Abstract
Lawyer–client relationship is the most important aspect of professional life of lawyers. When lawyers enter into professional relation with their clients they become bound by several ethical and professional duties. These duties are a mixture of status and contract emerging out of the nature of the relationship governing lawyer and client. Observing these duties is indispensable under the rules governing standards of professional conduct for lawyers. Lot has been written about these duties and the need to observe them, but the untraded area in the literature remains some of the challenges that arise in course of observing these duties due to some equally competing issues. The lawyers often face these challenges in their professional life, but little guidance is available to address them effectively. In this context, the aim of this article is to trace some of these competing issues and challenges and discuss the legal and regulatory framework that help to address them. The article begins by exploring the issues that arise at the very formation of the lawyer–client relationship. In the second part, the article examines the issue of lawyer’s scope and authority to make decisions in legal transactions for their clients. Also it covers the issues involving extent of lawyer’s authority to take decisions on behalf of mentally impaired or minor clients. Finally, the article looks into the issues that come up during the discharge of the lawyer–client relationship. The article concludes on the note that to ensure an effective and satisfactory lawyer–client relation it is an imperative that lawyers are sensitized with these issues and the principles they can look at for their resolution.
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