ADVOCACY ( rough draft)

8/8/2019 ADVOCACY ( rough draft)

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Rough Draft of a legal e-newsletter ADVOCACY

ADVOCACY by Prakhar Deep 2nd Year RGNUL. Page 1

ADVOCACY

A fortnightly e- newsletter

Rough Draft

By-

Prakhar Deep

2nd

Year, Roll no. 437


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AIM

In the present times when legal industry is growing at an exponential rate.There is a need for quick resources which provide legal updates andknowledge for the law students for better career ahead in life. Thisnewsletter Advocacy is a fortnightly newsletter which contains allinformation required for a new generation law student.

Following are the various sections of the newsletter

1. Legal News- contains all imp. legal from India and around the worldhaving public importance. This section is framed taking inconsideration the needs of a law student.

2. Guest Articles. The section invites various legal experts,Advocates, learned professors and lecturers of various law schools tocomment and share their views on important aspects of law.

3. Biography section- This section covers brief life of important andlegendary legal personalities.

4. Important cases form Supreme Court through the month- This sectiongives insight to latest Supreme Court decisions with opinions.

5. Essay section- This section would be for students of the university.The essay would be selected by panel of editors and faculty. Thissection will be very useful in increasing the legal writing skills of the

students.6. Events section- This section provides important information about

various legal seminars and conferences to be organized. This can bevery helpful for the students.

7. Book Review section.

The newsletter is an internet bases newsletter. It will be circulated twice amonth from university server via email. A hard copy of the newsletter wouldbe kept in liberary.

I hope the proposal of this newsletter would be accepted the Unicersity

Thank You

Prakhar Deep

2nd Year roll no. 437


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IN THIS ISSUE

Contents

LEGAL NEWS....................................................................................................................................... 4

Parliament clears the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 ................................ ...................... .. 4

Supreme Court to hear curative petition filed by CBI against the September 1996 Apex Court

judgment in Bhopal Gas Tragedy case.............................................................................................. 4

18th

NLS Convocation held on 29 August 2010..................................................................................... 5

GUESTARTCLES...................................................................................................................................... 6

AAddvveennttooffFFoorreeiiggnn LLaawwFFiirrmmss IInn IInnddiiaa.................................................................................................. 6

BIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................................. 9

S.H Kapadia, Chief Justice of India....................................................................................................... 9

ESSAYS .................................................................................................................................................. 10

APPARENT LACUNA IN ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT,1996 ............................... .................. 10

LEGAL EVENTS...................................................................................................................................... 13

BOOKREVIEW...................................................................................................................................... 14


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LEGAL NEWS

Parliament clears the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010

Parliament clearedthe Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 which seeks to ensureearly

compensation to victims of any accident in nuclear power plants with the Rajya Sabha

approving the Bill by a voice vote. The approval for the Bill came after the House rejected

amendments movedby Mr Sitaram Yechury ofthe CPI(M) and My Mysura Reddy ofthe TDP.

The Bill was passedbythe Lok Sabha on August 25. Earlier,replyingto thedebate onthe Bill,

Minister of StateinthePrime Ministers OfficePrithviraj Chavanassuredthatthe Government

wouldtakeadequate steps to strengthentheregulatoryregimeto regulatetheentirenuclear

energygenerationprogramme. Healso assuredthat suggestions bymembers wouldbetakeninto consideration by the Government. This is not the final thing. We will take care to

incorporatethe suggestions ofthemembers.

