An Advocate shall not solicit work or advertise in any manner. He shall not promote himself by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, Interviews other than 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.

An Advocate shall not solicit work or advertise in any manner. He shall not promote himself by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, Interviews other than 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.

In India the cumulative effect of The Advocate Act, the rules of the Bar Council of India and the other professional bodies is that lawyers are prohibited to advertise their services. Lawyers may not solicit clients and cannot do anything that might influence the decision or a potential litigant from engaging one or the other lawyer. Even if a lawyer argues a case brilliantly, the newspapers may report issue but the publication of the lawyer’s name in the report is frowned upon. Consequently a person intending to buy an automobile has more information and research resources at his disposal than someone intending to entrust critical litigation to an advocate. A litigant exposed to the vagaries of the Judicial System in India for the first time has now way to draw up a short list of practitioners specializing in that particular branch of law; there is no single place or agency which can possibly supply a list of “good lawyers to the lay person”.

The majority of clients are therefore at the mercy of “friend of a friend” for their legal requirements. The legal profession works more by oral referrals than by a standardized criterion for grading lawyers. The prohibition on advertizing or information dissemination is usually attributed to and rationalized by the age-old homily about the law being a “noble profession”. One of the possible methods can be to permit limited advertising, possibly through “infortising”.

The Bar Council can possibly lay standards within which the lawyers may be allowed to advertise or publish information, which apart from attracting new business for the lawyer, provides an opportunity for the practitioners to share information or legal analysis with prospective clients. As long as the ‘advertising” is not just gratuitous and promotes legal awareness and gives the litigants an opportunity to evaluate the caliber of their potential counsel, advertising person ought not to be barred. In many countries now, the legal profession itself provides a way for litigants to find the lawyer best suited to their needs.

Probably more attention has been given to the regulation of the attorney advertising in recent years than is deserved, at least based on the volume of advertising actually done. While more Colorado attorneys advertise today than prior to the Supreme Court unshackling of attorney commercial speech in Bates v/s State Bar of Arizona, U33 U.S. 350(1977); mass media advertising is still relatively shunned, or is done in a low key manner, eg: sponsorship announcements for public Television or National Public Radio.

Subject to requirements of Rules 7.1 and 7.3, a lawyer may advertise services through public media, such as a telephone directory, newspaper or other periodicals outdoor advertising radio or television, or through written or recorded communications. A copy or recording of an advertising or communication shall be kept for two years after its last dissemination along with a record of when and where It was used. A lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services, except that a lawyer may pay the reasonable cost of advertisements or communications permitted by this rule and may pay the usual charges of a not-for-profit lawyer referral service or other legal service organization.

For lawyers new to advertising regulation, the rules of professional conduct offer no direct guidance the words “Internet and Website” are nowhere to be found. Fortunately there is no shortage of analysis by web ethicists. Also, once familiar with the medium, the basic concepts of “advertising” and “solicitation” are not difficult to apply. There is little doubt that the Internet is a “public media” in which attorneys are permitted to advertise.

It is the duty of the advocate towards the colleagues under rule 36, u/s sec-iv of the chapter-ii of the rules governing advocates not to advertise or solicit the work either directly or indirectly. 

The Bar Council of England and Wales introduced its own benchmark, for lawyers way back in 1999 called the Bar mark, it indicates that chambers comply with the Bar council’s practice management standards and guidelines. This kite mark, which is regularly reviewed sets standards of best practice for administering chambers.

Barrister’s chambers regularly update their websites on the internet. These websites usually carry detailed curriculum vitae of the practicing barristers, their achievements etc. these website also routinely carry information on the practice areas of interest of each individual as well as link and references to judgments in cases where that lawyer had appeared. It is now high time that bar council and each advocate in India realize that true legal system is not just about the lawyers. The Bar council must confine its activities to the welfare of the legal community. The Bar has a great role to play, as the first line of contact between the lay public and the lawyers.

Many of the malpractices that lawyers commit for obtaining work, which are commonly acknowledged in private, but seldom publicly admitted can be better addressed if ‘Infortising’ is accepted into our system. The legal Profession is undoubtedly a noble profession. But at the same time, it is catering to the needs of the public at large. It must therefore open itself up to the scrutinizing of the public and appear reasonable and accountable. This is even more relevant today as the legal services sector in India is likely to be thrown open to ‘Foreign Lawyers’.

BY LAWZ BUREAU