Kerala High Court Proposes Mandatory Mentoring, Credit-Based Training for Junior Lawyers in First 5 Years of Practice
Kiran Raj
The Kerala High Court today proposed that junior members of the Bar should undergo mandatory mentoring during the first five years of their practice.
A Division Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Easwaran S raised the matter while addressing Advocate Yeshwanth Shenoy, President of the Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA). The Court queried whether the Association could introduce a mentoring program for younger lawyers.
The Bench proposed that the KHCAA could require junior lawyers to participate in training sessions as a condition for maintaining their membership. The Court also proposed the introduction of a credit-based system, where junior advocates would accumulate credits by attending sessions led by senior lawyers and other legal professionals.
Justice Nambiar said:
“Can you evolve a policy where junior members, if they have to continue membership must mandatorily undergo training sessions which are given. Make this a condition for continuing membership… As a condition for maintaining standards in the Profession, you can make it a condition for the junior Bar for the first five years. To expect it beyond that will be unreasonable. But at least for the first five years, let them undergo some kind of mentoring. You organize these training sessions periodically and make it like earning credits for attending those. Junior member of the Bar for the first five years, he or she must get so many credit points every year for continued membership of the Association or you don't get the membership. Think of something like that because ultimately the object is noble.”
The Court pointed out that while junior advocates may have sufficient legal knowledge, they sometimes appear before the Court unprepared, lacking familiarity with the details of their cases, and therefore unable to effectively assist the Court.
In response, the KHCAA President noted that many junior advocates are not remaining under the guidance of senior lawyers for even three months, often turning instead to digital resources for information.