Supreme Court to hear curative petition filed by CBI against the September

1996 Apex Court judgment in Bhopal Gas Tragedy case.

The Supreme Court will hear on August 31 the curative petition filed by CBI against the

September 1996 apex courtjudgmentdiluting criminal charges against Union Carbide officialsincluding erstwhile chairman Warren Anderson in Bhopal Gas Tragedy case. A three-Judge

Bench comprising ChiefJustice S H KapadiaandJustices Altamas Kabirand R V Raveendran will

considerthepetition inthe chamber ofthe CJI. Hearing ofthepetitionmayalso takeplace in

the open court if thejudges allow the CBIapplication for oralhearing of the case. Normally

curativepetitions aredecidedbythejudges intheir chamber withouthearingtheparties. Inthe

present caseneither ofthetwo judges who deliveredthejudgment in 1996 namelythethen

ChiefJustice ofIndia A M Ahmadiand S C Sen(retd), willbethepart ofthebench sinceboth

retiredlongback. Normallythejudges who havedeliveredthemainjudgementarepart ofthe

bench considering curative petition filed under Article 142 of the Constitution. The benchheaded by Justice Ahmadihad dropped the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to

murder which carry themaximum sentence of tenyears with or without fine. The Group of

Ministers (GoM) appointedbyPrime Minister Manmohan Singhhaddecidedto filea curative

petition in the case for restoration of the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to

murder against Anderson, head of Bhopal unit of Union Carbide Keshub Mahindra and six

others. Onthe fatefulnight of December 3, 1984, over 15,000 peopledied whenpoisonous MIC


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gas leaked from the Bhopal unit of American company Union Carbide. Thousands of others

wereinjuredandmanyamongthembecamepermanentlydisabledandhavenotbeenableto

recover fromtheaftereffect ofthetragedy which struckthe capital city of MadhyaPradesh 26

years ago. The Prime Minister constituted a nine-member GoM headed by Union Finance

Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Union Law MinisterVeerappa Moily, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Union Industries Minister Kamal Nath and others

followinghugepublic outcry when Bhopal CJM courtawardedmaximumpunishment of two

years imprisonmentto 8 accusedafterholdinghemguilty ofthe offence of criminalnegligence.

Alltheaccusedexcept one who has died weregrantedbail withinminutes oftheir conviction

and sentence.

18th NLS Convocation held on 29 August 2010

Union Minister of Law andJustice M Veerappa Moily saidhere on Sundaythatanational law

university wouldbe set up ineach state in the country. He was speakingat the 18thannual

convocation of National Law School ofIndia University(NLSIU),heldat Central College Campus.

He saidanationallaw library wouldbe createdtoo andthat citizens couldaccess it oninternet.

Recently, Moily had announced setting up institutes to train law faculty in the country and

introducingIndian Legal Service onthelines ofIndian Civil ServiceandIndianPolice Service. He

said on Sundayhis ministry was preparingthedraft ofthelaw to give shapeto theseideas. "Itis

anhonourandprivilegeto speakto the students ofaninstitution, whichhas rightlybeen called

the Harvard ofthe East. Yourgreatinstitutionmustenvisionaday when Harvard willbe called

the National Law School of the West," he told thepassingoutbatch. Theminister urged the

students to dedicate their professional lives towards national development. More than 100

students graduatedinvarious disciplines suchas environmental law,medicallaw,business law

andintellectualpropertyrights. Niranjan V of BALLB bagged 12 goldmedals. Hehas also been

selected for Rhodes Scholarship, 2010. He saidheplannedto do oneyearmasters in Bachelor of

Civil Law at Magdalen collegeat Oxford University. He saidas the scholarship was oftwo years,

he would do MPhil too and then litigate in India. Eshant Ghosh bagged six gold medals. R

Venkata Rao, VC of NLSIU,mentionedtheachievements ofthe institute intheacademic year.

Chancellor ofthevarsity,Justice R V Raveendran,and LokayuktaJustice N Santosh Hegde wereamongthosepresentatthe ceremony.


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GUESTARTCLES

AAddvveennttooffFFoorreeiiggnn LLaawwFFiirrmmss IInn IInnddiiaa

Feroz Ali K

1

Thomas Friedmans popular work The World is Flat onhow theprogress ofglobalisationhas

resultedin a flatplaying fieldmaynot find favour with some of us. While wetakeprideinan

Indian companymakinganacquisitionabroadandarehappy, when ourdesitechies command

aninternationaldemand, wehave ourreservations aboutallowing foreign lawyers practice in

India. Lawyers,beingthearticulatetribethattheyare, wouldhavepresentedtheir caseas to

why foreignlegaltalent shouldremainalienin ourland. But one fails to understand why when

allareas oftradeand commercehavebeen opened up,the legalprofession shouldremainan

exception.

