An Advocate’s Duties to Clients

There are many duties that an advocate has to fulfil towards clients. Some of them include:

Accepting and withdrawing from cases

An advocate should:

• Accept any case, unless exceptional circumstances exist.¹ The Supreme Court has said that a lawyer cannot refuse a brief if a client is willing to pay his fee, and the lawyer is not otherwise engaged.² The advocate’s fee will be based on their professional standing and the nature of the case.
• Not withdraw from a case after accepting it. However, the advocate can withdraw if there is sufficient cause, after giving a reasonable and sufficient notice to the client. If the lawyer withdraws from a case, they have to refund any fee that has not been earned.³
• Not accept or appear in a case for which the advocate might appear as a witness.⁴

Loyalty to the client

An advocate must:

• Make full and frank disclosure to the client about the advocate’s connection towards the other parties and any other interest in the case.⁵
• Uphold the interests of the client by all fair and honorable means.  Advocates should be loyal to this principle and should not let their personal beliefs about a client’s guilt stop them from accepting a case. Regardless of their personal opinion on the guilt of a client, advocates should defend the client.⁶
• Not work for the conviction of an innocent person. For instance, advocates should not suppress material that could establish the innocence of a person in a criminal case.⁷
• Only work as per the instruction of the client or the client’s agent.⁸
• Not act, appear or argue for the opposite party if the advocate has advised, acted, appeared or pleaded for a client at any stage of a lawsuit.⁹

Upholding interests of the client

Advocates have to make sure that they:

• Do not specify a fee that is dependent on the result of the case. An advocate should not agree to share the benefits that a client will get from a case.¹⁰
• Do not abuse or take advantage of the trust of the client.¹¹
• Keep accounts of the money entrusted to them by the client.¹²
• Do not accept a fee less than a fee which can be taxed, if the client is able to pay it.¹³

Failure to obey any of these duties may qualify for ‘Professional Misconduct’ by the Advocate, and a client can lodge a complaint against the advocate in the appropriate forum.

1. Rule 11, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
2. A.S. Mohammed Rafi v. State of Tamil Nadu, Criminal Appeal No. 2310 of 2010[↩]
3. Rule 12, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
4. Rule 13, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
5. Rule 14, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
6. Rule 15, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
7. Rule 16, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
8. Rule 19, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
9. Rule 33, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
10. Rule 20, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
11. Rule 24, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
12. Rule 25, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]
13. Rule 38, Chapter II, Part VI, Bar Council of India Rules, 1975[↩]