First-Generation Lawyers in Focus: Supreme Court Resets Senior Advocate Designation Norms

The Supreme Court’s May 13, 2025 judgment has fundamentally revised the process for designating Senior Advocates, moving away from a rigid points-based system and placing greater value on holistic qualities central to the legal profession. Here’s what it now takes to be designated a Senior Advocate:

Key Changes in the Designation Process

• Abolition of the Points-Based System: The previous system, which allocated points for years of practice, reported judgments, publications, and interviews, has been scrapped. The marking-based assessment system will no longer apply to future designations.
  
• Emphasis on Mentorship, Integrity, and Sustained Contribution: The Court explicitly highlighted that the standard for Senior Advocates must be much higher than for other advocates. Qualities such as acting as a mentor to junior advocates, maintaining the highest standards of professional ethics, honesty, integrity, and sustained contributions to the profession are now central to the designation process. These attributes, while not easily measured, are considered vital indicators of an advocate’s suitability for the distinction.
  
  
• No Individual Judge Recommendations: Individual judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts can no longer recommend candidates for senior designation.
  
  
• Decision by Full Court: The decision to confer the designation will now rest with the full court of the Supreme Court or the respective High Court. All eligible applications, along with supporting documents, will be placed before the full court for consideration. The aim is to reach a consensus, but if that is not possible, the decision will be made by democratic voting. Whether to use a secret ballot is left to the discretion of each court.
  
  
• Permanent Secretariat: Applications will be screened for eligibility by a permanent secretariat before being placed before the full court.
  
  
• Annual Exercise: At least one exercise for senior advocate designation must be conducted every calendar year.
  
  
• No Minimum Income Requirement: The Court has clarified that a minimum income threshold should not be imposed, as it would be non-inclusive. Income may be considered as one among several factors, but not as a mandatory criterion.

Eligibility and Criteria for Designation

Timeline: High Courts and the Supreme Court have four months to amend their rules to comply with these new guidelines.

Judgment

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 : https://lnkd.in/g9gBHk9j
𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 : https://t.me/mentblue