Much of the confusion with regard to the entry of foreign law firms is caused by themisinformation circulatingaround us. Thepublic is ill-informedaboutthe consequences oftheir

arrival. When one looks at the impact ofthearrival of foreign firms in other sectors suchas

accounting, one can only conclude that with the opening up of the sector, the earnings of

Indianprofessionals havegone upalong withthequality of serviceto the customer.

Two worlds in one

Traditionally, legal services were rendered by two classes of professionals barristers and

solicitors. In England and Wales, solicitors form the largest part of the legalprofession with

morethan 97,000 practitioners, whereas barristers forma smallgroup with 14,400 members.The role of thebarrister comprises ofadvocacy (conductingproceedings in court) andgiving

specialist legal opinions. Solicitors advice their clients on a range of matters affecting their

rights, including transactional workbut their workdoes not includeadvocacy. In India, these

two roles are fused;anadvocateenrolled withthe Bar Council ofIndia(thebodythatregulates

professionals) is competentto performbothand oftendoes so.

Nevertheless, it is probablythis traditional classification of services thathas createda sort of

invisibledivision inthe legal workdonetoday;top-drawer corporateand commercial work is

done by city-based law firms that employ the services of advocates who predominantly

specialise intransactional work. Leading Indian law firms concentrate on workthata solicitor

firm in Englandmightdo. Thoughmost ofthesedo havea litigationdivision, thebulk oftheworkand the revenue come fromnon-litigious work. Take for instance, the revenues of the

UKs leading solicitors firm that specialises in transactional work, Clifford Chance, that has a

turnover of 1,194 millionandmadeanetprofit of 397.9 millionlastyear.

1Theauthoris a Chennai-basedadvocateandtheauthor oftherecentbook The Law ofPatents Witha Special

Focus onPharmaceuticals inIndia,publishedby LexisNexis Butterworths India, 2007


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Hence,itis not surprisingthatmuch ofthe oppositionto foreignlaw firms has come fromthe

Indian law firms. Without doubt, foreign law firms would look for a share of the solicitors

practice. You can safelybetthatnone ofthese Oxbridge-educated, fat-salarydrawing solicitors

from Europe orelsewhere wouldbeinterestedin sweatingit outinthe Tis Hazari courts orthe

Mofussil courts, dabbling in a newly-learned vernacular. Foreign law firms are not here to

compete with the Indian lawyers in the conduct of courtproceedings. Theyarehere for thetransaction work.

Already here through tie-ups

Despite the resistance to their entry, foreign law firms have tie-ups and associate offices in

India with whom they continue to work. Some foreign law firms boast of an active India

practicedespitenothaving set up shophere. TheirIndianteamis eitherbasedin London orin

other Asian cities from where they conduct transaction work, Conversely, and for the same

reason,anumber ofIndianlaw firms have offices abroad.

The role of Bar Council

Under section 7(1) ofthe Advocates Act 1961, one oftheduties ofthe Bar Council ofIndiais to

recognise on a reciprocal basis foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the

purpose ofadmissionas anadvocate underthis Act. When it comes to legaleducation, India

recognises thebachelors degree in law ofmanyjurisdictions forpursingamasters degree in

an Indian university ajurisdictionbeingthepower orextent ofa court withinthe limits of

whichalawyer canpractice.

Moreover, a legal academic is accepted without barriers across various jurisdictions (say in

Mumbai or Chennai orPatna) to teachandto engageinlegalresearch. So there seems to benoproblem in pursuing higher studies in law or in teaching or researching in law across

jurisdictions. The trouble starts when the focus shifts to earning big money with your legal

qualifications. Mostjurisdictions havebarexaminations thathaveto be clearedby foreigners to

practice within that jurisdiction (for instance the Bombay or the Madras High Court

respectively). A similarrequirementinIndia willbe welcomeas it wouldregulatethe standard

oftheprofessionals enteringthebar.

