Page 2 - Lawyers

Australian lawyer apologises for AI-generated errors in murder case

A senior lawyer in Australia has apologised to a judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included fake quotes and non-existent case judgments generated by artificial intelligence. The blunder in the Supreme Court of Victoria state is another in a litany of mishaps AI has caused in justice systems around the world. Defence lawyer Rishi Nathwani, who holds the prestigious legal title of King's Counsel, took full responsibility for filing incorrect information in submissions in the case of a teenager charged with murder, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Friday. We are deeply sorry and embarrassed for what occurred, Nathwani told Justice James Elliott on Wednesday, on behalf of the defence team. The AI-generated errors caused a 24-hour delay in resolving a case that Elliott had hoped to conclude on Wednesday. Elliott ruled on Thursday that Nathwani's client, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was not guilty of murder because of mental

How this celebrity coach is reshaping wellness and business

From training Bollywood celebs and IPL players to building SOHFIT and now The Func Lab, Sohrab Khushrushahi shares how he turned passion into purpose-driven businesses.

Lawyers must reorientate their identity as facilitators of justice: Ex-CJI

Former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has said lawyers should reorientate their identity as "facilitators of justice before everything", and also stressed that ethics should be prioritised. There is no shortcut for success, and the students of law should be lifelong learners and independent thinkers, he said addressing law students here on Saturday during the Vishnupant Advant lecture series on the topic 'The Present and Future of Law Business: Opportunities and Challenges'. The former CJI asked students to keep upgrading themselves. "There is a need for lawyers to reorientate their identity as facilitators of justice before everything. The students should be lifelong learners. Guidance should be taken but the thinking should remain independent," he said. "The ethics should be at the topmost and there should be sympathy for the deprived in our minds. If the new generation takes efforts to learn and deliver honest service, there are huge opportunities in the field of law," .

State Bar Councils, BCI cannot charge 'optional' fee from new lawyers: SC

State Bar Councils or the Bar Council of India cannot collect any "optional" fee other than the statutory charge from law graduates enrolling as lawyers, the Supreme Court has said while asking the Karnataka State Bar Council to stop collecting any such amount. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan passed the direction on a contempt plea filed by K L J A Kiran Babu, alleging that directions issued by this court in July last year on not charging exorbitant fees from enrolling law graduates by state bar councils, especially the Karnataka State Bar Council are not being complied with in letter and spirit. The Bar Council of India, in its affidavit, said all state bar councils are complying with the directions of the court and the Rs 6,800 charged by the Karnataka State Bar Council for ID cards, certificates, welfare fund, and training, among others, and Rs 25,000 over and above the statutory fees are optional and not mandatory. "We make it clear that there is nothing like

CJI Gavai bars senior lawyers from listing cases for urgent hearing

Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai on Wednesday said that from August 11, no senior advocate will be permitted to mention cases for urgent listing and hearing in his court so that juniors get an opportunity to do it. CJI Gavai, who was sworn in on May 14, had reverted to the practice of oral mentioning of cases for urgent listing and hearing by lawyers and discontinued the practice adopted by his predecessor Justice Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Khanna discontinued the practice of oral submissions for urgent listing and hearing of cases by lawyers and asked them to either send emails or written letters instead. "There is a great demand that no matters should be mentioned by senior counsel(s)," CJI Gavai said. He asked the court staff to put out a notice that no senior lawyer will be permitted to mention cases for urgent listing and hearing in his court from Monday. "From Monday, no senior counsel, I mean designated senior counsel, will be allowed to mention matters. Let juniors get a

SC concerned over ED summoning lawyers for advice, may frame guidelines

The Enforcement Directorate is "crossing all limits", the Supreme Court said on Monday as it expressed serious concern over the agency summoning advocates for offering legal advice or representing clients during investigations. It also called for guidelines on the matter. The remarks from an apex court bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran came during a suo motu hearing initiated by the court to address the implications of such actions on the independence of the legal profession. The communication between a lawyer and the clients is privileged communication and how can the notices be issued against them they are crossing all limits, the CJI said. Guidelines should be framed, the CJI said while responding to submissions that recent ED notices to legal professionals like senior advocate Arvind Datar could have a chilling effect on the practice of law. Attorney General R Vennkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the issue had been taken up at the .

Global Human Rights Groups slam China's ongoing crackdown on lawyers at UN

Crackdown started on July 9, 2015, when more than 300 lawyers and legal advocates were targeted by police, marking largest organised suppression of legal professionals in the China's's recent history

Summonses issued to Saluja's lawyers cause unrest among legal fraternity

The legal fraternity raises alarms after ED summons senior advocates Datar and Venugopal over advice in the Religare-Care Health ESOP case, citing threats to legal independence

To prepare a centralised registry of all lawyers, law firms, says BCI

The Bar Council of India plans a national registry and new body for law firms, accusing SILF of gatekeeping and stifling smaller practices over foreign lawyer rules

Delhi HC grants relief to CLAT-PG candidates, asks to declare results soon

The Delhi High Court on Friday granted relief to CLAT-PG candidates over alleged discrepancies in the answer key and directed the consortium of NLUs to declare results soon. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela's decision came over the plea of students in relation to a couple of answers in the key. The court, however, rejected the objection with respect to the declared answer to a third question, and asked the consortium of national law universities (NLUs) to accordingly award marks to the candidates. The court passed the order while deciding three pleas seeking rectification of errors in the final answer key of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)-PG 2025. The bench's verdict highlighted the issue of a high fee of Rs 1,000 charged by the consortium per question for raising the objection to the provisional answer key, observing there ought to be a "fine balance" between the concerns of the candidates and the institutions. While comparing the fee cha

