Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman has urged young lawyers to focus on developing professional skills rather than running after money to succeed in the legal profession.

“Instead of trying to become rich quickly through corruption or shortcuts, you should build yourselves as ideal lawyers through merit, honesty, morality and hard work,” he said.

The minister was addressing the ‘Felicitation Programme 2026’ organised at the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) auditorium in the capital to honour UAP law graduates who passed the Bangladesh Bar Council enrolment examination.

Asaduzzaman said one of the key objectives of making the Bangladesh Bar Council enrolment examination transparent and stringent is to ensure entry into the legal profession based on merit and competence.

“Those who have passed the examination and obtained certificates as lawyers have reached this position not through anyone’s favour or patronage, but through their own merit and qualifications,” he said.

The minister said there is no scope for nepotism in the enrolment examination, noting that even children of members of the enrolment committee have failed the examination.

He urged newly enrolled lawyers to move forward in their professional lives with confidence in their own merit and qualifications.

Addressing the young lawyers, Asaduzzaman said establishing oneself in the legal profession requires considerable hard work, particularly at the beginning of one’s career.

“Even if you get less work and lower fees at the beginning of your career, you have to remain patient and continue working. Your workload and remuneration will increase with experience,” he said.

The minister stressed that lawyers should not seek quick wealth through corruption or shortcuts, saying they must establish themselves through merit, honesty, ethics and hard work.

Highlighting the importance of maintaining professional relations with clients, he said, “A client is a client.”

He said lawyers should maintain professional relationships with their clients while upholding the dignity of the profession.

The minister said a lawyer’s responsibility is not limited to handling cases in exchange for fees. Ensuring access to justice for poor and vulnerable people is also a social and professional responsibility of lawyers.

He urged lawyers to try to take up some cases of disadvantaged people free of charge alongside their paid cases.

Recalling an incident from his own career as a lawyer, Asaduzzaman said lawyers should not judge everything solely by financial considerations. They should also play a role in standing beside people and ensuring justice, he added.

The minister also stressed the importance of regular study and legal practice, saying the legal profession offers opportunities to learn every day.

“The more you study, the more knowledge and skills you will acquire,” he said, particularly stressing the need for regular study to develop professional skills, including good drafting.

Asaduzzaman said although there are a large number of lawyers in the country, adequate professional training facilities for them are not available.

He said the government is moving towards introducing training programmes to enhance lawyers’ professional skills and will take necessary initiatives to make the legal profession more dignified and skill-based.

The minister said efforts should be made to build a legal community in which the profession becomes more respected in society because of lawyers’ education, merit, skills, honesty and ethics.

He urged the young lawyers to prepare themselves in a way that enables them to become capable of providing leadership to society and the state.

UAP Board of Trustees Chairperson KM Mozibul Hoque, UAP Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohiuddin Ahmed Bhuiyan and Acting Dean of the School of Law Prof Dr MA Baqui Khalily attended as special guests at the event, chaired by head of UAP Law and Human Rights department Dr Noor-E-Medina Suraiya Jesmin.

Later, the UAP law graduates who passed the Bangladesh Bar Council enrolment examination were felicitated. Teachers, students, felicitated graduates and invited guests were present at the programme.