Change is in the air

The Governmenthas shown interest inmaking Limited LiabilityPartnerships (LLPs) areality in

Indiaandhas takenefforts to haveanenactment inplaceto govern it. This canbe seenas a

welcomemeasure for charteredaccountant firms and law firms to conduct theirbusiness in

India. The Bar Council is also looking into the requests for relaxing the constraints on

advertisingthelegalprofession.

A significant number of Indian law graduates are being recruited, either as associates or as

trainees,by the leading law firms in UK. For the last few years, the leading law schools have


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attracted the attention of foreign law firms in their campus recruitment programmes. The

message seems to be clear. If wedo notallow the foreignlaw firms here,theyaregoingto take

ourbrightestlaw graduates, campthemin London,and charge us inpounds sterling.

Towards professionalism and change

The strongest opposition to theentry of foreign firms has come from family-runpartnership

firms, some of whichare operated on feudalistic lines with scant regard to meritandability

when it comes to offeringpartnerships inthese firms. UKs leading firms, like Clifford Chance

with 617 partners, willbe welcomedbymany fortheirprofessionalismand openvalues.

Foreignlaw firms shouldbeallowedto operate onapar withthe Indian law firms. We should

allow themto operate onalevel-playing fieldnotbecause of our obligations underthe WTO or

onthegrounds ofreciprocityandinternational comity.

They should be allowed so that they bring with them a fresh brand of professionalism,

competenceandexpertisethatthelegalprofessionherehas failedto developindigenously.

Incompetenceatall levels willbeexposedand clients willhavemoreto choose from,both in

terms ofqualityand service. Theirarrival should comeas rudeand welcome shockto most of

their counterparts inIndia who have forgenerations runlaw firms likepersonal fiefdoms bereft

ofprofessionalismandvision.


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BIOGRAPHY

S.H Kapadia, Chief Justice of India

Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of India by President

Pratibha DevisinghPatil ina simple ceremonyat Rashtrapati Bhavan . The 62-year-oldroseto

holdthehighest constitutionalpost ofthe countrys judiciary fromahumblebackgroundandis

the 38th ChiefJustice of India. Born inaParsi family on September 29, 1947,he willholdthe

post for over two years, till September 29, 2012. An interesting aspect of Justice Kapadias

humblebeginnings notknownto manyinthelegal fraternity was revealedinaletterhe wrote

to former SC judge V.R. KrishnaIyer, who gotitpublishedinthemediathathehad startedhis

careeras a Class IV employeeandhis integrityis his onlyasset. JusticeIyer,also known forhis

unimpeachable integrity as a judge and for espousing the cause of the downtrodden and

humanrights,has pinnedhis hopes onJustice Kapadias capabilities to restorethe faith ofthe

commonmaninthejudiciary, which was erodeddueto allegations of corruptionagainst some

judges overthepast few years. Justice Kapadia, who has beena Supreme Courtjudge forthe

last sevenyears,brings withhimarichknowledge of commerciallaws to thetop courtatatime

when the economy is supposed to determine the fate of the nation. His contribution in

handlingthe 1991 securities scam cases as head ofthe specialbenchinthe Bombayhigh court,

andhis reportto thejointparliamentary committeeand RBI on securities scam-related issues,

are considered of immense value for plugging the loopholes in subsequent legislation to

regulatethe capitalmarket. He was associated withahistoricaljudgementin whicha five-judge

Constitutional Bench had held that the law put in the Ninth Schedule was open forjudicial

review. Justice Kapadia's deep knowledge on wide ranging issues, particularly tax laws, has

earnedhimaccolades fromthebenchandthebarinequalmeasure. Thejudge, who is known

for maintaining strict judicial discipline, assumes the office at a crucial time when Indian

judiciary is hitby a corruption controversy and perceived failure of in-house mechanism on

appointmentandelevation ofjudges. For thejudge, who duringhis tenure in theapex court

since December 18, 2003 has beenassociated with 771 judgements,his 28-monthtermas the

CJI wouldbe a challenging one against thebackdrop of the need to reducing themounting

pendency of the cases not only in the top court but in high courts and trial courts. Justice

Kapadia of his own admission revealed that he has a keen interest in economics, public

financingandtheoreticalphysics. Herevealedhehas adeep interest in learningabout Hindu

and Buddhistphilosophies.


