Cuttack: Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has underscored the need for soul-searching by budding lawyers and commitment for the cause of the society and the downtrodden.

"Do a soul-search and decide where you can give your best in terms of betterment of the society and uplift of the downtrodden - only that should be your path and destination. That should be the fundamental aim of a lawyer," Chief Justice Misra said.

The CJI said this while addressing the fourth convocation of the National Law University Odisha (NLUO), Cuttack, on Saturday evening.

The CJI also said: "Making a right choice of career is of crucial importance."

"Do not think in mere terms of material gain, and do not restrict your mind to think of success as a status symbol," the CJI said. He hoped the pass-outs would join the Bar at various levels and strengthen the justice delivery process in district courts, high courts and also in the Supreme Court. "The new generation of lawyers must now take over the baton from the old guard of the Bar," the CJI said, while calling upon them to "aim not to be just mere legal masons, but to be juridical architects".

The national law universities have redefined legal education in India, the CJI said.

He stressed on the need to mould legal education in tune with the rapid contemporary changes taking place as a result of scientific and technological developments, especially through expansion of information and communication technology.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Orissa High Court Chief Justice and NLUO Chancellor Justice Vineet Saran and Supreme Court judge Amitav Roy were also present on the occasion.

At the ceremony 145 students were conferred with BA LLB, BBA LLB, and LLM degrees, respective.

A research scholar was also awarded a PhD at the event. In all, 18 gold medals were handed over at the convocation. G. Ganesh Prasad, who graduated in BBA LLB, bagged three gold medals for scoring the highest mark in commercial law and intellectual property rights.

Similarly, Anmol Awasti received three gold medals for scoring the highest marks in banking laws, personal law and for topping among the girl students.

NLUO vice-chancellor Srikrishna Deva Rao said the university followed a socially relevant curriculum and was offering innovative courses such as animal welfare law, election law, democracy, law on mines and minerals, litigation management in higher education and copyright law in the entertainment industry.