PROHIBITION OF

ADVERTISEMENTS FOR
LAWYERS.

SUBMITTED TO:-MRS. RAVEENA SARAO

SUBMITTED B Y :-EKNOOR KHURANA
COURSE:- BALLB (5A)
ENROLLMENT NUMBER:-35751103818
Introduction:-
In this fast growing country and era of competition advertisement is considered as a very
beneficial toll to promote one’s business or further one’s services .This makes the products or
services easily accessible to the market and can attract customers for that matter .People
nowadays are carving out creative ways to advertise their products or services in the market
and get into the masses .But, there are various professions in which there is a strict bar on
Advertising and Law is one of them.So,basically lawyers and law firms are not allowed to
advertise their services as per the guidelines given under Bar Council of India Rules. The Bar
Council of India has provided strict guidelines and code of conduct with respect to the legal
community. The legal profession is considered to be highly noble, a notion based on legal
ethics and morals which may seem to be a very outdated approach in other countries but
forms an integral part of the identity of a lawyer in India.

Law behind the prohibition on Advertisements by Lawyers: -

The code of conduct and the mannerism of Lawyers is dealt by The Advocates Act,1961 and
Section 4 of this Act provides for various authorities under the Act i.e., a Central Bar
Council known as the BCI and various State Bar Councils. These Bar Councils are enshrined
with the power to make rules for the conduct of lawyers taking in consideration the nobility
and sanctity of the Profession. Particularly, Section 49 (1) of this Act provides the authority
to Bar Councils to provide for the standards governing “the standard of Professional
Conduct” and also “the conditions of practice” i.e., the pre-requisite that need to be adhered
to to practice as a Lawyer. Exercising this power, the Bar Council of India (BCI) formulated
Rule 361 to the Section IV (Duty of Colleagues) of Chapter II (Standards of Professional
Conduct and Etiquette) of Part VI (Rules Governing Advocates) of the Bar Council of India
Rules which got published on September 6th, 1975.This today, acts as a strict bar on the
lawyers and law firms to prohibit them from advertising.
Origin of this Law:-
This Rule 36 of BCI rules provide a straitjacket ban and it originally came from The British
Law i.e., the Solicitors Act,1933 which gave the power to Law society to provide for the
standards in order to disciple solicitors. It is also said that the tint of it was also influenced
from Cannons of American Jurisprudence, Ordinance 27 of Professional ethics of the
American Bar Association says that soliciting the services of an advocate would clearly be
unprofessional .But, it is very essential to note that these jurisprudential laws have done
away with the ban on advertisements by advocates.
Various Judgments:

Bar Council Of Maharashtra vs M. V. Dabholkar Etc. Etc i

As per the testimony taken by the State Disciplinary Tribunal these practitioners placed
themselves at the entrance of the magistrate courts, watching for the arrival of clients and
rushing towards them in an ugly manner to snatch the briefs, to lay claim to the engagements
even by physical fight, to undercut fees, and by this unedifying exhibition, sometimes carried
1
Bar Council of India Rules
even into the Bar Library, solicited and secured work for themselves. The Bar Council of
Maharashtra, by its resolution No. 29 dated August 8, 1964 considered the complaint
received from the High Court against one Kelawala and 15 other Advocates among whom are
those charged with professional misconduct and covered by the present appeals, under s.35(1)
of the Act, and presumably having reason to believe that the professional misconduct alleged
required a further probe referred the case to its disciplinary committee ,The judgment of the
Supreme Court on the case was that the rule of law cannot be built on the ruins of democracy,
for where law ends tyranny begins. If such be the keynote thought for the very survival of our
Republic, the integral bond between the lawyer and the public is unbreakable. And the vital
role of the lawyer depends upon his probity and professional life-style. Be it remembered that
the central function of the legal profession is to promote the administration of justice. If the
practice of law is thus a public utility of great implications and a monopoly is statutorily
granted by the nation, it obligates the lawyer to observe scrupulously those norms which
make him worthy of the confidence of the community in him as a vehicle of justice-social
justice. The Bar cannot behave with doubtful scruples or strive to thrive on litigation. Canons
of conduct cannot be crystalised into rigid rules but felt by the collective conscience of the
practitioners as right.

