The President/Secretary,All Bar/Advocate Associations.

[12/07, 18:58] sekarreporter1: 12.07.2024

To:

The President/Secretary,
All Bar/Advocate Associations.

Sir/Madam,
CIRCULAR

In view of the order passed by the Hon’ble High Court of Madras in W.P. No. 17976/2019 dated 12.06.2024, the Bar Council of Tamilnadu and Puducherry in the General Council Meeting held on 05.07.2024, has passed a Resolution vide Resolution No. 520/2024 to Circulate the said order to all the Bar/Advocate Associations intimating about the directions issued by the Hon’ble High Court of Madras which reads as follows,

(a) Any Advocate/Senior Advocate employing the services of Junior Advocates shall pay a minimum stipend of Rs. 20,000/- per month for advocate practising in the major cities of Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. (The Minimum amount is derived taking into consideration the cost of living and expenditure cost prevalent as on today).

(b) Any Advocate/Senior Advocate employing the services of Junior Advocate shall pay a minimum stipend of Rs.15,000/- per month for Advocates practising in other areas across the State of Tamilnadu and Puducherry.
(c) In the context of fixing of this minimum monthly stipend, this court would also like to bring to the fore the issue of pay disparity based on gender. Though this systemic issue of gender pay gap is beginning to gain attention, this issue is rarely spoken about. It is high time that we start making the difference. Hence, the minimum stipend fixed above shall be extended to all Junior Lawyers without kind of discrimination based on Gender.

 The Hon’ble High Court also observed that it is the incumbent duty of all the stakeholders in the legal profession to provide an environment where every member of the legal fraternity feel valued and treated with respect. Opinions and thought may differ but the pages of our history have shown that the Lawyer community as a whole have always been the torchbearers of self-expression. 

CHAIRMAN, BAR COUNCIL.
[12/07, 18:58] sekarreporter1: 👍