Rule 2 in CHAPTER – III (Conditions for right to practice) of PART – VI (Rules Governing Advocates) of the Bar Council of India Rules lays down as under:
“2. An advocate shall not enter into a partnership or any other arrangement for sharing remuneration with any person or legal practitioner who is not an advocate.”
Therefore, this Rule makes it clear that an advocate cannot become a partner with a non-advocate. It should thus be clear that if a law firm consists of persons who wish to practice as advocates in courts, then both (or all) partners must be advocates / lawyers.
However, if a law firm does not intend to practice in courts and deals only with non-litigation work, such as advisory work or documentation work, then it may not be necessary that the partners should only be lawyers. Even in such a case, if one of the partners is an advocate who appears in court even in his personal capacity, then action may be taken against him by Bar Council for violation of the above Rule. So, he will also have to be a non-practicing advocate, preferably having suspended his law practice if he has enrolled earlier as an advocate.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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