Description
Lexis Nexis Advocate His Mind And Art- Illustrations From The Lives And Methods Of The Masters by P Ramanatha Aiyar
The art of advocacy is really the art of persuasion. The advocate’s task is to persuade the judge or the jury, as the case may be, to accept the case of his client as presented by him. To achieve this purpose several things are necessary for the advocate : first and foremost a thorough knowledge of all the relevant facts; next an accurate and exhaustive knowledge of the law bearing on the question at issue. Without a basement made up of these two, no advocate can hope to construct a strong case for his client. The presentation of the case in the original court of trial consists in not merely the final address or argument but in adducing all the evidence which is likely to help the case. So far as oral evidence is concerned, the advocate has a dual role. He has to construct the case of his client from the positive evidence led by him; he has also to destroy the evidence led in by his opponent. As the ultimate decision rests with either the judge or the jury—and both are human—the problems of advocacy in the argument part are psychological as well as factual. The mind of a judge or that of a member of the jury is as much subject to the laws of psychology as any other man. As Lord Macmillan once said "when the Judge assumes the ermine, he does not divest himself of humanity". Likewise, the members of the Jury do not cease to be men and become mere machines once they are empanelled. The present work, which was originally published in seven volumes and is now proposed to be published in three, is an all-comprehensive treatise on the ‘Art of Advocacy’. The third volume now issued is entitled “Advocate His Mind & Art—Illustrations from the Lives and Methods of the Masters”. This volume deals with almost all the aspects of advocacy. It is a most entertaining book for the layman. It is replete with instances of wit, satire, sarcasm and humour which must have a great appeal to all intellectuals whatever be their profession. The present literature is a great service to the members of the profession to bring together and exhibit “the principles and methods adopted by the acknowledged masters of the art of advocacy with illustrations from well-known cases. Authors main aim and earnest endeavour of the book has been to acquaint the juniors just commencing practice with the experiences of the successful advocates of old, so that they may start their career with courage and confidence.