“If I had opted to be a junior to some lawyer and enter the legal profession, I would have got only a pittance for the many initial years. But I learnt that driving trucks meant instant wages,” law graduate Yogita Raguvanshi told The Hindu in a fascinating profile.

She was unhappily married off to a man in Bhopal in 1991 who claimed to be a lawyer but wasn’t. When he died 16 years ago in an accident, Raguvanshi took up work as a truck driver to make ends meet for her family.

While senior advocates in Delhi easily charge more than Rs 15 lakh per appearance, in many cities and cases (even in Delhi), juniors working with the seniors are paid barely living wages as stipends, if they even get a stipend.

Bar councils speak every now and then about grants to help young advocates start in the profession and there is some recognition that starting out at the bar can be tough, no council or bar association has yet stipulated a minimum wage or stipend for young lawyers working with seniors.