The great exodus: Why are young advocates quietly saying goodbye to legal profession

Hyderabad: Every year, thousands of young law graduates walk into courts across India, brimming with idealism and ambition, and take oath at the State Bar Councils as Advocates. Yet, within just two to three years, many Advocates quietly walk out—disillusioned, underprepared, and often financially broken. A significant number of Advocates exit litigation altogether, unable to navigate the demanding terrain of legal practice. The reasons for this exodus are painfully predictable: negligible stipends, lack of mentorship, inadequate exposure to practical work, and a profound disconnect between legal education and the realities of legal practice.

The truth is hard but necessary to confront: the present structure of legal education is failing to create courtroom-ready Advocates. The crisis is not one of talent, but of training. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can remedy it.

The Nature of the Legal Profession

Unlike many other professions, law cannot be mastered through academic study alone. It is as much a calling as it is a career. It demands not only legal knowledge but also presence of mind, procedural awareness, rhetorical skill, emotional intelligence, and above all, grit. None of these can be truly taught in classrooms. They are learned through experience, cultivated through observation, and polished through mentorship.

Litigation, in particular, is a test of endurance. It does not yield instant returns. Clients are rarely forgiving of inexperience, and judges have no time for floundering. A newly enrolled advocate often finds himself or herself lost, both professionally and psychologically. And the situation is far worse for those without any legal lineage or urban support systems.

The Solution: Early Internships, From Day One

A practical, scalable, and impactful reform lies in encouraging structured chamber internships from the very first semester of law school. Students should be actively placed under practicing advocates, ideally as part-time interns from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, allowing them to attend classes during the day and gain hands-on experience in the evenings.

Even an average commitment of 15 days a month, adjusted around internal exams and academic calendars, adds up significantly. Over five years, this translates to over 600 days of practical exposure, far more valuable than summer internships or occasional visits to courts.

This is not merely about observation. It’s about assimilation. Over time, students absorb the rhythms of litigation, drafting styles, client counselling, legal reasoning, follow-ups with court staff, professional conduct, court craft, and court etiquette. These are the building blocks of a successful litigator.

Understanding the Exodus from Litigation

The dropout rate of young advocates is not due to a lack of passion but due to a structural vacuum:

• Long hours, little or no pay, especially in the first 3 years.

• No structured mentoring or feedback, leading to confusion and self-doubt.

• Complete disconnect between textbook knowledge and real-world application.

• Crushing financial burdens, especially for first-generation professionals.

• Lack of exposure to clients, drafting, filing procedures, and oral arguments.

These challenges are compounded by law colleges that overemphasize theory, while mooting and research paper writing, however intellectually stimulating, cannot replace the messy, unpredictable, and deeply human environment of actual court practice.

Chambers Must Become Practical Classrooms

A senior advocate’s chamber is a daily theatre of the law. Petitions are drafted, arguments prepared, strategies debated, clients counselled, and law applied to fact. A willing intern can gain more in one month here than in an entire semester of procedural law.

Students who consistently intern throughout their studies:

• Learn drafting, filing, cause-list management, and procedural intricacies.

• Understand how to interact with clients, court clerks, and judges.

• Gain a realistic view of the profession—both its hardships and its rewards.

• Develop a thicker skin and a deeper resolve, essential to sustain litigation.

• Form early bonds with mentors who may one day help them rise in practice.

The Role of Mentorship and Institutional Support

Earlier, mentorship was organic. A senior would take an interest in a promising junior and guide them through the rigours of law. But as the number of law graduates has ballooned and as commercialisation has crept into legal education, mentorship can no longer be left to chance. It must be institutionalised.

Senior Advocates with 10+ years of experience must be encouraged and, where possible, incentivised to take on mentees. Bar Associations and law colleges must collaborate to create structured internship-matching platforms. A digital logbook, monthly review sessions, and academic credits can make this model both accountable and rewarding.

In the long term, this culture of mentorship will create a new generation of confident, competent Advocates who will not only stay in litigation but raise its standards.

The Role of the Bar and Legal Academia

The responsibility to reform does not lie solely with the student. It is a shared duty:

• Law schools must redesign their curricula to include part-time, long-term chamber internships, not just vacation attachments.

• Bar Councils must create internship frameworks and guidelines for minimum mentorship quality and student protection.

• Senior Advocates and Law Firms must see mentorship not as a burden but as a professional obligation—a way to give back and to shape the future of the Bar.

• High Courts and State Legal Services Authorities can offer certification or recognition to mentors and chambers that consistently train students.

These are doable, low-cost, and high-impact changes that can be piloted immediately.

A Constitutional and Ethical Imperative

The legal profession holds a constitutional status. Advocates are officers of the court and are central to the administration of justice. It is a solemn obligation to ensure that the next generation of Advocates is ethically grounded, professionally trained, and practically equipped to uphold justice.

Inadequate training leads to delays, incompetence, and injustice, consequences that ultimately erode public faith in the judiciary. By investing in early and continuous exposure through chamber internships, we are not just helping students. We are protecting the justice system itself.

Conclusion: A Small Shift, A Big Impact

India doesn’t just need more Advocates. It needs better Advocates, those who are courtroom-ready, grounded in ethics, and armed with the tools of the trade. This transformation must begin not after enrolment, but from the very first semester.

Let every chamber become a living, breathing, practical classroom. Let every senior advocate become a mentor. Let no law student graduate without knowing the weight of a real case file.

Even 15 days a month in a chamber can prepare a student to rise, not stumble, into the courtrooms of India.

Let us not mourn the attrition of young Advocates. Let us prevent it.

(B.V.Seshagiri is a practicing advocate and social activist. He is the Convenor of the Telangana Junior Advocates Empowerment Forum (TJAEF), a collective dedicated to strengthening the future of junior advocates through mentorship, training, and systemic reform. He actively advocates for structural support for junior advocates across Telangana. Through TJAEF, he connected with over 2,500 junior advocates across 40 Bar Associations within a fortnight of its inception.)