4 AUGUST2021The legal system forms a critical piece of the puzzle that is modern civilized society. However, a layman's perspective of the legal world is often contained within the profession's depiction in Indian cinema which can only be called reductive and far from the reality. A lawyer or legal professional does not really, stand in court in a black gown and periodically mouth `I object'. Much beyond the stereotypical notion of lawyers embroiled in litigation in court rooms, the legal profession today has evolved and move to the corporate world. A major function of them has become about rendering sound advisory in all aspects ­ professional and personal.Over the past decade or so legal consulting has emerged as much coveted field. Unlike the lawyers in the traditional sense, legal consultants come forth with legal expertise to clients lying outside the realm of traditional legal representation. Be it matters such as employment, securities, governmental compliance and structural organization, legal consultants provide sound advisory in niche segments. Undertaking a proactive approach, they help clients manage and identify legal risk much in advance, be it personal, professional, corporate, HR, labor related. While the legal consulting field has seen several women joining the workforce, the representation of women in leadership positions in the top legal firms in India stays low, much like every other profession. According to a survey, on an average women form a 30 percentage representation of women making up the partnership across 30 top Indian law firms. Of the 30 firms only 23 percent have a senior gender ratio above 40 percent. This number drops below 20 percent in one third of the firms.As bleak as the numbers may be, they stand ahead as compared to other Asian countries. Even economically strong nations such as Japan have a notoriously low representation of women in positions of leadership. Legal firms in India are comparatively much more gender diverse as compared to their international counterparts. Recently, Former chief justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde and incumbent NV Ramana said that the India may soon have its first woman CJI. The need for representation of women in every quarter of the legal framework has been talked about enough. It is about time that firms and government bodies actively take measures to ensure the ingress of well-deserved women candidates among the top ranks. Do tell us your thoughts. So, as India's top firms become more secure in their market position, with the most rapid growth behind them, many of are taking promising steps in the right direction.However, it's clear that no change will come without deliberate efforts.Editor NoteIt's About Time We Take Measures to Bring More Women into the Indian Legal LandscapeRachita SharmaEditoreditor@womenentrepreneurindia.com
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