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It is the normal thing for an attorney retained in a case to give legal advice to his client, not vice versa.

However, in a bizarre instance an attorney – in fact, a much sought after one with a lucrative practice – has agreed to appear for the defence in a well-known case on condition that the client would desist from giving him legal advice. The client in this case is a former powerful Ministerial one and a prominent member of a clan that ruled the roost for a decade.

A group of the kith and kin of this former Ministerial one now on remand and keen on getting the latter released on bail with the least delay approached the counsel to retain him in the case. The group who called on the counsel was surprised when the latter said: “Your man thinks that he knows the law better than anyone else. I am sure that he will want to offer me also his legal advice. I will handle this case only if he gives a solemn promise not to bother me with his legal advice.”

The former Ministerial one had agreed to abide by the condition and the counsel had agreed to take on the case, they say.