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ESSAYS

APPARENT LACUNA IN ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT,1996By Prakhar Deep, Sagnik Chatterjee and Ashish Tiwari

The scope of 9 is widerthanthat of 17. 9 and 17 bothdeal withthe interimmeasures of

protection. The courtandarbitraltribunalappearto have concurrentjurisdiction which,though

notidentical,is somewhere overlapping. The salientpoints ofdifferencebetweenthesetwo are

many. First of all the party autonomy is different. One such situation is to grant interim

measures ofprotectionas contemplatedby 9. This is similar to thepoweravailable to the

court under the Arbitration Act of 1940. But what is clearly revolutionary is 17 of the Act,

whichalso uses the phrase Interimmeasures ofprotectionandthus gives co-terminus power

to the Arbitral Tribunalas well. Thephrase unless otherwiseagreedbytheparties ushers in

party autonomy and indicates that this provision is of non-mandatory nature. The non-

mandatoryprovisions areprimarily ofimportance wherea set ofarbitralrules is agreed onas

are usedininstitutionalarbitration.2

In some jurisdictions, the relevant law specifically provides that in the first instance, an

application shouldbemadeto thetribunalandthen onlyto the court. Forinstance, 38(3) to

(6) of English Arbitration Act 1996, in the absence of an agreement by the parties to the

contrary,thedelineatethedefaultparameters oftribunaljurisdictionto makeinterim orders of

protection. 44(3) vests the court with powers in support of arbitral proceedings and

prescribes theprocedure forexercise ofpower. Butthereis no similarprovisioninmodellaw or

is 9 ofthis Act. This sectionis not identicalto Article 9 ofthe Modal Law,though codifies its

spirit, It appears rather to have been influenced by the language of 41(b) and Second

Schedule ofthe Act of 1940,albeitboththeprovisions,as observedbythe Supreme Court in

Sundaram Finance Ltd v NEPC India LTD 3areverydifferent fromtheprovisions of 9 and 17 of

this Act. Theparties therefore,havethe choice whetherto approachthearbitraltribunal under

17 or court under 9, for seekinganinterimmeasure ofprotection. As themoderntrend of

2In this connection such institutional rules on this question are the LVIA Rules particularly Rule-25Interim and

Conservatory Measure is remarkably explicit3 2 SCC 479, 487 (1999)


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arbitrationlaw is to marginalize courtintervention,thebalancenormally shouldtiltin favour of

thetribunalbecauseit willbemoreexpeditious andless expensive. Legendarylegalpersonality

NaniPalkiwalamentionedthatarbitrationhas to bemade compulsoryin commercialmatters. It

has benefits like speedyjustice,its economical, finalityas arbitrators awardis unchallengeableexcept onnarrow grounds and finallyjusticeas the final outcome ofarbitrationis as likely-to

be marked byjustice as is a case in a court of law. The law should provide for compulsory

adjudication orarbitrationto settleallindustrialdisputes4. The courthas the coercivepowerto

enforce its orders. Butthearbitraltribunal is not competentto exerciseany suchpower. The

lack of power to enforce an interim measure for protection, leaves the tribunal with no

effective way of forcingthepartyto obeythe order,thatis to say,ithas no teeth.

