I am not throwing away my brief
I am not throwing away my brief
Ayo, I’m just like my country
I’m overworked, underpaid and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my brief
I’m gonna get admitted to the Bar Council of Delhi
I probably shouldn’t brag, but with intellectuals I have been pally
The problem is I’ve got degrees but no clients
I gotta raise by voice in Court just to be heard
With every word, I cite precedents like a nerd
I’m a brief in the rough, a legal eagle in coal
Trying to reach my goal, my power of speech, quite droll
Only twenty-five, but my hairline’s older
These Delhi High Court halls get colder, I shoulder
Every case, every adjournment, I’ve learned to manage
I don’t have connections to brandish
I walk these court corridors famished
The plan is to fan this law degree into fame
But damn, these dates keep changing, let me spell out my name
I am the A-D-V-O-C-A-T-E
We are meant to be
A profession that works independently
Meanwhile, judges keep adjourning endlessly
Essentially, they postpone relentlessly
Then senior counsel swoops in, charges a hefty fee
They ain’t ever gonna let us juniors free
So there will be revolution in this judiciary
Enter me (with my LLB)
Don’t be shocked when your legal journal mentions me
I will stay up all night if it wins us the case
Eventually, you’ll see my competency
It’s time to take a case
I dream of courts without the pendency
The backlog in sessions will lead to bankruptcy
Did you say Bankruptcy? Insolvency? How do you say…
Oh! More adjournments, definitely
When I argue, I make the other side panic-y
With my extensive research and young blood alacrity
Yo, I’m a junior’s junior
And I got y’all senior partners acting superior
I’m joining this firm ‘cause I know it’s my chance
To financially advance, instead of doing the hustling dance
But we’ll never be truly free
Until legal aid clients get justice like the wealthy
You and I, do or die, wait till I walk in
With the first PIL win
Check what we got
Mister Litigation, arguments hot like a big shot
I think your brief looks tight, Criminal Law, I like your insight
Let’s draft a writ, sharper than legal wit
What are the odds the law would put us all in one spot?
Taking a stance on conventional judgment, like it or not
A bunch of young, hungry, constitutional purists?
Give me a courtroom, show me where the justice is
Oh, am I citing too much?
Sometimes I get over-excited, quote every judgment and such
I never had a legal team before
I promise that I’ll make y’all proud
Let’s get this case in front of a crowd
Rise up! When you’re billing by the hour, you rise up
Tell your client that the fees gotta rise up
Tell the judge that dates gotta rise up
When are these cases gonna wrap up?
*[Spoken, frantically shuffling papers]*
I imagine retirement so much it feels like fantasy
When’s it gonna get me? In my sleep? After twenty years of advocacy?
See, I never thought I’d survive past junior-ship
Where I come from, some leave law for better partnership
This is not a moment, it’s the movement
Where all the hungriest lawyers with something to prove went
Clients oppose us, we take an honest stand
We argue like Moses, claiming our promised land
And if we win this case
Is that a guarantee our practice will find its place?
Or will the appeals we dread begin an endless
Cycle of hearings and briefs with no defendants?
I know the action in the courtroom is exciting
But between all the pleading and citing
I’ve been researching and writing
We need to handle our professional situation
Are we servants of justice? What’s the state of litigation?
I’m past patiently waiting, I’m passionately
Smashing every legal expectation
Every argument’s an act of jurisprudence!
I’m laughing in the face of adverse judgments and sorrow
For the first time, I’m thinking past tomorrow
And I am not throwing away my brief!
For the interested ones:
You can see the full lyrics of 'My Shot', the third song in Act 1 of the musical 'Hamilton', written by Lin-Manuel Miranda here.