Namitabh is very correct in his assessment of the reasons that are responsible for the falling standards in the legal profession. The problem in my view is fundamental. The provision of legal services by way of appearance or advice till recently was considered as a profession. However, of late, the professional approach has been replaced with a business approach. No one really can be blamed for the shift.

The requirement of legal services has increased manifold due to the changing socio-economic matrix. More and more businesses need legal advice/services. Even individuals have become more conscious of their legal rights for which they seek the services of a lawyer/law firm. A professional approach contemplates years of learning and training under the guidance an able senior. On the other hand the commercial approach requires provision of services as per the requirements of the service seeker within the prescribed time periods. Everything needs to adhere to the timeline fixed for a matter or a transaction. There is no scope for extended learning, what is required is precise execution. Therefore, you have large law firms with hundreds of young lawyers, many of whom may not have had more than 5 years of experience in dealing on their own. However, this model ensures that the service seeker gets what he desires in terms of quantity. This commoditisation of legal services is primarily responsible for the falling standards of the legal profession. Even otherwise, the hundred of young lawyers churned out by the mushrooming law schools have not professional learning and training as their aim but big pay packets. Therefore, you would see that instead of choosing to join a considerate and able senior for a meagre sum, many of the fresh law school graduates would throng to join the legal division of corporate houses, LPOs and law firms against hefty pay packets.

Unfortunately, the current trend is likely to continue since overnight you cannot produce enough numbers of qualified, trained and experience lawyers. Therefore, the focus will remain fixed on delivery of timely services rather than on delivery of quality services. The legal divisions in corporate houses may not be all that interested in improving the quality of legal professions for what they are only concerned with is the product. However, conscious and responsible law firms may help in thwarting the rot by persuading youngsters to spend more time on professional development and pupillage apart from discharging functions of a purely commercial nature.