GCAI Founder Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat Meets Law Minister, Seeks Statutory Recognition For General Counsels
In a significant development for the in-house counsel community, Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat, Founder of the General Counsels’
By: : Suraj Sinha
Update: 2024-07-13 05:00 GMT
GCAI Founder Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat Meets Law Minister, Seeks Statutory Recognition For General Counsels
In a significant development for the in-house counsel community, Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat, Founder of the General Counsels’ Association of India (GCAI), met with Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, the Minister of Law & Justice, Government of India, to discuss the statutory recognition of general counsels and in-house counsels as legal practitioners.
Dr. Gemawat presented a representation to the Minister, emphasizing the importance of regulating and recognizing General Counsels. He pointed out that there are currently over 500,000 practicing in-house counsels in India who play a crucial role in managing the legal affairs of the corporate sector, a key driver of India's economic growth.
GCAI’s representation to the Honourable Minister emphasized that the corporate sector, which is integral to India’s growth, is managed by trained legal practitioners employed by corporations. Despite handling various aspects of Indian laws, regulatory compliance, adjudication, arbitration, and litigation, these practitioners are not recognized as “Advocates” under Indian laws.
Consequently, they are not governed by any professional code of conduct or regulatory body. Therefore, GCAI suggested amending Indian laws, specifically the Advocates Act, 1961, and the Bar Council of India Rules, 1975, to provide appropriate regulation and recognition to the legal services offered by General Counsels.
Dr. Sanjeev Gemawat shared his views on the occasion, stating, “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, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, is a big step towards making this vision a reality. It was heartening to see Shri 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 do under the current law.”
GCAI believes that the proposed amendments are in line with recent progressive steps by the Bar Council of India, including allowing foreign law firms and lawyers to practice in India. Such changes would restore the rights and status of legal practitioners employed in the corporate sector and integrate them into the legal ecosystem, benefiting both the corporate sector and society at large.
GCAI extended gratitude to all 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 C.V., Shukla Wassan, and Tejal Patil.