Ethical Lawyering: A Way to Uphold the Nobility of the Legal Profession

The Ethics has to be the way of Life for any individual, especially, Professionals. Professional Misconduct is an act of Advocate which transgresses the boundary of decency and well-established norms laid down by the Bar Council of India. The Civility in the Professional life is unarguably the important trait of any Advocate. Any Act of defiance of rules by the member set up by the Statutory Body is a serious issue for the entire legal Profession. The Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette laid down by the Bar Council of India includes various duties which the advocates owe towards the Court, Client, opponents, colleagues and the society. The Advocates Act 1961 has laid down the provisions relating to the disciplinary committees and procedure to be adopted for the disciplinary proceedings against the advocates. The Researcher discusses the contours of the Professional Misconduct as determined from the analysis of the case laws and Reports of Law Commission of India. The Researcher also delves into rules and statutory provisions governing the Standards of Professional Conduct expected from the Advocates. The appropriateness of present procedure and punishment is also discussed. The Researcher concludes the paper with the suggestions so that the incidents of delinquent behavior can be brought down significantly.