In keeping with the custom of the time, his parents arranged an early marriage for him before he left for England.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the youngest of any Indian student ever sent to England to qualify for the Bar in 1892. In London he joined Lincoln's Inn, one of the legal societies that prepared students for the Bar. In Lincoln’s Inn his fellow students humorously described him as the “tall thin boy in a funny long yellow coat”, but Jinnah’s achievement as a student was remarkable as he passed his examinations in two years. While in London Jinnah suffered two severe bereavements—the deaths of his wife and of his mother; Nevertheless, he completed his formal studies and also made a study of the British political system, frequently visiting the House of Commons. Another two years took him to complete the rest of the formalities required to be undergone.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah was destined to be a great leader of the country and the creator of the biggest Islamic State in the world and this could not possible unless he was well versed in Law. He utilized his last two years for further independent studies of political career he had in mind.

In 1947, while addressing Karachi Bar Association, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah recalled:
“I joined Lincoln’s Inn because there, on the main entrance, the name of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was included in the list of the great law-givers of the world.”

On his return to Karachi in 1896, he found the surroundings were not however suitable for the ambitious barrister and he decided to shift to a better place, Bombay, which had a High Court, and offered much opportunities to show one’s merits and earn distinction. Early days of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Bombay were great disappointment and frustration. Although he attended his office regularly, everyday he wandered without a single brief.

After the laps of three years, an Englishman, Sir John Molesworth MacPherson who was acting during those days as Advocate General of Bombay, Invited Mohammad Ali Jinnah to work in his chamber. It was a courteous concession the first of its kind ever extended to an Indian, which Mohammad Ali Jinnah remembered as a beacon of hope in the dark distress of his early struggle.

Early in 1900, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was selected and appointed as Presidency Magistrate on the recommendation of Mr. MacPherson. The vacancy had however to last first for three months and thereafter by extension to another three months.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s biographer M.H. Saiyid, writes:
“With what ability and skill the probationer conducted the proceedings of the Court and how sound his judgments were, is evident from the fact that on the expiry of this temporary period, on the 3rd of November, Sir Charles requested Mohammad Ali Jinnah to make himself available for future, when he might require him permanently on an increased scale of pay rising up to Rs. 1,500 per month. The independence of character of the young man and his determination to achieve the ideal he had set before him would not, however, let him pause on the way, and with the usual smile on his face he thankfully declined saying that his ultimate ambition was to earn Rs. 1,500 a day. Sir Charles Ollivant thought that the sentimental young lawyer was committing a mistake. The fact is noteworthy because, even in the height of his fame as an advocate, Mohammad Ali Jinnah did not raise his professional fees to more than what he had originally fixed in mind”.

The reputation of a lawyer is the greatest asset. A lawyer who is not correct in his deal with the client loses respect as a man, even if he is a brilliant lawyer. When a client offered Rs. 5000/- for conduct of case, Jinnah insisted receiving only Rs.1500/- because the case was over in three days and Jinnah then was charging Rs.500/- per day the client saved his Rs.3500/-, but Jinnah earned respect.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah said about the reasons of his success as follow:
“Character, courage, industry, and perseverance are the four pillars on which the whole edifice of human life can be built, and failure is a word unknown to me”.

The Non-Muslim members of the Bar paid the tribute in the following words:
“Mohammad Ali Jinnah was scrupulously honest, he never did any injustice or a shady act, and there was no one to touch him in legal argument. He was what God made him. He had a sixth sense, he could see around corners, a very clear thinker, drove his points home, points chosen with exquisite selection, with slow delivery, word by word: it was all pure, cold logic. No one could deny his power of argument. When he stood up in Court, slowly looking towards the judge, placing his monocle in his eye -with the sense of timing you would expect from an actor- he became omnipotent. Yes, that is the world -omnipotent.”

An eminent Professor who attended a murder case as a Juror was thunder-struck with the cross examination and address of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and he described him as “magician with the monocle”.

Mc. Chagla, Chief Justice, Bombay High Court has praised his legal experience as follows:
“Mohammad Ali Jinnah was pure artist in the manner and method of his presentation. Even the most complex facts became simple and obvious when he waved his wand over them. He could be ferociously aggressive and almost boyishly persuasive as and when the occasion arose, and what particularly helped him in his advocacy was the absolute clear head that he possessed and on which he justly prided himself. He had a common sense, that most uncommon of qualities, in an uncommon degree”.

In recognition of Jinnah’s eminence as a lawyer during his eventful career at the Bar, the portrait of M.A Jinnah has been placed in Lincoln’s Inn among those of other great lawyers and statesmen.