1.Vision
An associate who has no dream, no goal will not matter to me even if he has a First Class at the LL.B and B.L. levels. So the first thing I watch out for in anyone is his or her vision in the Profession
The Associate must have a dream and a desire of what he or she wants to become in future. In other words, his vision must be clearly formulated and understood by him. He must be engrossed by the dream with passion. Nothing is as important in life as much as having a dream. Your dream is your goal. Unless your dream is clear to you, to pursue it would be difficult. It is worse if you have no dream. It means you are going nowhere. The scripture says that *”as far as you can see, God has given you for a possession.”* Once, his or her dream is clear, then the first hurdle is crossed.
2. Dedication
The second characteristic is whether he or she is willing to be dedicated to that vision because I don’t want someone that would come to the Chambers today, is learning the rope of advocacy and after two or three years steps-out to take a Secretary appointment somewhere. Thereby wasting all his or her three years on the advocacy line
So the prospective Associate must be dedicated to his dream. To him nothing else must matter. Through thick and thin, he or she must hold on steadfastly to the dream. Not minding the pain because of the gain he sees ahead. He will also be ready to pay the *”price”* in order for him or her to win the *”prize”* in future.
3. Determination
The third characteristic I would watch out for is determination to succeed. Does the person siting before me have the tenacity to succeed in the Profession? Or is it somebody that will abandon the cause because of a temporary difficulty? To a determined individual, every obstacle is a stepping stone, every challenge is a hurdle to be surmounted. Every failure is only temporary. So the driving force to a determined person is the assurance of the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not difficult to know whether the person you are interviewing is a strong and determined personality.
4. Discipline
Lastly, the fourth is Discipline. Your carrier/ vehicle that will translate your dream to accomplishment is *”DISCIPLINE”*. I won’t spend time on this. We all know what discipline in life means.