Professional ethics may be defined as a code of conduct written or unwritten for regulating the behaviour of a practising lawyer towards himself, his client, his adversary in law and towards the court. Thus, ethics of legal profession means the body of rules and practise which determine the professional conduct of the members of a bar. When a person becomes an advocate his relation with men in general is governed by the general rules of law but his conduct as advocate is governed by the special rules of professional ethics of the Bar. The main object of the ethics of the legal profession is to maintain the dignity of the legal profession and the friendly relation between the Bench and the Bar.

The profession of law is honourable and its members are expected to act in an honest and upright manner. And any deviation from these elementary principles is liable to be dealt with severely. An advocate practising a law is under many fold obligations like certain obligation towards court, client, witnesses, opponent, colleagues and general duties as a member legal profession. When advocate do not follow any of such obligation imposed on him by law, then he can be guilty of professional misconduct. Legal profession is necessarily the keystone of the arch of government. Legal profession is not a business but a profession. It has been created by the State for the public good. Consequently, the essence of profession lies in two things: (1) Organisation of its members for the performance of their function and (2) Maintenance of certain standards, intellectual and ethical, for the dignity of the profession.

Moreover, many lawyers, especially those dealing with commercial matters, need to understand the basic concepts (such as the difference between profit and cash flow) of the accounting profession, the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the trend towards global harmonisation and the role of International Accounting Standards and the legal and regulatory framework within which accounting operates. Thus, this subject ‘Professional Ethics and Professional Accounting System’ has rightly been included under revised syllabi.

This book covers the topics like development of Legal Profession in India, The Advocates Act, 1961, Enrolment and practice, Elements of Advocacy, Bar Council Code of Ethics and Accountancy for Lawyers and will be useful to the students of the 3/5 year law degree course to enable them to get a broad understanding of the topics that would be covered under the revised syllabi with effect from the academic year 2009-2010.

We owe our gratitude to Mr D. Durga Prasad, LL.B, FCS, for his personal attention, inputs and technical support. Our thanks are also due to Mr. M.Venkateswarlu for his wholehearted and efficient secretarial support in bringing out this Book.

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