11 y almost felt sorry for the politicians and bureaucrats and I officer workers at the thought of four hundred Drake and A Sweeney lawyers suddenly seized with a fervour to protect the rights of street people."
In trying to transplant this to our situation, I was reminded of the couple of dozen or so letters we have already written to different ministries over the last six months, requesting for copies of reports of those numerous inquiry commissions that governments are wont to form to put any unpleasant incident, accident or their sheer Incompetence and culpability under the rug. Obviously, we haven't received a single response, though we continue to nope and now I am trying to imagine whether it would make any difference if a number of other organisations were writing similar letters — the four hundred lawyers of The Street Lawyer.
The Street Lawyer is the most recent best seller by John Grisham (Doubleday; New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland; 1998; US$27.95 — 1 am sure there would a much cheaper soft cover version soon), a lawyer turned best seller writer who seems to be selling his books by the million — A Time to Kill, The Firm. The Pelican Brief. The Client, The Chamber, The Rainmaker. The Runaway Jury and The Partner are his other novels, almost all of which has been enthusiastically read by hundreds of thousands all over the world. As the inside jacket of another of his books states. "Following the success of The Firm, John Grisham retired from his law practice and now writes full time..". And now not only readers but movie goers may also have the pleasure of seeing at least two of his novels turned into mega movies — The Firm and the Pelican Brief. There must be other movies in the production pipe line.
Its a delight to read John Grisham's book — law thrillers. His heroes and villains are lawyers, their firms, juries and judges, often law students as well and only fleetingly their spouses and lovers. There are hardly any romance — usually not more than five pages in the standard three hundred or so pages of each book. No killings or robberies, but plenty of conspiracies with abundant legal niceties. Obviously, Grisham's books are woven in a world of fantasy — but made rather plausible by the minutest attention to details of the ploys and plots with each character laid out with distinct and clever roles to play — the usual requirements of best sellers. Intricacies are endless and I suppose that is the quality which keeps readers glued to the end, waiting for new twists and turns and often wondering how each particular sub plot will end or connect to the main plot.
Compared to his other books. The Street Lawyer is rather simple — only one plot. Characters and twists were rather limited and hence I was a bit disappointed. Michael, the thirty two year old lawyer with one of the largest law firms in Washington. Drake and Sweeney, was already making more than one hundred thousand dollars with the prospect of netting more than million dollar per year in a few years. He leaves all these behind and becomes a 'street lawyer' with a legal aid clinic providing legal services to the homeless. Its the story of a month of his life — "I could look back for the first time and try to make sense of it all. Thirty two days earlier I had been married to someone else, living in a different apartment, working in a different firm, a complete stranger to the woman I was now holding. How could life change so drastically in a month?" This is the story of this very readable change.
Needless to say. it is a mushy story and hence with a good end — the good guy wins at the end.
Too often, particularly in these times of marketisation, privatisation. globalisation and those plenty other 'isations' one has too often seen how a first year law student's idealism about law. about changing the world through law. about justice and serving the poor, about making a difference turns into uncertainties about the future and the consequent search for a stable job. This inevitably leads to applications to 'international organisations’ or a student visa' for the West. Failing these, the search is for a government job' or with a multinational company here, preferably a bank but tobacco or more recently oil companies as well. Failing all these, there is the obvious route of 'Juniorship' with big time money making seniors or processing bail matters and then the mad rush to become a 'retainer' with a banking or commercial house.
The Street Lawyer is a novel, with fictitious characters and events. But one. nevertheless, strains to believe that even in these times young law students still dream of making a difference through law and I wish those law students would read this book and at least one of them would want to be a Micheal. There is the Mordecai Green who runs the legal aid clinic and fights every inch of the way for the right of the homeless. There are plenty of older Mordecai Greens in our legal world but increasingly fewer younger Michaels and its a pity that world of legal education increasingly looks upon law as a white collar profession and not a calling. In a milieu such as this, it is rather heartening to read a book, however improbable the events and the characters are — after all it is in the genre of 'best sellers’ and hence soft, tears, and lumps — and feel good about law. lawyers and humanity. Let the real world be populated by the non responsive bureaucracy, corruption, the almost limitless impunity all around, yet it is r ice to get away from all these even though the only option is best seller set in an American context.
A street lawyer’s world is the world of the poor — torn, dirty sarees. naked children with running noses and old men clutching a few worn out documents. The poor do not make headlines unless they are killed by accidents in good numbers or raped in public places or trafficked or beaten up by police in front of every one else to see. The legal victories are small — a few thousand taka of maintenance from wayward husbands if they hkve permanent addresses which they often don’t: defending the accused in petty thefts or assaults; getting them out on bails; suits for unpaid wage or illegal termination; some relief for false promise of marriage and resultant pregnancy: or endless hours of trying to mediate disputes between husbands and wives: and so forth. There are no nice dinners after you get the verdict you wanted, nor sweets from the mother after you have succeed in wining a custody battle. If they could dine the lawyers, they would not come to a 'street lawyer'. Your job is your satisfaction, no fringe benefits offered and don't expect any!
The writer is Adviser to Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).
Open River Declared Closed
A Division Bench of the High Court Division comprising of Mr Justice Fazlul Karim and Mr Justice Md Ali Asgar Khan, on 30 May '99 issued a Rule Nisi upon the Deputy Commissioner, Narail District for unlawfully leasing out part of the River Naboganga having its flow through Rajpur to Jaipur Ghat.
The Petition, filed by BELA and one member of the local fisherman community, alleged that such leasing violated the notification of the Ministry of Land, dated 5 September '95 prohibiting leasing of open fisheries for protecting the rights of the poor fishermen community and ensuring their livelihood.
Ilie rule required to show cause as to why the leasing out of the part of the river Naboganga shall not be declared to have been made in defiance of legal and constitutional obligations and against public interest, is of no legal effect and without any lawful authority.
The rule has been made returnable within 8 (eight) weeks.
The Petition was moved by the BELA lawyers. Advocates S Rizwana Hasan, M Iqbal Kabir and Ehsanul Habib.