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  • AOR Paper III Q and A

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    R S Janwa
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    The document discusses the issue of prohibitions on advertising in the legal profession in India. It notes that while advertising is a common practice for professionals globally, lawyers in India are prohibited from advertising under the notion that law is a "noble profession." However, with the changing times and need for lawyers to promote themselves, the Bar Council of India recently amended rules to allow lawyers to maintain websites about their practice. The document argues that while regulations are needed, an outright ban on advertising is no longer appropriate and lawyers should be allowed to use advertising to make consumers aware of their services, as long as it is done properly without compromising ethics.

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    1. AOR Paper III Q and A

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    The document discusses the issue of prohibitions on advertising in the legal profession in India. It notes that while advertising is a common practice for professionals globally, lawyers in India are prohibited from advertising under the notion that law is a "noble profession." However, with the changing times and need for lawyers to promote themselves, the Bar Council of India recently amended rules to allow lawyers to maintain websites about their practice. The document argues that while regulations are needed, an outright ban on advertising is no longer appropriate and lawyers should be allowed to use advertising to make consumers aware of their services, as long as it is done properly without compromising ethics.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    16 views3 pages

    AOR Paper III Q and A

    Uploaded by

    R S Janwa
    The document discusses the issue of prohibitions on advertising in the legal profession in India. It notes that while advertising is a common practice for professionals globally, lawyers in India are prohibited from advertising under the notion that law is a "noble profession." However, with the changing times and need for lawyers to promote themselves, the Bar Council of India recently amended rules to allow lawyers to maintain websites about their practice. The document argues that while regulations are needed, an outright ban on advertising is no longer appropriate and lawyers should be allowed to use advertising to make consumers aware of their services, as long as it is done properly without compromising ethics.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    Being a lawyer can be 

    very rewarding for someone who is passionate


    about the law and the responsibilities it comes with. However, the job
    can involve lack of work-life balance, stress, pressure, etc. Article
    19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India guarantees Freedom of Speech
    and Expression. In the case of Tata Yellow Pages v. MTNL, the SC
    made an important observation. It held that freedom of speech and
    expression extends to commercial speech. This includes advertising.
    Despite having a thousand lawyers enrolled with bar council every
    year, neither law professionals nor the law firms have the right to
    advertise their profession. Lawyers are prohibited from doing
    anything that might influence prospective client. The prohibition on
    advertising is based on the old British notion that law is a “noble
    profession”.

    Justice Krishna Iyer, in the case of  Bar Council of Maharashtra v.


    M.V. Dadholkar, stated that “the canon of ethics and propriety for the
    legal profession totally taboo conduct by way of soliciting,
    advertising, scrambling and other obnoxious practices, subtle or
    clumsiness, for the betterment of the legal business. The law is not a
    trade, briefs no merchandise and to the heaven of commercial
    competition or procurement should not vulgarise the legal
    profession”. This perception about the prohibition stems from the
    very fact that the legal profession is considered as a noble profession.

    In this era of globalization, where on the one hand advertisements and


    promotions are weapons for the professionals, they also act as a
    shields for the consumer of the services. The restrictions on the
    advertising in the legal profession has its good and bad impact on the
    lawyers and the clients. It is the time that the concerned authorities
    realize it soon. It is only then, that the dual benefit, both to lawyers
    and to the consumers can be served well by making according
    required amendment.
    However, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has not completely ignored
    the developments in the liberalized generation. The BCI recently
    decided to amend Rule 36 of the BCI Rules by adding a clause that
    allows advocates to maintain websites about themselves or their law
    firms to provide information about their business and help people to
    make more informed choices. The BCI should not ban advertising per
    se. Instead, as long as it promotes legal awareness and gives a chance
    to the client to choose the right advocate, it should be permitted. The
    BCI should lay down rules related to this matter. This fulfils the need
    for advertising and keeping a check and regulating it. In this way, BCI
    would retain the regulatory role. This would further allow advocates
    to publicize their services. At the same time, clients could exercise
    their right to information.

    In the present scenario, lawyers have faced the loss of income during
    the pandemic and the following lockdown. There have been reports of
    suicides and depression. Thus, a petitioner has filed a plea in the
    Supreme Court. It prayed that the BCI bring in changes to the BCI
    Rules by issuing modification of rules. It also prayed to initiate
    modifications under Section 49 of the Advocates Act, 1961.The
    recent death by suicide by a 35-year-old advocate indicates the
    situation of the advocates. Many advocates are going through a
    financial crunch due to the closure of Courts.

    The emerging legal service sector is equally beneficial to all


    consumers of legal services, without discrimination. In the age of
    consumerism and competition law, consumer’s right to free and fair
    competition is paramount and cannot be denied by any other
    consideration. Trade in legal services focuses on benefits accruing to
    consumers from the legal service sector, particularly the quality of
    service available with respect to particular fields.
    Presently, various legal-tech platforms are sprouting in the legal
    domain which allows advocates to list their qualification, expertise,
    experience etc., in order to provide a litigator with options to choose
    from. The legal profession has relied on word-of-mouth for years
    now. A time has come when Indian legal industry should embrace the
    change and indulge in the healthy marketing of their brand.
    Nonetheless, the Legislature needs to draft certain guidelines for
    advertising the legal practice to keep a check on malpractice .
    Thus, it can be said that being advertisement a powerful tool used for
    making consumers aware about specialisation, achievements and
    experiences. Lawyer should be allowed using this in this modern era
    keeping the nobility and integrity of this profession maintained.

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