38 ofthe English Arbitration Act 1996, 5 unless otherwiseagreedbytheparties, conferthe

powers to order interimmeasure ofprotection onthearbitraltribunal. This powerparticularly

includes express powerto orderapartyto furnish security forthe costs ofarbitration,apower

previously preserve of the court only. The 1996 actdoes not otherwise specify thebasis on

4M.V Kamath, Convocation Address , Xavier labour relations instituts at Jamshedpur, 29 feb 1980, Obedience to

Unenforceable,nani Palkiwala A life.5 The English Arbitration Act, 1996: section 38 General Powers exercisable by the Tribunal.

(1) The parties are free to agree on the powers exercisable by the Tribunal for the purposes of and in relation to

the proceedings.(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties the tribunal has the following powers.

This power shall not be exercised on the ground that the claimant is-

(a) An individual ordinarily resident outside the United Kingdom, or(b) A corporate of association incorporated or formed under the law of the country outside the United

Kingdom, or whose central management and control is exercised outside the United Kingdom(c) The tribunal may order a claimant to provide security for the costs of the arbitration.

This power shall not be exercised on the ground that the claimant is-

(i) An individual ordinarily resident outside the United Kingdom, or(ii)A corporation or association incorporated or formed under the law of a country outside the UnitedKingdom, or whose central management and control is exercised outside the United Kingdom.

(d) The tribunal may give directions in relation to any property which is the subject of the proceedings oras to which any question arises in the proceedings, and which is owned by or is in the possession of a

party to the proceedings-(i) For the inspection, photographing, preservation, custody or detention of the property by the

tribunal, an expert or a party, or

(ii)Ordering the examples be taken from, pr any observation be made of or experiment conductedupon the property.

(e) The tribunal may direct that a party or witness shall be examined on oath or affirmation, amd may forthat purpose administer any necessary oath or taken any necessary affirmation.

(f) The tribunal may give directions to a party for the preservation for the purposes of any evidence in hiscustody or control.


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which security for costs should or shouldnotbegrantedandthetribunalthereforehas abroad

discretion. It seems likely though that in practice the tribunal will have regard to similar

considerationas thoseappliedby courtindealing withapplications under RSC O 23.6

Theabolition ofthedualmechanism ofinterimreliefalso needs to begivena serious thought,

ifreduction of CourtIntervention, whichis one oftheprimary objectives ofthe Arbitrationand

Conciliation Act, 1996 is to beattained.

6 Russell on Arbitration, twenty-first edition, 1997, p 206 para 5-098


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LEGAL EVENTS

Upcoming Conferences

LAWASIA 23rd Conference, New Delhi November 2010

LAWASIA's flagshipeventtakes placethis yearin spectacular New Delhi. A generallegal

conference coveringanumber oftopicalareas oflaw. Theevent willattractlegalprofessional

fromthe AsiaPacific regionandbeyond.

Website- http://www.lawasia.asn.au

Global Legal Conference , New Delhi 12 to 13 November 2010

utsourcingbenefits areeasyto conceptualize,butimplementationandaccrual ofprofits require

intelligentdiligence. Forlongindustryinsiders have felttheneed fora commonplatform ofrepute

addressingthe concerns ofbuyers andvendors alike aglobalplatform for smartbrain stormingand

networking foreffectivevalue creation forall stakeholders. The cross continentalnature ofindustry,

withbuyers andvendors separatedby oceans,timezones and cultures makes itimperative forallto

cometogether undera common umbrellaandmakea collectiveeffortto catapulttheindustryinto the

next orbit. DestinationIndiahas gainedtremendous footholdintheglobal LPO spaceyettheindustry

lacks a collective forum forall. Cross continentalvendor shoppingand clientbuilding canbe challenging

and strenuous onbothtimeandresources front andhencethe conference! This is thetime,andalongdue one, forallparties to getinto theroomtalk-ideate-plan-choose-andaboveallbenefit!

