies and a hard copy of print out as well.

6.      Library A good library with necessary reference books, model drafts, bare Acts, Case
law reporters etc. are very much helpful to the advocate. For easy access to these books he
should maintain subject wise index and a register containing the list of books arranged
alphabetically. Proper care should be taken to protect these books from termite, dust, water
and other environmental exposures. If the space permits, the library should contain tables
and chairs for reference. Digital library would be a substitute to the physical library which
saves space, cost and time in searching the content.

7.      Office communications including telephone, internet, fax etc Law office should be
installed with communication tools such as telephone, fax and internet. These are required
for communicating either side between the client and the lawyer. Messages may be sent
through cellular phones, e-mails etc. However, the receipt of the same by the other person
has to be ensured. Depending on the size of the office, EPABX system may be installed for
within the office communication. Voice messaging system / auto answering and recording
system may be installed for un-attended calls and to receive the voice message of the caller.

8.      Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) The computers and other important installations
are to be provided with UPS and other power back ups. This enables uninterrupted work
flow in the office.

9.      Rest rooms Rest rooms provide convenience, relaxation and refreshing to the staff,
clients, visitors etc. as they may have to stay in the office for long hours. Rest rooms should
be maintained properly on a day to day or even hourly basis to ensure the tidiness. These
are inevitable in any office.

10.  Meeting halls and visitor rooms Meeting client at the working place may put him in an
uncomfortable position. The lawyer may deviate from the discussion with him and may
proceed to concentrate on the work or may attend staff or a telephone. Meeting at work
place may lead to exposure of certain confidential issues to unwarranted persons. Meeting
rooms provide convenience, confidentiality and better attention on the discussion. So, it is
always better to have discussions with the client at meeting halls. The lawyer has to fix the
appointment times with client and has to follow them very strictly.

11.  Working facility Staff and junior lawyers should be provided with good working facilities
to execute their work load smoothly without any hassles. They should be provided with
height adjustable revolving armed chairs to work with ease and concentration. The height of
the work platforms should be maintained according to the global standards normally 28” to
30” (inches) for dining or a board room. Provide about 24" of leg room below the table
(height from floor to bottom of table rail) and at least 12" for knee clearance (projection of
table top beyond table leg). In figuring seating capacity, allow at least 24" of elbow room
width per person and 12" to 15" depth from the edge of the table. They should also be
provided with sufficient shelves and draws for safe keeping their working documents and
current files.

12.  Periodicals and journals The law is dynamic and ever changing according to wishes of
the subjects of a state. A lawyer is to be thorough and prompt in updating his knowledge in
law. Journals and periodicals help him in keeping him abreast of the latest developments.

CONCLUSION
The good management leads to a good quality workforce, and that provides client with the
reliable service they desire. When the client receive the service they desire, this builds
clients’ loyalty, which leads to strong branding and a successful profession

7.Who is paralegal and qualities required to be paralegal

A paralegal is the professional of legal science that performs procedures

autonomously or semi autonomously, as part of a legal assistance system, and
performs tasks that require understanding of the legislation for its proper execution.
They also work in support or assist professionals related to the legal area of a
consultative or judicial litigation nature. Its labor market is broad, including
consultancies, companies that have legal departments or that perform legislation
compliance activities such as: environmental, labor, controlled products, product
registration, trademarks and patents, tax, bidding, among others. Legal offices and
public bodies also have many paralegals in support activities although they do not
yet use the correct name of the profession.

10 qualities of a great paralegal:

1.Analytical Skills

Paralegal careers require investigative and interpretive skills in order to come to

quick conclusions on the written or oral material in front of them. 
2.Communication Skills

Paralegals must be able to effectively speak and listen to people from all sorts of
backgrounds. 

3.Detail Oriented

There are many details involved in the day-to-day work of paralegals, and it’s
important to pay attention to them in order to succeed in this career. 
4.Ethical Judgment

A strong sense of ethics will serve you well in the paralegal field as you deal with
client confidentiality and other matters. 
5.Great Writer

Drafting documents with excessive grammatical, spelling, punctuation or critical

writing errors is a big no-no for paralegals. 

6.Interest in the Law

If you’re going to be good at what you do, you have to have a general interest. If you
don’t care about the law or helping people, consider switching careers. 

7.Interpersonal Qualities

Paralegals must be able to work and get along with lawyers, clients from all walks of
life and co-workers from a variety of backgrounds. 
8.Organizational Qualities
 With all the documents and other items that a lawyer might need at any given
moment, the paralegal must be highly organized. 
9.Research Skills

So much of the job of a paralegal is research, so if you haven’t mastered this skill yet
you’ll need to work on it to succeed in this career. 
10.Tech Savvy
The modern law office relies heavily on computers, the Internet and various technical
programs and tools. 

8.What is negotiation?

Negotiation is a type of discussion used to settle disputes and reach agreements

between two or more parties. Generally, a negotiation results in a compromise where
each party makes a concession for the benefit of everyone involved.

Advantages Disadvantages

 Cheaper than court  Possible imbalance of power between parties

 More convenient for parties  Parties may not reach agreement
 Done in private  If dispute involves point of law, parties won't have necessary legal
 Quicker than court deal with it
 Informal
 Allows parties flexibility with
settlements