MP Bar Association launches Mentorship Program for Women Lawyers

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The Madhya Pradesh Bar Association, Indore has initiated its mentorship program for the benefit of young women lawyers and legal interns, offering them career guidance, professional insights and networking opportunities. The association is calling it a “first of its kind” program that is focused on tackling the challenges faced by women joining the legal profession.

The program was introduced on 17th July and took part by over 80 young women members and interns from the bar. It was organized under the leadership of Kirti Patwardhan, Treasurer, Sonali Shukla and Agreema Sanghai, Executive Members.

The mentorship program is developed to provide a forum for experienced practitioners from the legal profession to share their knowledge, experience in their career and their approach to professional development. The sessions will involve interactive discussions with successful women advocates, judges and entrepreneurs who will share their experience of their career journey, challenges and success.

Key Highlights:

• MP Bar Association launches mentorship program for young women lawyers
• Over 80 women lawyers and interns participate in the initiative
• Program focuses on career guidance, networking and skill development

In the opening session Archana Kher (Addl Advocate General) who was the first girl Additional Advocate General, shared the experiences of her professional life with the participants. She discussed the challenges women face in the legal profession, how women can break the "glass ceiling" and how to maintain a work-life balance, especially for married women working in law.

It started with an interactive session which gave participants an opportunity to share challenges they faced in their career path. Young women lawyers pointed out issues of gender bias, career growth after marriage, and lack of opportunities to make professional connections, particularly for the first generation of female lawyers.

The mentorship program is a way of assisting young female lawyers to acquire knowledge other than through classroom instruction. Participants will learn from professionals about career development, professional opportunities, skill sets to develop to establish their career in the legal field.

Research skills, the use of legal databases and drafting skills will be the subject of the next sessions under the program. It is expected that such sessions will bring the participants first-hand experience on some of the fundamental practical aspects of legal practice.

Over the past few years, the percentage of women in the legal field has risen, however there are still obstacles facing young lawyers to provide mentorship and networking opportunities for them along with career growth. The purpose of these programs is to narrow the gap by pairing up new female solicitors with older ones to support them at various stages of their careers.

The initiative by the Madhya Pradesh Bar Association marks a broader trend towards fostering greater inclusivity within professional institutions in the practice of law. The program aims to promote empowerment and skill enhancement for women to pursue successful and sustainable careers in the legal profession.