Expressing concern over young and bright advocates deserting the legal profession due to financial hardships, the Supreme Court on Friday said a “Young Lawyers’ Professional Assistance Fund" must be created to stop the “brain drain".
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the Centre, states and union territories to spell out their respective stand on the financial challenges faced by young lawyers during the formative years in the legal profession.
The Bench said that “all the stakeholders ought to consider the desirability of enacting a suitable law providing for a structured mechanism of donation and contribution by the successful senior advocates and other practicing lawyers with adequate professional experience in the country.
“In addition, the Union of India and the States ought to contribute a part of the court fee collected by the Judiciary towards that Fund. Similarly, the Courts can also divert a substantial part of the costs imposed in judicial proceedings as a contribution to that Fund,” it said.
“To operationalise and popularise donations from successful lawyers and others who are directly concerned with the quality improvement of the legal fraternity, the proposed law may provide suitable incentives such as tax exemptions, national awards or other honours to the donee lawyers, etc. The proposed Fund must be utilized to provide a reasonable monthly stipend-cum-honorarium to such young advocates, who are first-generation lawyers or those from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, during the formative years of their professional careers,” the Bench said.
“The stipend-cum-honorarium can be made available during the formative years of their professional careers. Simultaneously, such beneficiaries should be attached to experienced members of the Bar as associates to compulsorily render their professional services in lieu of payment of a stipend,” it said.
“The quantum of financial assistance so granted ought to be sufficient to ensure basic sustenance for the initial 3 years of practice. At the same time, such financial assistance may be proportionately reduced over time, finally coming to an end after 7 years of practice. This is likely to coincide with the young lawyer eventually developing self-sufficiency and establishing an independent practice,” the top court said.
“A young first-generation lawyer entering the Bar does not immediately inherit an office, a library, a stable clientele, or a predictable source of income. The initial years are devoted largely to observing court proceedings, assisting seniors, studying case files, understanding procedural intricacies, and gradually acquiring the skills of advocacy and courtroom craft.
“During this formative period, many junior advocates remain dependent upon modest stipends paid by their seniors or in some places, by the local Bar Associations, which are often insufficient to meet even their basic living expenses. The absence of a steady stream of clients and the limited remuneration available during these years tends to create extreme financial hardship,” the Bench noted.
“It is this period of turmoil that often compels capable and promising young lawyers to abandon practice at the Bar altogether. We apprehend that such attrition may produce a form of professional “brain drain”, diminishing the ability of the Bar to attract and retain the young and meritorious. It comes as no surprise that the challenge is particularly acute for first-generation lawyers and those belonging to economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, who may be under immediate obligations, upon completion of their professional education, to assume charge as their family’s primary breadwinner,” the top court said.
“Faced with these pressures, many young lawyers are constrained to pursue alternative careers offering greater financial stability from the get-go, notwithstanding their genuine interest and potential in the field of litigation,” it said.
“It, thus, seems to us that a Young Lawyers’ Professional Assistance Fund must be created and should be established under the exclusive control of the jurisdictional High Courts or an autonomous body constituted by the Union of India in consultation with the State Governments. A framework of such nature will inspire greater confidence amongst prospective donors and contributors to the Fund,” the Bench said.
Highlighting the financial challenges faced by young lawyers during the formative years of practice, the petitioners suggested the creation of a ‘Young Advocates Corpus Fund’ under the aegis of the respective State Bar Councils to provide fixed monthly stipends to fresh entrants to the profession.
