KOCHI: Newly-enrolled lawyers mostly possess only theoretical knowledge and whatever experience they glean from internships is not enough to prepare them for court.
Taking note of this, the Bar Council of Kerala has decided to set up an Advocates’ Academy for young lawyers. It will come up at Kalamassery, very close to the space identified for the ambitious judicial city project.
“Until now, we only had an academy catering to the needs of the judiciary in Kerala. We decided that an academy for young lawyers is the need of the hour,” said Advocate T S Ajith, the bar council chairman. He said the academy will come up on one acre of land the council bought from KINFRA for Rs 2 crore.
Mohammed Sha P A, the chairman of the council’s enrolment committee, said the academy will not only cater to young lawyers but also to personnel from departments like the police, narcotics and local self-government. “They will be trained in trial management, court craft and court behaviour among other things necessary for a hassle-free court performance. Training for the first batch will be free. A fee will be charged from later batches,” Sha said.
“People, too, will benefit from the seminars, symposiums and other programmes that will be held regularly at the academy. There will be no specially designed courses at the academy,” he added.
The project, the foundation for which will be laid on Saturday, will be built in three phases.
“In phase-I, a space to seat 26,000 will be constructed for Rs 10 crore. The total area of construction in three phases will be 70,000 and the total project cost Rs 32 crore. The council will handle the entire project,” said Sha, adding that training at the academy will be made mandatory for newly enrolled lawyers.
Sha said the building will have accommodation facilities for 150 people, flats for faculty members, a library, an auditorium, seminar halls, a moot court hall, a canteen and administrative office space.