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The pay packages even in the year 2023- 11 years after the survey have not increased keeping in mind inflation and growth of the legal services industry.I bet that partners salary accross all T1 firms would have a drastic increase during the same period while compared to A0's.
How is it allowed in the legal sector?? Conventional lack of labour law or any regulation for commercial legal services in India has resulted in underpaid work. Can a law firm come under the meaning of enterprise under the Competition Act 2002, given the Supreme Court has held profit is not an deciding factor? Can such practices be challenged?
Just a law student here interested in competition law. I may be wrong on some aspects but was just hoping to get insights on this.
Now, on to your question -
The legal market in India is saturated with talented professionals at every level, which has resulted in a surplus of competent lawyers even in the gig-practice space. Consequently, law firms have been forced to offer aggressive discounts to clients and operate on thin margins. This challenge is not unique to the legal field, as many professional sectors in India face a similar predicament. In the past, some firms used to provide their associates with business-class flights, but this is no longer the case. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for firms to book their employees on SpiceJet flights and accommodate them in Lemon Tree Hotels or similar/ mostly worse off establishments. Dispute lawyers at law firms have some leeway with such negotiations (on such matters, but suffer on salary, in contrast to their counterparts in corporate law), as they are typically hired when a client has his ba#%s in his hand. However, India currently has an excess of lawyers, largely due to the herd mentality of chasing a basic starting salary of one lakh something rupees + bonus.
Anyone with common sense would recognize this situation and consider exploring other career paths, given the potential of AI and Chat GPT. With AI, every lawyer should consider his/ herself to be on NOTICE.
AI will guaranteed put a whole lot of panel lawyers during sundry court work out of business. I also foresee insane harakari in the world of corporate law.