Indian Advocates and/or foreign lawyers are not allowed to advertise in India about their practice and services in any newspaper, magazine, radio, TV or by any other media, apart launching their own websites. The Bar Council of India (BCI) allowed Indian lawyers to launch their own websites to provide information regarding their address, specialty, standing, qualification, etc, with State Bar Council approval.
Amendments Required:
To give healthy competition to foreign law firms before or after liberalization, BCI should allow Indian law firms or lawyers to advertise their practice in India or abroad. It is recommended that amendments in current advertisement section should cover the following:
1. Publicity must not be misleading or inaccurate.
2. Any publicity relating to lawyer, or his firm’s, charges must be clearly expressed.
3. Lawyer must not publicise his firm or practice by making unsolicited approaches in person or by telephone to a member of the public.
4. Publicity including the name or description of your firm, stationery, advertisements, brochures, websites, directory entries, media appearances, promotional press releases, and direct approaches to potential clients and other persons, and whether conducted in person, in writing, or in electronic form.
5. The letterhead, website and e-mails of a recognised body or recognised sole practitioner must show the words "regulated by the state Bar council of India” or the name of the state bar council.
This comment may be a little out of topic, but talks of strong Action.
Indian lawyers are not as rich as their counterparts abroad. Many lawyers have very little income. We should move the Apex Court and all Bar Councils to permit Lawyers below an annual income of 7 lakhs per annum to 1. Advertise in local newspapers 2. Take up jobs or other professions, trades, etc.
Indian Lawyers are not allowed to advertise in India and so Foreign Lawyers also. But they can have their websites mentioning their address, sevices provided, name of lawyers etc... with necessary approvals.
Lawyers can have their name board displayed out of your office. Mouth publicity is the best publicity.
To my mind, law practioners and other functionaries of the this facility in India are both efficient and have great capabilities. Any profession or enterprise be it what so ever requires some level of marketing and publicity to accelerate its growth.
The laws need major amendments to the effect that publicity and advertisement of oneself as a lawyer/firm should be definitely permitted. Free publicity through journals, electronic mediums as well as hoardings are supported. Reasonable restrictions as mentioned by Amanpreet above are ofcourse essential. Our economy has opened up and to keep up with the world we need to adopt good practices prevailing elsewhere.
The Rule 36 of Bar Council of India Rules, prohibit advocates from advertising. Rule 36 reads as under:
“An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, either directly or indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs to be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned. His sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or has been President or Member of a Bar Council or of any Association or that he has been associated with any person or organization or with any particular cause or matter or that he specializes in any particular type of worker or that he has been a Judge or an Advocate General.”
This goes against the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 19 of Constitution of India .In view of globalization and India’s membership in WTO it is pertinent for lawyers to advertise to compete in global market. Restricting the lawyers from advertising has resulted in Indian lawyers losing their International Clientage as there is an increased usage of online search engines and other Internet tools to find cheap legal services. On the same logic foreign lawyers should be permitted to advertise in India. This will no doubt, bring in competition but will also raise the standards of service in the legal sector and quality of service to the customer.Moreover when all areas of trade and commerce have been opened up why the legal profession should remain an exception?
Ms Sindhu Yadav, Subject Matter Expert, Choir de Law Pvt. Ltd., Delhi
Indian Advocates and/or foreign lawyers are not allowed to advertise in India about their practice and services in any newspaper, magazine, radio, TV or by any other media, apart launching their own websites.
ReplyDeleteThe Bar Council of India (BCI) allowed Indian lawyers to launch their own websites to provide information regarding their address, specialty, standing, qualification, etc, with State Bar Council approval.
Amendments Required:
To give healthy competition to foreign law firms before or after liberalization, BCI should allow Indian law firms or lawyers to advertise their practice in India or abroad. It is recommended that amendments in current advertisement section should cover the following:
1. Publicity must not be misleading or inaccurate.
2. Any publicity relating to lawyer, or his firm’s, charges must be clearly expressed.
3. Lawyer must not publicise his firm or practice by making unsolicited approaches in person or by telephone to a member of the public.
4. Publicity including the name or description of your firm, stationery, advertisements, brochures, websites, directory entries, media appearances, promotional press releases, and direct approaches to potential clients and other persons, and whether conducted in person, in writing, or in electronic form.
5. The letterhead, website and e-mails of a recognised body or recognised sole practitioner must show the words "regulated by the state Bar council of India” or the name of the state bar council.
This comment may be a little out of topic, but talks of strong Action.
ReplyDeleteIndian lawyers are not as rich as their counterparts abroad. Many lawyers have very little income. We should move the Apex Court and all Bar Councils to permit Lawyers below an annual income of 7 lakhs per annum to
1. Advertise in local newspapers
2. Take up jobs or other professions, trades, etc.
Indian Lawyers are not allowed to advertise in India and so Foreign Lawyers also. But they can have their websites mentioning their address, sevices provided, name of lawyers etc... with necessary approvals.
ReplyDeleteLawyers can have their name board displayed out of your office. Mouth publicity is the best publicity.
To my mind, law practioners and other functionaries of the this facility in India are both efficient and have great capabilities. Any profession or enterprise be it what so ever requires some level of marketing and publicity to accelerate its growth.
ReplyDeleteThe laws need major amendments to the effect that publicity and advertisement of oneself as a lawyer/firm should be definitely permitted. Free publicity through journals, electronic mediums as well as hoardings are supported.
Reasonable restrictions as mentioned by Amanpreet above are ofcourse essential. Our economy has opened up and to keep up with the world we need to adopt good practices prevailing elsewhere.
The Rule 36 of Bar Council of India Rules, prohibit advocates from advertising. Rule 36 reads as under:
ReplyDelete“An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, either directly or indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs to be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned. His sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or has been President or Member of a Bar Council or of any Association or that he has been associated with any person or organization or with any particular cause or matter or that he specializes in any particular type of worker or that he has been a Judge or an Advocate General.”
This goes against the Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 19 of Constitution of India .In view of globalization and India’s membership in WTO it is pertinent for lawyers to advertise to compete in global market. Restricting the lawyers from advertising has resulted in Indian lawyers losing their International Clientage as there is an increased usage of online search engines and other Internet tools to find cheap legal services. On the same logic foreign lawyers should be permitted to advertise in India. This will no doubt, bring in competition but will also raise the standards of service in the legal sector and quality of service to the customer.Moreover when all areas of trade and commerce have been opened up why the legal profession should remain an exception?
Ms Sindhu Yadav,
Subject Matter Expert,
Choir de Law Pvt. Ltd., Delhi