Paradigm Shift In Women Law Practice

Earlier women were generally not interested to join the legal profession, but field legal has changed a lot in the last few decades, even in India. It was felt that women lawyers run the risk of appearing too ‘soft’ or too ‘vociferous,’ too aggressive, or not aggressive enough and may not be suited to criminal law practice. Burt some of the lawyers like Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca Mammen John proved that even a women can also become a successful criminal lawyer. Criminal Law practice is all about the right representation of the facts, delivered with pure conviction in front of the judges and opponents. But dealing with the police and criminals is the biggest challenge as a woman in this branch of law. However, a lawyer enjoys the fascination of the various facets of human emotions unfolding through the stages of a criminal trial. Corporate, civil and constitutional law cases just do not have the same human element.

Priya Hingorani, who was recently in Bhubaneswar as a treasure Bar Association of India  spoke in the Golden jubilee celebration of  BAI.  She is Just 42, can be a role model for young women aspiring to become a  successful law professional. She took to constitutional law as a duck to water as law ran in her blood. “Since my parents were lawyers we always had dinner table discussions on cases. The difference they made to people’s lives, inspired me to work for those denied basic constitutional rights,” says Hingorani, the first
woman honorary secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association in 1999 and its youngest vice president 2005.

   
Her first major victory was the Shahina Bano case in 1991, about a woman who was forced into prostitution by her in-laws because she had given birth to a baby girl. “In numerous cases I fought, I found that the police were the culprits....As a woman, dealing with that was an ordeal,” says Hingorani, at present fighting for the 40,000 PSU employees in Bihar who have not been paid their salaries for a decade. She has also fought for the rights of patients in Ranchi Mental Hospital who were denied basic medication. That is a role-model hospital now.
  
Equally courageous was the plunge taken by Maushami Joshi in 2001, as a newbie National Law School grad with a degree in international trade law joined Luthra & Luthra as an associate. As international trade law was dominated by government officials or very experienced lawyers. At first nobody took  her seriously:  But  by her hard work she convinced the clients and now she has good rapport with reputed clients .She has  the privilege to advise the government on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the EU, Japan and EFTA and Currently advising the government on WTO compatibility of customs seizures by Dutch authorities against generic medicines from India. 

Women are now leading practitioners in all fields of law . There has been an attitudinal shift in women choosing law as profession.

Source: The Economic Times of India, 7th March 2010