'Commercializes Legal Practice' : BCI Sends Show Cause Notice To DSK Legal For Video Advertisement Featuring Bollywood Actor
Nupur Thapliyal
20 March 2025 4:44 PM
The BCI directed the law firm to immediately remove the video from digital platforms and social media handles.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Thursday sent a show cause notice to law firm DSK Legal for “professional misconduct” for advertising itself by featuring Bollywood actor Rahul Bose in a promotional video advertisement.
Rule 36 of the BCI Rules prohibits advertisements by advocates for soliciting work.
In the show cause notice issued to DSK Legal's Managing Partner, Deputy Managing Partner and Managers, BCI has said that the video featuring the actor depicted that clients place blind faith in the law firm due to its 20 years of experience in the legal field.
Such an act of self-promotion constitutes a clear violation of ethical norms governing the legal profession, BCI has said.
As per BCI, such a portrayal is misleading and unethical, as legal practice should be based on professional merit rather than promotional narratives.
“Your advertisement, by engaging a Bollywood actor and implying blind faith in your firm based on its years of practice, directly contravenes these ethical mandates. It commercializes legal practice and misleads the public into believing that tenure alone ensures legal excellence. The profession demands that legal practitioners maintain integrity, ensuring that clients rely on their competence rather than promotional tactics,” the show cause notice states.
As per BCI, the advertisement in question creates a misleading perception that legal practice can be marketed like consumer goods, an approach that is wholly incompatible with the professional responsibilities of an advocate.
“The use of a Bollywood celebrity in the video reinforces an illusion of guaranteed legal success based on the firm's longevity rather than the individual competence of its members, which is a direct affront to the principles of legal ethics. Such promotional tactics are not only deceptive but also violate the trust that clients place in the legal system. If left unchecked, such practices will set a dangerous precedent, eroding the fundamental values that the profession seeks to uphold,” the notice adds.
The BCI has directed the law firm to immediately remove the advertisement from all digital platforms, including social media and video-sharing websites and to provide documentary proof confirming the removal of the same.
In the wake of the controversy created by the ad of DSK Legal, the BCI on March 17 issued a public warning against 'unethical' legal advertising and misleading social media promotions leading to professional misconduct by advocates.
It also denounced the involvement of Bollywood actors and celebrities in such promotions on digital media.