Senior lawyers should not argue cases during summer recess, says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said senior lawyers should not argue cases during summer recess. A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma said junior lawyers should be given opportunities during vacation. "Senior lawyers should not argue cases during these partial working days," the bench told senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul. The lawyers were appearing in a plea filed against an order of the National Company Law Tribunal. One of the counsels in the matter mentioned the matter seeking adjournment as senior advocate Shyam Divan was not available. The top court has rechristened its traditional summer vacations as "partial court working days". The development was a part of an amendment in Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which have now become Supreme Court (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on November 5. "The length of the partial court working days and the number of holidays for the court and the offices of t

BCI missteps on new rules for opening the market to foreign lawyers

BCI's new rules take immediate effect, with no prior notice, consultation, or transition-raising urgent concerns amid India-US trade talks

Lawyers avoid work during vacations, judiciary blamed for backlog, says CJI

A two-judge bench comprising CJI Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih were annoyed after a lawyer requested for listing of a matter after the summer vacation

BCI amends rules, restricts foreign lawyers to non-litigious matters

BCI amends 2022 rules to allow foreign lawyers and firms to practise foreign law in India on reciprocity, with provisions for Indian lawyers to register abroad

Trial court lawyers must be considered for senior designation by HCs: SC

Observing senior designation couldn't be a monopoly of selected few, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said lawyers practising in subordinate judiciary and other fora must be considered for designation as senior advocates. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ujjal Bhuyan and S V N Bhatti said the process of designation must be objectively fair and guided and there is a need to have at least one exercise of designation conducted every year. "When we talk of diversity, we must ensure that the high courts evolve a mechanism by which the members of the bar practising in our trial and district judiciary and before specialised tribunals are considered for designation as their role is no inferior to the role played by advocates practising before this court and high courts. This is also an essential part of diversity," it said. The top court noted the high courts could always call for the views of the principal district judges or the heads of tribunals on such applicants. "Moreover, when the cases

Reward lawyers involved in free legal aid: Parliamentary panel tells govt

Absence of structured incentives has deterred widespread participation of lawyers in free legal aid activities, a parliamentary panel has noted while recommending setting up of a "national registry" for pro-bono lawyers, offering recognition and linking their contributions to career advancement opportunities. The parliamentay committee on law and personnel also lamented that para-legal volunteers (PLVs) remain an under-utilised resource despite their potential to connect marginalised communities with essential legal services. In its action taken report on its previous report on 'review of the working of legal aid under the Legal Services Authority Act, the committee said efforts to encourage pro-bono (free legal service offered, especially to the poor) work and enhance lawyer compensation are progressing. "... yet the absence of structured incentives and formal recognition continues to deter widespread participation. Recognising the vital role of effective legal representation, ...

Lawyers to abstain from Justice Sharma's swearing-in, may skip his court

Expressing anguish at the transfer of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma from the Delhi High Court to the Calcutta High Court, lawyers' bodies here have jointly informed the Chief Justice that they would abstain from attending the swearing-in ceremony of the judge and may not appear before his court. Justice Sharma was transferred from Delhi to the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday. The Bar Association, the Bar Library Club and the Incorporated Law Society also urged the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in a joint representation not to assign any judicial work to Justice Sharma, whose transfer was notified by the Union government on a recommendation by the Collegium of the Supreme Court. "In the event, any determination is assigned to the Learned Judge, there is a possibility that our members may not appear before the Learned Judge," they said in the representation. Lawyers stayed away from attending proceedings at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday to protest the recommendation for

Dealing with digital arrest: Don't panic; reach out to lawyer, police

Fake arrest warrants and legal notices are sent via SMS or WhatsApp. Some use deepfake videos to replicate a police station setting

Allahabad HC lawyers on indefinite strike over Justice Varma's transfer

The Allahabad High Court Bar Association on Tuesday began an indefinite strike to protest against the proposed transfer of Delhi High Court Justice Yashwant Varma to the high court here. Leading the protesting lawyers gathered at gate number 3 of the high court, Bar Association President Anil Tiwari told reporters, "This protest is not against any court or judge but against those who have betrayed the judicial system." He added, "Our fight is against those involved in corruption and against a system that lacks transparency. For now, our demand is a reconsideration and withdrawal of the transfer order." The Bar Association had reiterated its opposition to Justice Varma's transfer on Monday and decided to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday. Tiwari asserted the association was prepared for an all-out battle on this issue. "From the very beginning, there has been an attempt to cover up this matter. Today, lawyers across India are fighting this battle. Until a resolution is reache

Delhi HC judge transfer: Allahabad HC bar body to go on indefinite strike

Lawyers of Allahabad High Court Bar Association will stage an indefinite strike from March 25 onwards following Justice Yashwant Varma's proposed transfer to Allahabad High Court, a senior office bearer of the body said on Monday. "Lawyers of the High Court Bar Association, Allahabad will go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday following Justice Yashwant Varma's transfer to Allahabad High Court," bar body president Anil Tiwari told PTI. He added, "We are sending a request to the Bar Associations in Lucknow in this regard." The strike call came after the Supreme Court collegium on Monday confirmed its decision to recommend the transfer of Delhi High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma, facing an enquiry over the alleged discovery of huge cash from his official residence and from whom judicial work was withdrawn, to his parent Allahabad High Court. After passing of the resolution during the lunch hours of the court, the lawyers abstained from judicial work for the remaining day. The bar