Introduction Legal Professional ethics might be defined as a set of principles that is to be followed for the conduct of a legal advisor towards himself, clients, enemies and towards the court. The ethics of the legal profession are the standards directed to all the people in the legal field from the bar. When an individual finishes his study of law and then turns into a lawyer, his contacts and connections is shown by the general rules of law but an advocate is directed by the principles of professional ethics of the bar. The prime target of the ethics of the legal profession is to keep up the balance of legal professionalism and the friendly connection between the bench and the bar. The courts have observed that an advocate is bind to follow the principles of law and equality framework is authorized to work. An advocate should be in his obligations towards the court, to his legal advisors, and the clients. If the professional ethics that are to be followed by the people in the legal field should be endorsed by the Chief Justice of India so to have a better impact. Nowadays, a lot of online legal certification courses are there which help the individuals to learn more legal professional ethics. These ethics are the basic characteristics that every advocate must inherit. One of the best online legal courses available in today’s world for developing these legal professional ethics in each and every advocate.
Bar Council of India Rules Bar Council of India has set some rules and guidelines under part VI of chapter II which deals with the standard of professional conduct of advocates. This chapter states 39 rules or duties of advocates towards court, client, opponent etc.
Duties of Advocate towards the Court
- To uphold a humble behaviour towards the courts.
- Not to influence the judgment of a court by any wrong means.
- Appear in the court in the proper prescribed dress, and in a presentable manner.
- Not to plead in any case in which he has personal interest.
- If he is a associate of any committee or corporation then he cannot appear before court to represent the case of the same committee or corporation.
Duties of Advocate towards the Client
- Once the case is acknowledged he cannot withdraw from actions or engagements without correct cause.
- Not to accept and appear in a case in which he can himself be an eye witness.
- Support the interest of his clients by all means.
- Not to charge for his services which depends on the success of the matter taken.
Duties of Advocate towards the Colleagues
- Duty is that he will not request work or advertise, either directly or indirectly.
- He cannot use the name in aid or professional service.
- When a client is in a situation to pay the fee he won’t accept a fee less than taxable under the rules.
Punishment for Professional Misconduct As per section 35 of the Advocates act 1961, if an advocate is found guilty of professional misconduct that means if he does not follow the legal professional ethics of the legal profession then this will be discussed to a disciplinary committee and a date of hearing will be finalized and a notice will be delivered to the advocate. Then the State Bar Council will hear and the court may –
- Dismiss the complaint
- Warning to advocate
- Suspend the advocate from practicing for a particular period of time
- Eliminate the name of advocate from state roll of advocates.
Online Legal Courses for Professional Ethics of a Lawyer The pivotal role of ethics cannot be overemphasized. There are various online legal certification courses which help the individuals to learn better professional ethics and implement them in real. These courses cover almost all doctrines and concepts of professional ethics of advocates which includes rules of Bar Council as well. A crystal clear knowledge to the aspirants about the professional ethics of lawyers are given through these courses. The online legal certification courses are designed in a way for the aims like:
- Get benefit by way of good performance and behaviour.
- Discuss the provisions of professional ethics of advocates.
- Discuss the challenges in the field of professional ethics for advocates.
- To achieve proficiency in professional ethics.
With these courses available one can achieve a fair and sound understanding of the concepts of professional ethics. Individuals will be able to establish the relevance of ethics in today’s scenario. This will help the individuals to apply research methods, data analysis and interpretation in the same field.
Conclusion Professional ethics are pivotal to make sure an independent, capable and responsible legal profession. Ethics can improve standards of reasonableness, genuineness, honesty in a way that people in legal profession behave and strengthen trust in the organisation of equity. It is crucial that bar affiliations create a disciplinary methodology so that ethics are followed in a proper manner. These ethics are not only vital for lawyers, there importance is in every field whether it is business or employment or profession. There are no punishments for this kind of misconduct in other employment but in legal profession proper action is taken if the advocates don’t follow the ethics that is the principles laid down by the Bar Council. In legal profession every individual has to follow the ethics like laws otherwise it will be penalized. Ethics are just about the way or conduct or manner in which we work or perform our actions. For the proper conduct of legal ethics of advocates online legal certification courses help individuals to learn and practice these ethics. These online legal courses play a vital role in developing legal professional ethics.