Fresh LLB, LLM Graduates Trapped in Years of Unpaid Internships, Gender Bias in Lower Courts Across India

New lawyers without a lot of legal education, training, courtroom exposure, or income generally end up doing banal and repetitive work, according to a Careers360 investigation. In fact, first generation lawyers and women are particularly vulnerable as they not only face financial hardships but also have to handle gender discrimination that is deeply rooted in the profession.

From Patiala House Courts, Delhi to the civil courts in Bengaluru, young lawyers disclose that they are essentially given donkey work, drafting pla Rohit Kumar, a junior advocate practising in Gaya, Bihar, said he continues to rely on family support while struggling to meet basic professional expenses such as court robes, rent, and bar association fees. “Seniors often cite lack of contacts or pedigree as reasons for not trusting juniors with cases,” he said.

Legal aid panels, often projected as opportunities for hands-on experience, present a mixed reality. While juniors receive a high volume of cases—ranging from undertrial defence and domestic violence petitions to eviction matters—they are frequently left to handle them independently, without supervision or guidance. Several senior lawyers acknowledged that legal aid work has increasingly become a “file-dumping system,” raising concerns about both junior welfare and the quality of justice delivery.

Women lawyers face additional systemic barriers. Ridha Joshi, a 2021 batch female lawyer practising at Patiala House Courts, recalled that during the preparation of a case brief, hers was taken away and given to male colleagues on the excuse that they had more 'experience'. In Bengaluru, Ananya Mehra revealed that even during hearings, men get informal priority in using the podium which further establishes disparities in visibility, speaking time, and earnings.

Law schools are still teaching theory thus graduates will not be able to sustain in practice without depending on informal apprenticeship which is full of favouritism. The investigation further exposes a mismatch between legal education and judiciary. Law schools continue to stress theory at the expense of practical skills such as live legal reasoning, court behaviour, and oral advocacy.

Young advocates have made public their wish that stipends be compulsory, that there be structured mentorship programmes, that case allocation be made more transparent and that there be anti, gender bias protocols in order to make legal practice at the entry level more professional. If India is to have a fair and equitable justice system, then lawyers at the bottom of the ladder should not be left out of the changes that are taking place.