Miles to go, promises to keep:
Mishra’s proposed one-year compulsory law graduate training programme is on ice since the new law minister came in, and will require some amendments to the Advocates Act 1961.
Also, some state bar councils have objected to the “very good decision by the BCI” to require bar licenses to be renewed every five years, so until there is a majority decision it won’t be notified.
The BCI will be training law teachers itself and banning those with distance education LLMs from teaching.
Pending till next year: Common national exam for lawyers, compulsory web-registration portal for law students, teachers and lawyers.
Foreign law firms: BCI opposing tooth and nail: “We are doing this for the benefit of the lawyers of the country. First, we need to protect the interest of our lawyers. If we allow foreign lawyers to operate without any restriction in our country then our lawyers will be in trouble. They put our lawyers to severe tests, which are very difficult to clear. If we have to allow the entry of foreign lawyers, it will be allowed only on the basis of reciprocity.”
Legal Education: In every meeting of the legal education committee BCI is closing down five to 10 law colleges. Will soon also disallow law teachers with distance-LLM degrees from teaching.
80 law teachers who said they wanted to be involved in BCI’s decisions on legal education: They are people with “vested interests” who “have tried to tarnish the image of the BCI” and “don’t believe in teaching the students, they only do politics”.
“We lay down the norms, but in a classroom the teachers are teaching the students. So, if there is any downfall in the standard of legal education, you [the teachers] are directly responsible. If there is any demerit in the syllabus you have never raised any question, you have never given any suggestion that this should be the standard and this should be the norm.”
The BCI had replied to the law teachers in September.
Law firms: We are framing rules against law firm misconduct in consultation with SILF president Lalit Bhasin. Until then, we can’t do anything about complaints against law firms.
All India Bar Exam (AIBE): Will generate Rs 6 crore, of which around Rs 2 crore could go to the independent contractor ITES Horizon. Sample questions won’t be supplied until four days before the exam. Also slams Legally India, BarHacker, and others [click to read AIBE summary].
Comments
Again, as written above, we would urge readers interested in the BCI to read the original interview.
Best wishes
Kian
also ...."We urge you to read the original interview".. And then throughout give wrong hyperlinks throughout?
You got this one wrong mate..
The hyperlinks in this and the AIBE news item provide context that was absent from the original interview and put the chairman's comments into perspective -- something that was missing in the original interview.
There is also a hyperlink right at the top and right at the bottom to B&B's article, which is more than adequate attribution by any means, and certainly more than has been done by our competition and others in many cases (without naming names).
I also believe that much of this 'disagreement' has already been discussed in a previous thread and does not warrant further dissection, ad infinitum.
We like generating news, being a 'paper of record' about Indian law, as well as sharing with readers everything we think they would like to be informed about. And that's that.
As a reader you remain free to choose which you prefer.
Best wishes,
Kian
Kian, could you please take this up with BCI. The last time you interviewed then BCI chairman Parija, he said the minutes will be up on the BCI website "soon." Here is what he said "The Bar Council of India (BCI) is set to get a new chairman, as current chair Ashok Parija has said that he would not run for a second term in the 16 April elections, as Parija said that the BCI closed 100 colleges since former chairman Gopal Subramanium’s tenure and that it would publish its meeting minutes again." Why the delay?
We're filing an RTI to get them, we'll see what happens.
http://myneta.info/bih2010/candidate.php?candidate_id=712
"Throughout the Petition they have tried to tarnish the image of the BCI. They are people with vested interests. They don’t believe in teaching the students, they only do politics. They want themselves to be highlighted through all this politics, which we always discourage."
This is a grossly defamatory and serious allegation made against some of India's most senior academicians. Why did Bar & Bench was not have the guts to quiz him further on this? I hope LI will speak to the senior people and respected elders who signed the petition and ask them to respond. This is an extremely grave allegation that merits a lot of coverage. I can't believe everyone is skipping this and only focusing on the foreign law firms issue.
"Such substantive/procedural law areas and syllabi shall be published by the Bar Council of India at least three months prior to the scheduled date of examination."
I am quite sure that this was not done by BCI as until September 4, 2012, BCI was still contemplating the agency which would be helping the BCI to conduct the AIBE.
So if the body governing legal professionals cannot abide by the rules published in the Gazette, how do they expect to have legal professionals not stand up against them.
Moreover, why demean the ability of Indian lawyers to stand up to the "tests" that foreign law firms have or may have? Are you doubting capability of the profession in India?
Lastly, even though the numbers may have increased in respect of the applicants for the AIBE, it does not necessarily imply that everyone is "fine" with the fee being levied. Legal practice can neither begin without one passing the Bar Exam (as was the intention) nor continue to practice with a provisional undertaking. Hence, it is a necessity to comply not acceptance of the proesses.
You are a stupid chap indeed. If we close our legal market to foreign firms who suffers??? It's our lawyers becos thats a bunch of jobs that they cannot be hired for. As of today, many big corporates go to A&O, Linklaters for general corporate advise and due diligence of Indian conracts depsite the presence of AZB, Amarchand, etc. If we let these foreign firms set up shop and stipulate that they can have only india qualified lawyers as partners / associates, they will be forced to recruit from India, thereby bringing best practices into india, providing better and more-paying jobs, creating a good work environ ment and bringing an end to the ad-hoc style of law practised presently by the Shroffs and the Luthras [...]. How does it matter if other countries have difficult entry barriers to practice?? It's not like an army of indian lawyers is waiting to practice in the UK or NYC. FDI in law is not about lowering entry barriers to practice - it is about attracting investment into the legal sector.
The young lawyers need (1) mature profession (2) greater accountability and formal employer-employee relationship (3) technology based sophisticated work environment(4) freedom from family run law firms and (5) decent and consistent salaries/fees. If BCI can ensure all this practically, who needs foreign law firms. otherwise, foreign firms' entry is inevitable.
the submission that Indian lawyers cannot pass the test which foreign law firm may prescribe is not only demeaning to the lawyers but far from reality.
On teachers, all i have to say that an average salary of a law teacher of a private institute is circa Rs. 35000. What do u expect them to do? add quality in education? are teachers given any formal legal education training, scope of R&D and exposure to international teaching standards? is BCI making these things mandatory, not only as a policy, but practically also?