Q.1-10. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions.
In the midst of such drift and mediocrity, the world around including the legal environment changed and opportunities for legally trained persons grew phenomenally, thanks to globalisation, technological revolution and economic liberalisation. The emergence of the National Law School movement and the Five-Year Integrated LL.B. programme attracted talented students who stormed into the legal market making a dent, though small, in the monopoly of the top 20 per cent. It gave hope to the rest of the middle and bottom segments of the professional pyramid that by playing the game with some professional skills, they too could penetrate the higher ranks which were largely reserved for the kith and kin of successful lawyers and judges so far. This is the context in which continuing legal education (CLE) is to be appreciated for professional development and better delivery of legal services.
There is as yet no organised system of CLE in the country. In the 1970s and 1980s, when the Bar Council of India Trust organised few CLE programmes, there were enthusiastic responses from all segments of the profession. Advocates paid the cost, suspended their practice and joined the residential courses around areas like criminal advocacy, constitutional litigation, matrimonial adjudication, commercial law practice, etc. The idea of specialisation in legal practice was well received and professionalism in management of client services appreciated. The issue of professional ethics on which advocates had no training whatsoever came to be acknowledged. More importantly, the CLE programmes inculcated a sense of public service as the hallmark of the profession and advocates sought to expand the public-interest litigation jurisdiction of courts to enlarge access to justice for the common man. In short, even a casual attempt to offer CLE has ignited the imagination of a large number of advocates on the relevance and usefulness of continuing education to hone their skills in emerging areas of legal practice and maintain their role as social engineers in the process of development. Over the years, this awareness has spread among the younger members of the profession though, unfortunately, there was no one to offer the CLE programmes relevant to the changing demands of the legal market. CLE is also a measure of the accountability of the profession. The days of the general practitioner have gone and specialists have entered the scene. The competence of the legal practitioner is critical for clients and any dilution in the quality of services rendered is bound to be counter productive. CLE is the major instrument of all professions to ensure minimum competence in the delivery of services. It enhances professionalism, accountability and public respect for the profession. In short, CLE is indispensable for maintaining professional competence and its social relevance. Competence or quality is the product of knowledge, attitudes, values, skills and ability to apply them for professional tasks. Legal education in colleges hardly teaches anything more than knowledge and that too inadequately. Some skills are acquired in early days of practice through observation and participation. CLE alone can possibly give the rest to provide competence to a young lawyer for whom professional bodies at present have no alternatives to offer. In the past, a year-long apprenticeship and a bar examination hopefully provided some insight into abilities, values and attitudes. They have been abolished and the new entrants are left to their fate!
Q.1. Which of the following proved relevant to the changing demands of the legal market?
(1) Constitutional amendment (2) CLE programmes (3) Apprenticeship
(4) Growing demand of lawyers (5) Not mentioned in the passage
Q.2. Which of the following has the Indian legal profession reflected over the last 50 years?
(A) Caste structure
(B) Inequalities
(C) Eligibility criteria
(D) Urbanised delivery of services
(1) Only B (2) Only C (3) Only D (4) All except C (5) All of the above
Q.3. Why has the author said that Legal education in colleges teaches inadequate knowledge?
(1) The faculty members are not qualified enough
(2) Because the curriculum needs restructuring
(3) Lawyers learn some skills only through practice.
(4) Career options related to legal education are limited
(5) All of the above
Q.4. According to the passage, how did the advocates manage to join CLE programmes?
(1) They joined the distance learning programme
(2) They joined part time course
(3) They asked their assistants to take up their duties
(4) They suspended their practice
(5) They did not join such programmes
Q.5. The courses under CLE were offered in the areas-
(1) Commercial law practice (2) Constitutional litigation (3) Criminal advocacy
(4) Matrimonial adjudication (5) All of the above
Q.6. Which of the following is FALSE , according to the passage?
(1) Legal education imparted in colleges is adequate in itself
(2) Indian legal profession has grown in the period of 50 years
(3) CLE is can never be a measure of the accountability of the profession
(4) The opportunities for legally trained persons have increased over time
(5) Indian Bar council has maintained the rule of law and civil liberties in difficult times.
Q.7. What is meant by 'kith and kin' of successful lawyers and judges?
(1) Relatives and known people (2) Subordinates (3) Rivals
(4) Seniors (5) None of these
Q.8 Choose the word which is most nearly the SAME is meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Q.8. Grown
(1) Paid (2) Originated (3) Evolved (4) Compiled (5) Magnified
Q.9-10. Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Q.9. Abolished
(1) Vacated (2) Started (3) Terminated (4) Reversed (5) Recalled
Q.10. Awareness
(1) Attention (2) Familiarity (3) Nuisance (4) Perception (5) Ignorance
ANSWERS -
Q.1.(2)
Q.2.(4)
Q.3.(3)
Q.4.(4)
Q.5.(5)
Q.6.(3)
Q.7.(1)
Q.8. (3)
Q.9.(2)
Q.10.(5)
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