Tata Press Limited vs Mahanagar Telephone-Nigam2

This appeal has arisen from a civil suit instituted before the Bombay by the Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam Limited (the Nigam) and the Union of India for a declaration that they
alone have the right to print/publish the list of telephone subscribers and that the same cannot
be printed or published by any other person without express permission of the Nigam/Union
of India It was said that Right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article
19(1)(a) of the Constitution can only be restricted under Article 19(2). The said right can not
be denied by creating a monopoly in favour of the government or any other authority.
"Publication of advertisements" is a "commercial speech" and is protected under Article
19(1)(a) of the Constitution and therefore, it cannot be denied to the appellants on the
interpretation of rule 458 and 4593 of Indian Telegraph Rules,1951. The plain language of
the Rules indicate that the prohibition under rule 458 of the Rules is only in respect of
publishing "any list of telephone subscribers". Also, in the case of Dharamvir Singh Vs
Vinod Majahan the Punjab and Haryana Court was held by the Court that since provided
legal services is a form of business proposition, advertising the same will come within the
definition of commercial speech.

R. N. Sharma, Advocate v. State of Haryana 4

2
1995 AIR 2438, 1995 SCC (5) 139

3
Indian Telegraph Rules,1951
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CWP No.3280 of 2013
It has been held that an advocate is an officer of the Court, and the legal profession is not a
trade or a business; it is a noble profession and advocates have to strive to secure justice for
their clients within legally permissible limits.

Amendment of 2008 in the Rule 36

In 2008, the Rule was amended, after the resolution was passed by the BCI on 30th April
2008 before a three-member bench of the Apex Court. According to the amended Rule,
advocates are now allowed to furnish information on their website about their name, address,
contact information, enrolment information of the advocate, area of practice and professional
and academicqualifications.

The BCI made the amendment to the Rule 36 post the case of Mr. V.B. Joshi on restrictions
on advertisement for services by Indian Advocates. Justice S H Kapadia who was part of this
three-member bench, suggested that the Advocates may also add their area of specialization
and number of years of experience to their profile on the website.

Reasons behind this law:-

The reason behind this ban on advertisements is :-
 The sanctity of the profession gets destroyed.
 The big law firms or the famous lawyers would easily advertise in creative ways and
it might lead to an unfair competition for the others.

Ground Reality:-
With the increase of technology and data consumption by the masses, the advocates have
resorted to indirect advertisement techniques, which has now resorted against the very
purpose and object of banning them under Rule 36. The market leaders in the legal
professional increase their outreach by using their resources and workforce to revolve around
such restrictions. They garner stakeholders' engagement by organizing events and webinars.
They increase their virtual presence and highlight their achievements on social media and
professional platform like LinkedIn, legal directories, publishing houses and peer-to-peer
platforms. Nowadays, news channels and newspapers cover high profile cases of law firms.
The big players have revamped websites with great search engine optimization and client
ratings that facilitate traction by potential clients. Due to great networking among Chartered
Accountancy firms, Business Consultancy Firms, retained clients, the known law firms are
greatly benefitted.

Conclusion:-
In the present times of the pandemic, the lawyers are not able to physically network and
present their case, and removing such restriction at this opportune juncture is the need of the
time. Such opportunity to advertise with reasonable restrictions and disclosures will provide
opportunity to novice lawyers and lesser-known law firms, resulting in distribution of market
power. It will also provide the potential clients and aggrieved parties with information about
subject-matter expert and professionals which will let them make an informed decision. It
will enable international clients to hire Indian lawyers and legal outsourcing services.
i
1976 AIR 242, 1976 SCR (2) 48