Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Wednesday highlighted the plight of lawyers. The CJI said that people in the legal profession take pride in working overtime, that gradually turns into mental health problems. He said that we need to stop glorifying burnout from long working hours and financial worries leading to mental health issues among the lawyers.
As per Bar and bench report, the CJI said this while he was in conversation with Professor David B Wilkins over virtual conference after receiving the Harvard Law School's Award for Global Leadership.
During the conversation Justice Chandrachud also highlighted the issue of lawyers being underpaid. "Those who do not work in corporate law are not compensated well. We need to adopt an intersectional approach concerning mental health. In some areas, law is still a feudal profession and where exclusion is existing and it is difficult for minorities, queers, women. Mental health can improve performance in long run," the CJI said.
The award
The Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession presented the 'Center on the Legal Profession Award for Global Leadership' to Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud.
The award is CLP's highest professional honour and was previously presented to legal figures like Samatha Power, Brad Smith, and Vernon Jordan, as reported by Live Law. The recognition was confered during an online meeting between Chief Justice Chandrachud and Harvard Professor David B. Wilkins.
"He's an inheritor of an incredible lineage of lawyering, and in Judiciary. His father was the 16th Chief Justice of India. But he also carries forward his mother's legacy who is an incredible accomplished musician," said Prof Wilkins reportedly while talking about the CJI.
Before becoming Chief Justice in November 2022, Justice Chadrachud earned an LLM and an SJD from Harvard Law School. While talking about his feats at Harvard, the CJI said, "One question which is raised is how do we think about merit? Because everytime we think of affirmative action, we think of whether it affects merit. We need to review our notions of merit."
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