Madras advocates have called for abstinence from court work today (10 December) to protest against the Legal Practitioner Bill 2010 citing the Advocate Act’s efficacy to deal with issues of client protection and regulation of the legal professions.

All three local advocates’ representative bodies – the Madras High Court Advocates Association, the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association and the Women Lawyers Association – passed individual resolutions to boycott all courts and tribunals in court following the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) call to observe a protest day on Friday against the Legal Practitioners (Regulation and Maintenance of Standards in Profession, Protecting the Interest of Clients and Promoting the Rule of Law) Act 2010, reported the Times of India.

The bill aims to create a super-regulator above the BCI to regulate also non-lawyers who supply legal services.

Website Law et al. News reported: “The MHCAA (Madras High Court Advocates Association) said it opposed the centre's proposed move to bring in Legal Practitioners Bill 2010. MHCAA's stand is that the existing Advocates Act, 1961 is self sufficient and enables sufficient protection to clients as well as sufficiently regulate the profession to maintain the standards and promote the rule of law. There is no necessity for introducing the new bill by taking the powers of Bar Councils and creating a parallel authority, MHCAA resolution additionally notes.”

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) had also resolved to oppose the bill on 20 November 2010 in its annual general meeting.