Section 8 in National Legal Services Authority (Free and Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010
8. [ Selection of legal practitioners as panel lawyers. [Substituted by Notification F. No. L/61/10/NALSA, dated 22.10.2018 (w.e.f. 9.9.2010).]
(1)Every Legal Services Institution shall invite applications from legal practitioners for their empanelment as panel lawyers and such applications shall be accompanied with proof of the professional experience with special reference to the type of cases which the applicant-legal practitioners may prefer to be entrusted with.(2)The applications received under sub-regulation (1) shall be scrutinised and selection of the panel lawyers shall be made by the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution in consultation with the Attorney General [for the Supreme Court], Advocate General [for the High Court], District Attorney or Government Pleader [for District and Taluka level] and the Monitoring and Mentoring Committee set up under regulation 10:Provided that the Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution may also suo moto empanel any legal practitioner;[Provided further that the size of panel should be optimised so that each lawyer can be allotted sufficient cases.](3)No legal practitioner having less than three years' experience at the Bar shall ordinarily be empaneled.(4)District Legal Services Authorities and Taluk Legal Services Committees shall get the panel approved from the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services Authority.(5)The Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution shall take into consideration the competency, integrity, suitability, and experience of lawyers for the empanelment.(6)There may be representation of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, women and differently abled lawyers in the panel.(7)The Executive Chairman or Chairman of the Legal Services Institution may maintain separate panels for dealing with different types of cases like Civil, Criminal, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Labour Laws, Matrimonial disputes, Juvenile Justice, etc.(8)The Member-Secretary or Secretary, as the case may be, may assign a case to a panel lawyer of a subject matter other than for which he has been empanelled.(9)The Chairman of the Legal Services Institution may, in consultation with the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services Authority or National Legal Services Authority, as the case may be, prepare a list of legal practitioners from among the panel lawyers to be designated as Retainers.(10)The Retainer lawyers shall be selected for a period fixed by the Executive Chairman on rotation basis or by any other method specified by the Executive Chairman.(11)[ The number of Retainer lawyers in the panel of each Legal Services Institution, should not exceed the minimal requirement as determined by the Executive Chairman or the Chairman, as the case may be.] [Inserted by Notification F. No. L/61/10/NALSA, dated 28.8.2019 (w.e.f. 9.9.2010).](12)The honorarium payable to Retainer lawyer shall not be less than, -(a)rupees forty thousand per month in the case of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee;(b)rupees twenty five thousand per month in the case of State Legal Services Authority or High Court Legal Services Committee;(c)rupees fifteen thousand per month in the case of District Legal Services Authority;(d)rupees ten thousand per month in the case of the Taluk Legal Services Committee:Provided that the honorarium specified in this sub-regulation is in addition to the honorarium or fee payable by the Legal Services Institution for each case entrusted to the Retainer lawyer.[Provided further that the State Legal Services Authority may decide to make the payment of honorarium to the Retainer Lawyers on the basis of number of days they man the Front Office. In such cases the honorarium so payable shall not be less than L 1500 per day of sitting at the district and taluka court level and L 2500 at the High Court level.] [Inserted by Notification F. No. L/61/10/NALSA, dated 28.8.2019 (w.e.f. 9.9.2010).](13)The panel prepared under sub-regulation (2) for the period of three years shall also be reviewed and updated periodically by the Executive Chairman or the Chairman, as the case may be, keeping in view the performance of the panel lawyers.(14)The Legal Services Institution shall be at liberty for withdrawing any case from a Retainer Panel Lawyer during any stage of the proceedings.(15)If a panel lawyer is desirous of withdrawing from a case he shall state the reasons thereof to the Member- Secretary or the Secretary, as the case may be, and the panel lawyer may be permitted to do so by an order.(16)The panel lawyers shall not ask for or receive any fee, remuneration or any valuable consideration in any manner, from the person to whom he has rendered legal services under these regulations.(17)If the panel lawyer engaged is not performing satisfactorily or has acted contrary to the object and spirit of the Act and these regulations, the Legal Services Institution shall take appropriate steps including withdrawal of the case from such lawyer and his removal from the panel.(18)The panel lawyers shall undergo training periodically as per modules prepared by the National Legal Services Authority and the State Legal Services Authority.(19)The participation in the training programme shall be a relevant consideration for the retention or continuation of panel lawyers.]
