Clinical - III

Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System

Objectives:

This course aims to familiarize students with the ethical standards of the legal
profession. Emphasizing on ethical lawyering, students will be trained in skills of
client interaction and will be acquainted with the provisions governing professional
misconduct of advocates as determined by the Bar Council of India.

UNIT 1 Development of Legal Profession in India

1. Historical development of the legal profession in India.

2. Admission and Enrolment of an Advocate.
3. Distinction between Solicitors and Advocates.
4. Role of Senior Counsels and Advocate-on-record.
5. Role of Bar Councils and Bar Associations.

UNIT 2 Professional Ethics

1. Meaning and nature of ethics, its relationship to morality, nexus between

rule of law and professional ethics.
2. Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette
3. Bar and bench relations.
4. Client interviewing and counseling.
5. 50 selected opinions of the Disciplinary Committees of the Bar Council of
India (as specified in the following section).
6. Right to representation.

UNIT 3 Law of Contempt

1. Introduction to contempt: Meaning of contempt and kinds of contempt.

2. Origin, development and constitutional validity of the Contempt law.
3. Basis and extent of contempt jurisdiction-contempt by lawyers, judges, State
and Corporate Bodies.
4. Case study.
5. Contempt proceedings and valid defenses to available to the alleged
contemner.
6. Remedies against the contempt proceedings.
UNIT 2 Professional Misconduct and Seven Lamps of Advocacy

1. The principles of advocacy and their context.

2. Meaning of professional Misconduct.
3. Regulatory and remedial powers of the Bar Council of India.
4. Procedure for the redressal of misconduct.

UNIT 5 Professional Accounting and Management of Law Offices

1. Utility of accounting and basic knowledge of accounting principles.

2. Management of time, human resources and office parameters.
3. Accounting and Law, including breach of accounting principles.
4. Provision of the State Bar Council regarding receipt of money by an
Advocate.

Required Readings:

Books

1. Krishnaswamy Iyer, Professional Conduct and Advocacy, 1945.

2. Ranadhir Kumar De, Contempt of Courts Act and Practice, New Delhi:
Eastern Law House, 2012.
3. Bar Council of India Selected Judgements on Professional Ethics, 2012.
4. Sir Edward Abbott Perry, The Seven Lamps of Advocacy, London: Unwin,
1923.
5. Raju Ramachandran, Professional Ethics for Lawyers Changing
Profession, Changing Ethics, New Delhi: Lexis Nexis, 2014.
6. M.P. Jain, Outlines of Indian Legal and Constitutional History, New
Delhi: Lexis Nexis, 2014.

Articles

1. Champ S. Andrews, The Law A Business of Profession, (1908) Yale Law

Journal, 602-610.
2. Wilkins et al, Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key Roles and
Responsibilities in the 21st Century, (2014) Harvard Centre on the Legal
Profession.

Cases
List of Disciplinary Committee Cases: Cases of professional misconduct decided
by the disciplinary committees of the Bar Council of India.

Standards of Advocacy

1. DC Appeal No. 16/1993 25(1) 1998 IBR 135 1

2. DC Appeal No. 8/1994 25(1) 1998 IBR 153 4
3. D.C. Appeal No. 20/1994 24(3&4) 1997 IBR193 7
4. BCI Transfer Case No. 76/1995 24(3&4) 1997 IBR 201 10
5. BCI Transfer Case No. 104/1990 23(1) 1996 IBR 155 12
6. BCI Transfer Case No. 52/1989 21(1) 1994 IBR 187 13
7. BCI Transfer Case No. 14/1980 16(2) 1989 IBR 264 15
8. DC Appeal No. 35/1987 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 536 18
9. DC Appeal No. 40/1986 14(3) 1987 IBR 488 21
10. DC Appeal No. 7/1981 14(4) 1987 IBR 735 23
11. DC Appeal No. 19/1993* 23(1) 1996 IBR 152 25
12. DC Appeal No. 24/1987* 16(2) 1989 IBR 273 27
13. DC Appeal No. 3/1988* 16(2) 1989 IBR 285 30

Withholding of Documents

14. DC Appeal No 10/1986 & 10A/1986 14(3) 1987 IBR 491 32

15. DC Appeal No. 12/1986 14(4) 1987 IBR 745 34

Failure to render accounts, misappropriation of clients money, breach of trust,

misuse of clients confidence.

16. DC Appeal No. 13/1991 24(1&2) 1997 IBR 271 36

17. DC Appeal No. 24/1990 23(1) 1996 IBR 135 38
18. DC Appeal No. 41/1987 16(1) 1989 IBR 122 40
19. DC Appeal No. 21/1985 15(3&4) 1988 IBR 359 42
20. BCI Transfer Case No. 43/1982 15(3&4) 1988 IBR 364 44
21. DC Appeal No. 28/1986 15(3&4) 1988 IBR 374 45
22. DC Appeal No. 38/1984 14(2) 1987 IBR 319 47
23. DC Appeal No. 7/1986 14(3) 1987 IBR 496 49

Misleading and cheating the client; making False Assurances.

