Rakshit Kumar Jha, BML Munjal University, Gurugram, Haryana
ABSTRACT
It is a well-known fact that the legal professionals or the legal profession in itself have been acknowledged and admired as a noble profession in the last few decades. The profession is portrayed as a platform which is not only justice-centered, but also a field which provides service to the individuals of society in a fair manner. However, there is a central issue related to the field of law which has long remained unanswered, that is, advertisement by the lawyers, which as per the statutory provisions is restricted. The said restriction has been placed in order to prevent commercialization of this profession and also to preserve the dignity of this profession. In this paper, we will be looking at and analyzing the extent of enforceability on prohibited solicitation that is expected and required to be followed by advocates. This would also include looking at the historical perspective behind putting prohibition on advocates to advertise in relation to ethics, the view opted by the judiciary, global methodology opted by different nations with regards to advertisement by lawyers, and analyzing the shift that has taken place in this prohibition post the introduction of digital platforms, specifically, LinkedIn. Lastly, we will discuss the changes or reforms that should be opted on in the current Statute for strengthening its enforceability and implementation. Traditionally, the lawyers were not allowed to advertise in order to prevent any kind of unnecessary competition among the other advocates, however, certain liberty was provided to the advocates which led to providing freedom and liberty to law offices, law firms and such chambers of advocates to share basic information on their websites. However, at the same time, the rapid shift of the individuals towards social media and digital platforms, specifically, platforms like that of LinkedIn, has led to some requirement of re-evaluation in the provisions laid down under the Statute.
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