Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: His reputation as a skilled lawyer prompted Indian leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak to hire him as defense counsel for his sedition trial in 1908 .
Simplified: Bal Gangadhar Tilak , a famous leader of India , once used Jinnah to work as a lawyer . Tilak was facing charges of sedition against the British Raj .