General counsels seek recognition as advocates, body meets Union Law minister with demand

New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): The General Counsels’ Association of India (GCAI) met with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and submitted a representation seeking statutory recognition of general counsels and in-house counsels as legal practitioners.

General counsels or in-house counsels are qualified lawyers employed by corporations for legal work but are not allowed to practice as ‘Advocates’ or hold membership in the Bar Council during such employment.

GCAI president Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat apprised the Minister that regulation and recognition of General Counsels, with over 500,000 practising law currently in India, is extremely important and requested positive consideration from the Government of India, the GCAI said in a release. GCAI’s representation to the Minister highlighted that the corporate sector, which is the backbone of India’s growth, is being looked after by trained legal practitioners who are employed by corporations.

However, even though they deal with all facets of Indian laws, regulatory compliances, adjudication, arbitration, and litigation, they are not recognized as ‘Advocates’ under Indian laws, thereby not being regulated by any professional code of conduct or regulatory body.

Therefore, GCAI humbly suggested that there should be a suitable amendment to Indian laws, primarily the Advocates Act, 1961, and the Bar Council of India Rules, 1975, so that due regulation and recognition are provided to the legal services by General Counsels.

Sharing his views on this occasion, Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat, Founder of GCAI, said, “Since its foundation, the vision of GCAI has been to create a distinct professional identity for General Counsels and institutionalize the in-house legal function as a separate specialized stream of legal practice. Our meeting today with the Honourable Law Minister, Arjun Ram Meghwal, is a big step towards making this vision a reality. It was heartening to see Meghwal ji’s appreciation of the contribution of in-house counsels to the growth of the country’s economy and his commitment to India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. He has assured us of positive and fair consideration so that General Counsels can have the same rights as advocates under the current law.”

GCAI is of the view that the amendments proposed in its representation to the Honourable Minister are in line with recent progressive steps undertaken by the Bar Council of India, including allowing foreign law firms and foreign lawyers to practice in India. Such a change would not only restore the rights and status of the legal practitioners employed in the corporate sector but also integrate them with the legal ecosystem. This correction in the rules would not only benefit the corporate sector but also enhance the availability of legal services to society at large.

GCAI is grateful to all its stakeholders for their invaluable support in this initiative, especially its Founders – Amar Kumar Sundram, Dr. Akhil Prasad, Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat, Lubinisha Saha, Manjaree Chowdhary, Neera Sharma, Raghu CV, Shukla Wassan, and Tejal Patel.