24
COVER STORY
We Salute…
T
he first-ever Indian woman in law, Cornelia
Sorabjee, graduated as far back as in 1897,
cleared the pleaders’ exam of the Allahabad High
Court in 1899, and was recognized as Barrister
in 1923, after the law barring women from
practising was altered. In the decades that followed, an
increasing number of women entered the legal profession,
so much so that today, they enjoy a prominent presence in
this sphere as they do in all other walks of life. Statistically
speaking, there were a reported over 20,000 female
members of the Bar Association of India in 2014, holding
good positions in their chosen fields of specialization. The
growing number of women in law has also been due to the
fact that the legal industry itself has witnessed a sea change
in the past decade or so, especially on the transactional
side, where a burgeoning number of law firms are offering
a relatively gender-neutral organizational alternative to
women lawyers desirous of pursuing a corporate legal
career. Yes, this is an important phase in the history of
the Indian legal profession, particularly for women, and
it is exhilarating to see a smattering of women unraveling
unparalleled success, serving as inspiration not only for
aspiring women lawyers in India but also across the globe.
As they say, however, the more things change, the more
they remain the same! And so it is that the litigation side
continues to be male-dominated and while Anna Chandy
went on to become the first woman judge of an Indian High
Court as early as 1959, it wasn’t until four decades later that
Justice M. Fathima Beevi became one of only six women to
have made it to the highest court of the land. In a similar
vein, the country saw its first woman Additional Solicitor
General, i.e., Indira Jaising, not before 2009. Even today,
the High Courts of Delhi and Mumbai are the only ones to
have women Chief Justices. Forget higher echelons of the
judiciary, there are less women advocates in the whole of
India than there are men advocates in the state of Uttar
Pradesh alone.
The reasons for a dwindling number of women lawyers
making it to top- or even mid-level positions are many.
Aside of a clutch of women who have broken the glass
ceiling so to speak in this profession, a majority continue
to grapple with gender biases and discriminatory practices
(even if they don’t seem so on paper); yawning wage gaps;
and having to walk the tightrope between professional and
familial & personal obligations. Then again, the very same
qualities that have endeared women to their traditional
duties of home and hearth, i.e., sensitivity, strength, and
compassion are the ones that are most likely to push them
towards the zenith in this vocation. A fact recognized by no
less than Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister
and Barrister, when she famously said, “Any woman who
understands the problems of running a home will be nearer
to understanding the problems of running a country.” In
this edition of Legal Era, we celebrate some formidable
women in law, who, despite being proud to be women, have
carved a niche in an otherwise male stronghold…
Women in Law
N ovember 2017 | L egal E ra | www . legaleraonline . com