Website-http://www.kpoconsultants.com/press-a-media/conferences.html

Asian Criminology Conference of the Asian Criminology Society, 8 december

Chennai India

Website: http://www.acs-2009.org/


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BOOKREVIEW

The King of Torts by John Grisham ( example )

Ever seenthoseads on TV wheretheactorplayingthelawyerlooks atyou straightintheeye

andappeals to you," Ifyou oraloved one,has takenthis medication...etc. etc., calltoll free,

you maybeentitledto somemoney?" Ever wonderedhow thoseads promiseallthat

"compensation" becausethere was some sideeffectthat wasntdisclosedproperly? Or where

thoselawyers getthatresearch on whichpharmaceutical companies? Do theregularaverage

Joes actuallygettheirmoney? Yes,butthelawyeris the one who profits. The fine smallprintat

thebottom ofthe forms says thatthelawyergets athird ofyour settlement. Andathird from

the otherthousands of clients.

Justbecausethebig corporations areterrified ofjuries who may,rightfully or wrongfully,awardbillions ofdollars indamages to theplaintiffs. Its smarterto settle formeaslymillions to be

splitamongthose who areamongthepool of candidates. Is this legal? Ethical? Moral? What

makes theselawyers,thesekings oftorts tick("tort",bythe way,is aprivate or civil wrong or

injury,includingaction forbad faithbreach of contract, for whichthe court willprovidea

remedyinthe form ofanaction fordamages)?

John Grisham's The King of Torts,a fast-paced,edgylegalthriller with surprises andtwists along

the way,answers theseand otherquestions as we follow theriseand fall of onelawyer who

gives into temptation. The cynicalattitude ofgreedymoney-grabbinglawyers andtheirlegal

games formthebackdrop forthe story of Clay Carter,aburned-outpublic defenderin

Washington D.C. As ayounglitigator,heis hungry forhis bigbreakinaprestigious upscalelaw

firm. Withatwelve-year-old Honda Accordpushingtwo hundredthousandmiles andan

apartmentinanaging complex, Cartermoves upto aquaint $1.3 milliondollartownhousein

GeorgetownandablackPorsche.

Tortlitigationis perhaps thelowest form oflaw"Justmakethemoney. Its aracket. Ithas

nothingto do withbeingalawyer. Find em, sign em. Settle em,takethemoneyandrun." Its

a wholedifferentballgame. Itis also anexclusive clubthat otherlawyers arelining upto get

into. To learnabouttorts,they offer seminars andgetaways. And for one weekend,lawyers pay

$5,000 to fraternize withabunch ofmass torts lawyers,amongthebestknowninthe country.

Atthese conferences, Carteris sickenedbythe "orgy of consumption" laid out--too muchfood,too much wine,andtoo manyexpensiveboy-toys, suchas luxury cars,boats andprivate

jets. No self-respectingtortlawyer can function withoutadecentjet. Andheis aghastatthe

brashloudlawyers aggressively filing withoutknowingtoo muchaboutthedrugs. Yet soonheis

one oftheseboys, complete withatrophygirlfriend,aprivatejetand flatteringmedia coverage

as "The King of Torts."


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Initially, Carter's consciencepricks him,especially whenheremembers how he sold outhis first

clientto getinto the world ofmass torts. Heagrees to neverdisclose whyexactlyhis client

wentberserkandkilledaman,andinreturnamysterious mannamed Maxpromises hima

wholenew career withan opportunityatdoing settlements formillions. Andhenever stops

lovinghis ex, who dumps him forahusbandhandpickedbyher snobbish country-clubbing

parents. Hedoes do somegood,likehiringhis staff fromthe OPD andgivingthembigbonusesandgifts likea weekinParis forall ofthemplus one friendeach,preferablya spouse, withall

expenses paid. First class air,luxuryhotel,the works.

Therealtestinassessingthebooklies in whetheryou like Carter ornot. Itis obvious heis going

down--andhard--and we can seeit cominglongbeforehe can,butdo you care?The King of

Tortshas animmediacyto it;it fits rightin withtheeveningnews aboutdangerous drugs with

lethalresults, shouts fortortreform,insidertips for stockmarkettradingandprofiles ofthe

instantmillionaire status suddenlyacquiredbyyoungpeople who areableto writetheir own

ticketto success.

Documents

ADVOCACY ( rough draft)