Legal profession has been feudalistic and unwelcoming of women: CJI DY Chandrachud

The legal profession has been feudalistic and unwelcoming of women and racially disadvantaged, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Wednesday. .The CJI was in conversation with Professor David B Wilkins after being awarded the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession's highest professional distinction, the Center on the Legal Profession Award for Global Leadership..During this conversation, the CJI said that law continues to be still a feudal profession in some areas where exclusion exist and difficulties are faced by minorities, queer people and women. "The legal profession has been feudalistic and has not been welcoming of women and racially disadvantaged," he said. .The CJI went on to say that law school is the ideal place to implement certain ideas such as use of technology, preventing racial discrimination and more. "Law school introduces them to legal ethics, advocacy etc. law school presents a huge learning curve," he opined..He added that this would lead to a society which is more inclusive. Further, it was his opinion that law schools can broaden access to justice and its impact will be felt decades later. .CJI Chandrachud also said that a question he has often been asked is why the number of women judges in India's Supreme Court is very low. He explained that this is because the pool of judges coming to the top court is from three decades ago. "Answer to it lies as the profession it was three decades ago. Pool of judges coming to Supreme Court is from a pool which (dates back to) three decades ago.".In this regard, he underscored that unless we change the foundational values of legal profession, we would not be able to change the future scenario and this is why law schools play an important role. "So many of my clerks have no family contact with law and challenge is how do we mentor them," he added. .[Read our live coverage of the conversation below]