Law Min asks legal professionals to become digitally empowered

Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today asked young legal professionals to become digitally empowered to keep in tune with the changing information and technology scenario.
He also advised young professional to stay committed towards the poor and deprived and devote some time for pro bono litigation.
Speaking at the fifth convocation of the Indian Law Institute (ILI) here, Prasad said the changing trends in the field of technology have created a situation where every information is available instantly and a lawyer must remain up to date and continue to be a student of law to excel.
The entire ecosystem of law is changing dramatically because you will have to live in the world of technology, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a powerful statement when he spoke about an India where 'IT plus IT is equal to IT' or the Indian Talent plus Information Technology equalling up to India Tomorrow, Prasad said.
"India with a population of 1.3 billion population is home to 1.21 billion phones, 500 million smartphones, 20 crore Aadhaar cards and 500 million internet users. All this is creating a scenario where every information is at the tip of the fingers. This is the age of information and technology. The digital world is creating a scenario where the physical boundaries are becoming irrelevant," he said.

Speaking at the event, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said one of the most important concerns today was making courts and legal aid accessible to the downtrodden sections.

"The concept of access to justice has gained momentum and it is imperative that the younger generation recognises the need to uphold this principle in the sense of trust. You should devote some time for pro bono litigation as that is the need of the hour in a developing country like ours," the CJI, who is also the president of the ILI, said.
Prasad, himself an eminent lawyer, advised youngsters that there was no shortcut in the profession and hard work the only way out.

At the event, the institute awarded doctorates in Law, Master of Laws (LLM) and Post-Graduate Diplomas in fields like alternative dispute resolution, corporate laws and management, cyber law, drafting of legislation treaties and agreements and environmental law, human rights law, intellectual property rights law, international trade law, labour law, securities and banking laws and tax law.
Supreme Court Justices A K Sikri, R K Agrawal, Amitava Roy, Arun Mishra, A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud and ILI director Manoj Kumar Sinha were among those present.