Corporate lawyers to get "legal practitioner" status through Advocates (Amendment) Bill

The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes major reforms to the Advocates Act, 1961. Most significantly, it broadens the definition of "legal practitioner" to include legal professionals apart from practicing advocates. .Additionally, the Bill expands the definition of "law graduate" and introduces new provisions on experience certification and verification, aiming to modernise the legal profession while ensuring transparency and accountability..The proposed definition of 'legal practitioner' reads thus:"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.".Here is a brief run down of what it means:Definition of 'advocate' changed: While the proposed definition still includes "Advocate," it no longer lists the other specific roles (vakil, pleader, mukhtar, revenue agent). This likely means these older designations are being phased out or subsumed under the broader term "advocate." It simplifies the terminology.Law graduates included: The current definition excludes law graduates who are not yet enrolled as advocates. The proposed amendment includes them, recognising their participation in various legal capacities."Practice of law" redefined: The current definition implicitly equates "legal practitioner" with those who practice before courts. The proposed definition expands the scope of "practice of law" to include "doing legal work" in a vast range of organisations, regardless of whether that work involves court appearances..The amendments effectively give statutory recognition to corporate lawyers working in firms and as in-house counsel, a long-standing demand that has been gaining traction recently..Advocates Act to be amended soon: Arjun Meghwal at General Counsel meet.Many prominent General Counsel (GC) took to LinkedIn to hail the move. Tejal Patil, GC at Wipro, said, "It is the beginning of “Re-thinking, Re-defining and Re-evolving the Legal profession in India”. Deeply appreciate the vision of the Hon’ble Law Minister and the move to recognise in-house lawyers as legal practitioners."Dr Sanjeev Gemawat, Managing Director & Group General Counsel, Essar Group, said, "Grateful to the Hon’ble Law Minister Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal for spearheading legal reforms through the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and for considering the recommendations of GCAI in shaping these crucial amendments to the Advocates Act. These reforms mark a significant step toward strengthening the legal framework, ensuring greater transparency, and enhancing the profession’s integrity. Looking forward to their positive impact on the legal ecosystem.".Introduction of experience certificate provision.The proposed amendment introduces a new provision under Section 2(i) regarding experience certificates for legal practitioners. It specifies that experience certificates issued by state bar councils, bar associations, courts, tribunals, quasi-judicial forums, or private and public organisations (including law firms and corporate entities) will serve as proof of legal practice..Revised definition of "law graduate".The Bill also revises the definition of "Law Graduate" under Section 2(h) of the Advocates Act, 1961. The current definition includes individuals with a Bachelor's degree in law from recognised universities. The proposed amendment broadens this to include:Individuals with a three-year or five-year Bachelor's degree in law, or a degree of any other prescribed duration, from a Center of Legal Education or university recognised by the Bar Council of India..The Union Law Ministry on February 13 circulated the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2025, inviting feedback from the public.Stakeholders and the public have been asked to submit their views via email to dhruvakumar.1973@gov.in and impcell-dla@nic.in by February 28, 2025..[Read Bill]