The Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, on Sunday observed youngsters are reluctant to join the legal profession due to “scary career prospects and uncertain future”, which he said is a “colossal damage” in terms of quality enhancement and contribution to social group. The CJI said introspection was the need of the hour vis-a-vis legal education. Justice Gogoi was addressing a gathering of students and legal fraternity at the ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed permanent campus of the Maharashtra National Law University. “The primary objective behind legal education to my mind is to train young minds to enable them to venture into the arena of legal practice. It is time for introspection on how we could have done things or how we could do things differently and little better,” said Justice Gogoi. Speaking on the status of legal profession, Justice Gogoi said, “the scary [career] prospects and uncertain future in the profession makes youngsters reluctant to join the profession.” “They drift away elsewhere and the damage is colossal both in terms of quality enhancement in the profession and contribution to the social group, and consequently the nation building. Therefore a question may be asked about what the profession of law is [like] and the answer will define how we can train people for that,” he observed. On the occasion, Justice Gogoi referred to the autobiography of jurist late Nani Palkhiwala which talks about the “highest traditions and offers generous service of lawyers for the community”. “In my opinion unless and until law schools make people ready for such high traditions, the whole purpose for having one is lost,” said Justice Gogoi. The CJI further said one of the charges being levelled against law schools is that they are becoming “ivory towers”. “Law schools can contribute more positively to the society only if they aspire and inspire students to join the bar and make them ready to be baptised by fire. It is the duty of the law schools to invite in the minds of younger students that the law and society are closely inter-connected..they flourish or perish together. “Law changes with the society. A law school must remain attune to the changing needs of law. It requires both roots in traditions and dynamism to meet the changing revise in the profession,” said Justice Gogoi. The CJI also spoke on the importance of the quality of legal education and quoted from eminent lawyer Fali Nariman’s autobiography which said, “The quality of legal education is more important than the number of lawyers. One of the most serious aspects facing the legal profession is that the legal education system appears to have lost its ethical content.