 24. BCI Transfer Case No. 127/1988 19(3&4) 1992 IBR 125 52
25. BCI Transfer Case No. 27/1988 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 542 54
26. BCI Transfer Case No. 24/1986 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 563 57
27. DC Appeal No. 23/1987 15(1&2) 1988 IBR 187 60
28. DC Appeal No. 34/1985 14(4) 1987 IBR 757 62

Threatening/blackmailing the client.

29. BCI Transfer Case No. 29/1981 16(2) 1989 IBR 245 64

Disregard of the clients interest.

30. DC Appeal No. 33/1986 15(3&4) 1988 IBR 354 68

Withdrawal from the case without sufficient reason and notice.

31. BCI Transfer Case No. 16/1986 15(1&2) 1988 IBR 197 70

Representing the opposite party; appearing for both the parties.

32. BCI Transfer Case No. 39/1987 19(3&4) 1992 IBR 147 72
33. BCI Transfer Case No. 39/1989 19(3&4) 1992 IBR 149 74
34. BCI Transfer Case No. 52/1988 16(1) 1989 IBR 110 76
35. DC Appeal No. 6/1981 15(1&2) 1988 IBR 193 78
36. DC Appeal No. 64/1974 14(2) 1987 IBR 314 79

Misguiding the Court.

37. BCI Transfer Case No. 40/1991 25(1) 1998 IBR 139 81
38. BCI Transfer Case No. 6/1984 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 550 83

Interfering with the decision by influencing the judge.

 39. DC Appeal No. 46/1986 16(2) 1989 IBR 280 85
40. BCI Transfer Case No. 2/1980 16(2) 1989 IBR 289 87

Making scandalous remarks/allegations against the presiding officer.

41. BCI Transfer Case No. 101/1988 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 524 89
42. DC Appeal No. 41/1986 15(1&2) 1988 IBR 200 92

Conduct unbecoming of an advocate, lowering dignity of the profession.

43. BCI Transfer Case No. 16/1988 16(1) 1989 IBR 99 93

44. DC Appeal No. 14/1988 16(2) 1989 IBR 258 95
45. DC Appeal No. 10/1988 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 572 98

Acting in conflict of interest, sharing profits of the case and lending money to the
client.

46. DC Appeal No. 23/1988 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 532 100

Conviction for offence involving moral turpitude.

47. BCI Transfer Case No. 10/1986 16(3&4) 1989 IBR 520 102
48. DC Appeal No. 45/1974 15(1&2) 1988 IBR 182 104
 Forgery

49. BCI Transfer Case No. 2/1988 16(1) 1989 IBR 102 106
50. BCI Transfer Case No. 57/1987 14(4) 1987 IBR 753 108

List of Supreme Court Cases

Criminal Contempt

1. In Re: Ajay Kumar Pandey, AIR 1997 SC 260

2. M.Y. Shareef and Another v. The Hon ble Judges of the High Court of
Nagpur and Others, AIR 1955 SC 19
3. Gobind Ram v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1972 SC 989
4. In Re v. Paramananda Gupta, Advocate (12/01/2016)

Professional Misconduct

5. M.B. Sanghi, Advocate v. High Court of Punjab and Haryana and Others,
AIR 1991 sc 1834
6. In the matter of D, An Advocate, AIR 1956 SC 102
7. P.J.Ratnam v. D.Kanikaram, AIR1964 SC 244
8. N.B.Mirzan v. The Disciplinary Committee of Bar Council of
Maharashtra and
9. Another, AIR 1972 SC 46
10. Bar Council Of Maharashtra v. M.V.Dabholkar, AIR 1976 SC 242
11. V.C.Rangadurai v. D.Goplan and others, AIR 1979 SC 201
12. Chandra Shekhar Soni v. Bar Council of Rajasthan and Others, AIR 1983
SC 1012.
13. In Re an Advocate, AIR 1989 SC 245.
14. In Re Vinay Chandra Mishra, , AIR 1995 SC 2348; 1995 (Vol-I) IBR 118.
15. Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India, AIR 1998 SC 1895.
16. R.D.Saxena V. Balram Prasad Sharma AIR 2000 SC 2912
17. E.M.S. Namboodiripad v.T. Narayana Nambiar 1970 AIR 2015.
18. H M Seervai v. Union of India (22/2/2016)
19. Om Prakash Grover v. S C Singhal (29/10/2016)
Additional Readings

Books

1. Y. Rama Rao, P Ramanatha Aiyar Advocate: His Mind & Art, Nagpur:
Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa, 2010.
2. Suparna Gooptu, Cornelia Sorabji: Indias Poineer Woman Lawyer,
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010.

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