Like no other time in legal history, corporate lawyers are now attending magistrate courts because of numerous raids being conducted by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and slapping of cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said Orissa High Court former Chief Justice S. Muralidhar in Chennai on Saturday.
Delivering the second K. Sarvabhauman memorial lecture on the topic ‘The Modern Day Advocate: Ethical Challenges and Professional Duties,’ he said: “This is the reality. Top notch corporate law firms now have a specialized criminal proceedings cell where they deal with bail, anticipatory bail and things like that on a daily basis.”
Urging young lawyers not to be content with arguing bail and anticipatory bail petitions and instead conduct criminal trials by developing the skills required to cross examine witnesses, he recalled an award instituted by him for such lawyers, between the age group of 20 and 40, during his tenure in Orissa High Court.
