Bar Councils Tighten Entry Requirements but Neglect Financial Survival of Young Lawyers
In recent times, Bar Councils in Pakistan have taken stringent steps to improve the standard of legal education and the legal profession. The introduction of Bar Vocational Courses, the revamp of the LLB curriculum, and mandatory screening tests before and after LLB (i.e., LAT and GAT) are steps in the right direction. The Punjab Bar Council went further by mandating that degrees be verified by the Higher Education Commission to be eligible for a license. These measures converge on a single goal: tighten entry into the profession so that only verified and competent advocates are admitted.
However, what happens to those who, after overcoming these hurdles, manage to enter the profession? There is no clear answer. Regulatory bodies are more prone to regulating entry rather than addressing the core problem: financial survival. As a result, some young lawyers are forced to adopt not-so-great means to earn a livelihood. Accepting cases for meagre fees, filing frivolous petitions, touting, and doing menial tasks that even a clerk would hesitate to do are some of the ways young lawyers ensure financial survival.
The Plight of Young Lawyers: Unpaid Work and Exploitation
After completing 5 years of LLB (now four), a typical path for a young lawyer is to join a senior advocate and assist him in his cases while building knowledge. If lucky, the senior may act as a mentor. However, some seniors treat young lawyers as little more than clerks, assigning tasks such as transporting files between chambers and courts. In worse situations, young lawyers may not even be permitted to read case files, as it may endanger the senior's standing by seeing them as competition. Remuneration is rarely provided; young lawyers are expected to cover fuel and survival costs without receiving a single penny for their assistance.
As one observer noted, "Learning precedes earning, but not everyone is privileged enough to sustain the first few years of practice on family support." The question remains: how do we ensure that young lawyers survive and thrive financially rather than abandon the profession due to economic pressures?
Proposed Solution: Paid Training Contracts Modeled on UK and Canada
The concepts of training contracts and articling may provide a solution. In the UK, paid training contracts are executed by law firms for usually two years. The trainee works as a paid employee, gains substantial work experience, and adds value to the firm. In Canada, there is a paid articling term of 8-10 months under the supervision of a lawyer or judge.
Implementing such a system in Pakistan would require District and Tehsil Bar Associations to maintain a record of firms practicing within their jurisdiction and categorize them into Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 firms. Firms would make requisitions to the association for associates as needed, along with their requirements and remuneration budget. Bar associations would conduct a subjective scenario-based test quarterly, testing young lawyers on key subjects like the Civil Procedure Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Qanoon-e-Shahadat, Pakistan Penal Code, and Specific Relief Act.
Merit-Based Placement and Two-Year Contracts
Successful candidates would be placed according to their merit position in the respective firms. Those who pass but cannot secure a placement would be placed on a waiting list for future vacancies. Bar associations would ensure that successfully placed candidates receive paid training contracts of at least two years. This would address firms' concern that training investment goes to waste when associates leave after six months without contributing meaningful value. It also protects young lawyers from exploitation of unpaid work in their nascent years.
It is high time for Bar Councils and Bar Associations to move beyond traditional regulatory roles and take active steps to ensure litigation remains financially viable and accessible for individuals from non-legal backgrounds. If robust measures are not taken today, law may become a profession reserved only for the children of lawyers and judges in the years to come.
