Accepting your gender and not viewing it as a weakness is key: Sr Advocate and Justice (retd) Anjana Prakash in DHCWLF virtual discussion

The Delhi High Court Women Lawyers' Forum (DHWLF) on Friday organized a virtual discussion titled 'Yes We Can! Redefining success in the language of Justice'..The discussion was live streamed via the CISCO Webex application. .The discussion featured Senior Advocate and former judge of the Patna High Court, Justice Anjana Prakash and Advocate Malavika Rajkotia as speakers. .Advocates Nandita Rao and Swati Singh Malik were the moderators for the discussion..Speaking on the legal profession, Justice Prakash commented that being a lawyer is not easy as there was no monetary return in the beginning. However, the sense of freedom and the satisfaction that an advocate gets is unparalleled, she commented.."The first 5 years, is like being a chicken in a shell. After that, somehow you can crack your head....There is no easy gratification in this profession.".She also urged young advocates to be honest throughout their careers. "Please be honest with your clients. You have to build up a reputation of being what you want to be", advised the former Judge. .Justice Prakash said that she was at the receiving end of comments such as "You are one of the best among lady lawyers" when she had stepped into the profession. Nonetheless, one must always strive to break such stereotypes, she asserted. .Going to court regularly and working hard can go a long way in terms of excelling in the legal profession, she added.."You must go to Court everyday. Work really well, study well [the case] and present it before the Court. Then the Judge will notice you. Other lawyers and clients will also notice you. This is how I got my first brief.".This apart, becoming familiar with one's surroundings and building up relationships are other critical aspects that may prove to be stepping-stones to success, she said..Rajkotia, the second speaker for the day, opined that money would follow quality, and as a lawyer, one only needed to concentrate on the quality of her/his work. .Commenting on certain general stereotypes, Rajkotia said, ."When we talk about stereotypes, a question that may come to your mind seeing a woman judge or lawyer is: Is she married? Does she have Children?....However, we don't think that when we see a male advocate.".Being a lawyer is an opportunity to see marriage as a lesser priority as against what the society thinks, remarked Rajkotia. One does not have to feel oppressed if she is single, as the legal profession helps one feel empowered that way, she added..Defining what success means to her, Rajkotia said that success is really exploring who are you are and working on what you decide you want to be. She also went on to state that lesser money did not mean lesser success. .Rajkotia was further of the opinion that one had the liberty to only focus on building his/her quality of work and need not get involved in "networking" with other advocates, as the former is foremost. .When asked whether there were any unique pressures she had to face as a woman judge, Justice Prakash was prompt to reply in the negative. ."I had built a reputation of 27 years before being elevated. People knew me, so nobody dared to say anything based on my gender.".She concluded,."Accepting your gender and not viewing it as a weakness is key."Justice Anjana Prakash.The discussion also saw a question-answer session with the audience.