By Vikrant Rana and Shilpi Saurav Sharan
The legal Profession in India is at a crossroads, with evolving business dynamics demanding a re-evaluation of the traditional definition of ‘Legal Practitioners’. The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was released by the Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India for public consultation on February 13th 2025[1]. One of the proposed amendments that invited a cynosure of debates was the expansion the definition of a ‘legal practitioner’. The definition proposed to include within its ambit law graduates working in law firms, private companies, public organizations, statutory bodies, as well as foreign law firms, practicing outside the traditional domain of litigation.
The aforesaid proposal to expand the definition of “legal practitioner” sparked widespread debate and faced backlash from the Indian legal fraternity, eventually leading to withdrawal of the Bill on February 23, 2025[2] , following strikes by lawyers and objections from the Bar Council of India (BCI).
| Present definition of Legal Practitioner | Proposed definition of Legal practitioner |
| “legal practitioner” means an advocate 5 of any High Court, a pleader, mukhtar or revenue agent; | “Legal Practitioner” means any Advocate or law graduate engaged in the practice of law before courts, tribunals or quasi-judicial forums or doing legal work in any private or public organization including but not limited to statutory and autonomous bodies, domestic and foreign law firms and corporate entities. |
Recognition of General Counsels as Legal Practitioners
One of the pressing issues that emerged from the Bill was the proposal to recognize General Counsels as Legal Practitioners. At present General Counsels are barred from certain rights and privileges that are available to Advocates.
Rights and privileges conferred on Advocates under the Act:
- Right to practice law- recognized as a fundamental Right
- Right to freedom of speech and expression- Right to criticize legal system, judiciary, its functioning, or its decisions.
- Right to Appear in Court and represent clients.[3]
- Right against arbitrary arrest or detention.[4]
- Attorney Client Privileges.
Recognition of General Counsels- A Comparison
In countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, have recognized the dual role of General Counsels as legal advisors and business enablers.
The regulatory Framework in these jurisdictions permit General Counsels to:
- Appear in courts under specific conditions
- Provide privileged legal opinions similar to external Advocates
- Act as fully integrated members of the legal ecosystem.
For Instance
- The United Kingdom’s Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recognizes in-house counsel as vital legal professionals.[5]
- The American Bar Association (ABA) provides a regulatory framework for corporate counsel, ensuring they have the same standing as litigators.
Proposed Reforms in the Bill:
- A distinct Regulatory Framework:
- Creation of a separate legal professional category:
- A distinct regulatory body for in house counsels:
- Limited enrollment with bar for specific Functions: they can be allowed to represent their organization in tribunals, regulatory hearings, and arbitration panels.
- Mandatory Continuing Professional Development: introducing CPD requirements tailored for in house lawyers covering emerging fields such as AI ethics data protection, and cross border developments will help them in staying ahead of rapidly evolving legal environment.
- Alignment with Global Trends: Many countries recognize the role of in-house counsel and have established frameworks for their regulation and professional development. Recognizing General Counsel in India would align the country with international best practices.
- Enhancing law & business collaboration: the legal profession should break silos and encourage stronger partnership between: General Counsels, business leaders and policymakers, Regulatory and corporate legal teams this would promote pro-business policies without compromising legal integrity.
A dedicated Bar council framework that would ensure appropriate professional recognition, ethical oversight, and continued career development, acknowledging their dual role in law and business.
instead of classifying General Counsels as advocates, a new category- such as corporate legal professional or registered in house council can be established under the bar council or a separate regulatory body. This would allow General Counsels to retain professional recognition without conflicting with litigation focused advocacy.
A separate regulatory authority similar to the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA) in the U.K. could be formed to govern corporate lawyers ensuring ethical and professional privileges while differentiating them from court practitioners.
Conclusion
The recent proposed Advocate Bill, 2025 which recognized In-house legal counsels as “legal practitioners” marked a watershed moment for the entire Indian legal fraternity. This amendment reflects a broader trend of recognizing and expanding roles in the career of law beyond the traditional courtroom practice. However, to protect the independence of the legal profession and address the issues of conduct the bill has been withdrawn and a revised version incorporating public feedback is likely to be introduced.
Huda Jafri, Associate Advocate at S.S.Rana & Co. has assisted in the research of this article.
[1]https://legalaffairs.gov.in/sites/default/files/The_Advocates_(Amendment)_Bill_2025.pdf
[2]https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2105515
[3]Section 30 Advocates Act, 1961
[4]Section 32 Advocates Act, 1961
[5]https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/in-house-solicitors-thematic-review/