Goa is a great place to practise Law. The Common civil code which is a remnant of the Portuguese Civil Code, related Family and Inheritance laws and Portuguese Colonial heritage in Land Laws such as Communidade Land and post integration socialist Land laws like those related to Mundkarial rights and Khazan lands etc provide an interesting intellectual exercise for those who come from a strictly Common Law background. Goa is a great place to live in, but not because of the reasons [such as beautiful place,booze etc] you mentioned. It is a great place because the people are very open and welcoming, Law and Order is much better and professionally there is tremendous scope of growth.
However don't expect practise to be a cakewalk in Goa. The legal practioners here are top class professionals in their own right and well entrenched. It will be a gargantuan task to break into the charmed circle of successful lawyers [many Senior advocates and Judges of Bombay HC are from the small state of Goa].Also the cost of living at Goa is way higher and the issue of language of practise [Konkani] must also be looked into. Moreover to be a good and successful lawyer in Goa you need intimate exposure to both the local (colonial Portuguese inherited) Laws as well as an intimate knowledge of Portuguese Language [If anyone disagrees, he should try getting a land deal without going to the historical archives and hunting for the land records and records of legal heirs- The dog-eared Portuguese records there need a high degree of expertise to just spot and understand,and to interpret and argue it before the court needs much more fluency].
The number of criminal cases in Goa are much smaller than is perceived at first glance. Maybe the perception that Goa is loaded with Criminal [NDPS} cases derives from the high profile cases that occur there. But come to think of it these crimes are so uncommon at Goa that they make it to the headlines, In Bombay they are so common that no one considers them to be anything out of the ordinary.
there used to be some NDPS but the Police crackdown has reduced the drug trade considerably and anyway the druggies usually are lousy clients anyway [Tough to get your fee from an addict who will rather blow it all on the next shot].
Conclusion- Being a litigator at Goa is no different from being a Litigator at Bombay or Timbuktu. Hard work and dedication are as essential here as in any Mumbai firm. Come to Goa by all means if you are ready to struggle in the beginning, work hard and learn and in the process gain an exposure to a different legal tradition. But if you think that a PARTY lifestyle will make you a successful advocate [ and this applies to all places and not just Goa], be sure to book your return tickets as well.
PS- With all regards to Adv. Jos Peter De Souza who is an esteemed brother at the Bar, i think it is wrong to name or classify some of the lawyers as top and by implication rate others as second rate on a public discussion forum. There is absolute lack of objectivity in such an assessment and I am sure Adv. Jos Peter will also agree with me.