Be A Gentleman In Legal Profession, Orissa HC Judge Advises SNIL Students

Bhubaneswar: The legal profession has been attracting many bright students as it is offering multiple career opportunities while being accepted as the best vocation in the world, said Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra of the Orissa High Court on Sunday.

Addressing the 14th orientation programme of the new batch of law students admitted for 2024-25 session into the SOA National Institute of Law (SNIL), faculty of legal studies of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA), in Bhubaneswar, Justice Mishra said the first requirement to be a legal practitioner is to be a gentleman as it is a noble profession.

“In the early days, the stress was on serving the society and providing justice to the downtrodden as the legal profession was never considered a means to earn a livelihood. The focus was on honesty and dedication for the rule of law,” he said.

Justice Mishra told the students that they were fortunate to have eminent teachers in the institute who had shaped the careers of many distinguished jurists. Besides, availability of internet and technological tools now had made the learning process much easier compared to the past, he added.

He also had an interaction with the new students whom he advised to concentrate on their studies for next couple of years. “You will have a clear idea about the opportunities available in the legal profession after that,” he said adding that those graduating in law now have multiple career opportunities which included joining the bar or working in the corporate world.

Presiding the function, Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, said the lawyers and judges were accepted as the epitome of wisdom in the society. He advised the students to interact, argue and think critically to develop their legal acumen and borrow from other subjects so that their domain knowledge could become stronger.

In his welcome address, Prof SAK Azad, Dean of SNIL, said the orientation programme marked the beginning of an exciting journey for the students as it provided them an opportunity to not only study law but also understand the justice system. The institution would try to inculcate critical thinking in the students, he added.

Akash Trikha, Associate Professor in the institute, proposed the vote of thanks.