A new initiative titled “Young Lawyers Movement Pakistan” has recently been launched with the stated objective of advocating reforms aimed at improving opportunities, working conditions, and professional dignity for young lawyers across the country.
The initiative was introduced through discussions among members of the legal fraternity, with early agenda points including calls for mandatory paid training contracts for young lawyers and greater prioritization of junior lawyers for paralegal, drafting, and entry-level legal work.
Advocate Aneeq Khatana, who is among those spearheading the initiative, emphasized that young lawyers deserve “opportunity, dignity, and a fair chance to survive in the profession.”
The discussions have already generated significant engagement among lawyers and legal commentators, including Barrister Taimur Malik, founder of Courting The Law and patron of Qanoondan, who shared a series of reform-oriented observations regarding the structural challenges faced by young practitioners in Pakistan.
Drawing comparisons with the United Kingdom’s legal training system, Malik suggested that Pakistan consider introducing a formal trainee registration mechanism through the Bar Councils, similar to the UK model, where firms and chambers are required to register trainees and report structured training arrangements.
He noted that such a system could help ensure that young lawyers receive reasonable compensation during their apprenticeship and improve accountability within legal training structures.
“The amount can be reasonable but has to be fixed and reported to the Bar Council,” Malik observed during the discussion, while also stressing that reforms should be linked with broader qualification standards for entry into the profession.
Malik further suggested that the profession may need to reconsider the current licensing pathway for Supreme Court practice in Pakistan.
“Once a lawyer gets a High Court license, there should be no additional process to become a Supreme Court lawyer,” he stated, arguing that the existing framework creates unnecessary gatekeeping which disproportionately benefits already established practitioners.
Referring to comparative practices in jurisdictions such as the UK and India, Malik argued that once the right of audience before appellate courts is granted, further restrictions are difficult to justify on merit-based grounds.
The exchange was widely appreciated within the discussion group, with participants emphasizing the need for broader institutional dialogue involving lawyers, academics, regulators, and professional bodies.
Responding to Malik’s observations, Advocate Aneeq Khatana stated that the movement seeks to encourage “constructive and policy-oriented discussions” and acknowledged that meaningful reform would require institutional engagement rather than isolated demands.
Khatana also highlighted concerns relating to structural barriers faced by younger practitioners within the profession and stressed the importance of mentorship alongside advocacy.
The discussions reflect a growing debate within Pakistan’s legal community regarding professional sustainability, access to opportunities, licensing structures, and the future direction of legal practice in the country.
Courting The Law and Qanoondan have expressed willingness to support and facilitate further discussions on these issues through dialogue, policy engagement, and institutional collaboration.
