Standard Guidelines for Empanelment of Advocates in ESIC

No. T-11/12/16/3961/2022-Legal 10-07-2026 OFFICE MEMORANDUM Subject: Standard Guidelines for Empanelment of Advocates in ESIC The undersigned is directed to convey that the Director General, ESIC has approved the enclosed Standard Guidelines for Empanelment of Advocates in ESIC.

1. The objective of these Guidelines is to prescribe a simple and uniform procedure for empanelment of Advocates by ESIC Offices across India so that legal representation before Courts and Tribunals is transparent, merit-based, and effectively monitored.
2. The Guidelines provide a standardized framework for empanelment of Advocates, including eligibility criteria, the selection process, tenure, renewal, performance evaluation, and other related matters. The adoption of a uniform procedure across all ESIC Offices is intended to promote consistency, transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the engagement and management of legal counsel.
3. All Regional Offices, Sub-Regional Offices, Medical Institutions, and other Field Offices of ESIC are hereby directed to adopt and implement the enclosed Standard Guidelines for Empanelment of Advocates in ESIC in spirit. All future empanelment of Advocates shall be carried out strictly in accordance with these Guidelines. Existing panels may be aligned with the provisions of the Guidelines at the time of renewal/reconstitution.
4. Difficulties, if any, in the implementation of these Guidelines may be brought to the notice of Headquarters (Legal Branch) for clarification. Vijay Kumar Deputy Director(Legal)

T-11/12/16/3961/2022-Legal I/4111435/2026

Copy to:

1. All Divisions at Headquarters.
2. All Regional Directors.
3. All Sub-Regional Offices.
4. All Medical Institutions.
5. ICT Division.
6. WCM for uploading on ESIC Website
7. Guard File. T-11/12/16/3961/2022-Legal I/4111435/2026

EMPLOYEES' STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION (Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India) HEADQUARTERS

STANDARD GUIDELINES FOR EMPANELMENT OF ADVOCATES IN ESIC

1. Objective The objective of these Guidelines is to prescribe a simple and uniform procedure for empanelment of Advocates by ESIC Offices across India so that legal representation before Courts and Tribunals is transparent, merit-based and effectively monitored.
2. Applicability These Guidelines shall apply to ESIC Headquarters, Regional Offices, Sub-Regional Offices, Hospitals, Medical Colleges, Medical Institutions and other ESIC field units requiring representation before Courts, Tribunals or other quasi-judicial authorities.
3. Centralized Panel at Regional Office Level a) In order to ensure uniformity and centralized litigation management within a State, the panel of Advocates for the concerned Hon’ble High Court, all EI Courts within the State and other State- level judicial/ quasi-judicial fora shall be advertised, empanelled and administered by the concerned Regional Office. b) Sub-Regional Offices, Hospitals, Medical Institutions and other field units shall utilize the panel constituted by the concerned Regional Office and shall not maintain separate panels once the Regional Office panel is notified. c) The concerned Regional Office shall coordinate with SROs, Hospitals and other units for effective conduct of litigation through the approved panel. d) In respect of NCT of Delhi, existing arrangements shall continue. However, Regional Office, Delhi shall separately constitute the panel for EI Courts and other district-level judicial/quasi- judicial fora in NCT of Delhi.
4. Tenure of Panel a) The panel shall ordinarily be valid for a period of three years, unless discontinued earlier for reasons to be recorded in writing. b) The process for fresh empanelment should normally be initiated six months prior to the expiry of the existing panel. c) Existing panel Advocates shall apply afresh whenever a fresh panel is advertised. d) Where fresh empanelment is under process, the existing panel may be continued for a limited period to ensure that ongoing litigation is not affected. However, failure to ensure timely empanelment should be reported to IC (Legal) or Director General without fail also mentioning the justification for delay.
5. Eligibility Criteria a) The applicant must possess at least a Bachelor Degree in Law from a recognized University in India. b) The applicant must be enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of India and must be in active practice at bar. c) For Hon’ble Supreme Court matters, the applicant should be an Advocate-on-Record, wherever such empanelment is required. d) The applicant should have a minimum of 10 years of professional experience for Hon’ble Supreme Court, Hon’ble High Courts and various benches of Hon’ble CAT. However, for district level Courts and other forums, the applicant should have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience. The required experience may be specified in the advertisement depending upon the nature of court. e) The applicant should have sound professional reputation, good communication skills and adequate office infrastructure such as accessible office/chamber, staff and communication facilities. f) The Director General, ESIC may relax or modify eligibility conditions in appropriate cases for reasons to be recorded in writing.
6. Disqualifications An Advocate may be treated as ineligible for empanelment if: a) any disciplinary proceeding is pending or adverse order has been passed by the Bar Council affecting professional conduct; b) any criminal case involving moral turpitude is pending or conviction has been recorded; c) the Advocate has suppressed material facts or submitted false information; d) there is an actual or potential conflict of interest with ESIC; e) past performance with ESIC is found unsatisfactory.
7. Advertisement and Invitation of Applications a) Applications shall be invited by issuing a public notice/advertisement on the ESIC website and through newspaper/ other appropriate modes ensuring wide publicity. b) The advertisement shall clearly mention the judicial/ quasi-judicial fora for which empanelment is proposed, eligibility conditions, tenure, last date, address/email for submission, document checklist and applicable fee schedule. c) Fresh applicants shall apply in the prescribed format (Annexure II). Existing panel Advocates shall also apply afresh in the separate format prescribed for existing panel Advocates (Annexure III). d) Applications received after the last date or without essential documents may be rejected at the scrutiny stage itself. e) In States having multiple Benches, the advertisement for empanelment shall be issued keeping in view the total number of advocates to be engaged for each Bench. In order to ensure effective representation and availability of counsel at each location, the Advocates regularly practicing before the respective Bench for which empanelment is sought shall be adequately empaneled.
8. Documents to be Submitted The following documents may ordinarily be required with the application: a) copy of valid enrolment/registration certificate issued by the Bar Council; b) copy of identity card issued by Bar Association.; c) copy of Government ID proof and PAN; d) Advocate-on-Record registration certificate for Supreme Court empanelment, where applicable; e) CV including professional experience, areas of practice and important cases handled; f) income tax returns for the last two financial years, where considered necessary; g) two recent passport size photographs; h) undertaking and declaration regarding conflict of interest.
9. Selection Committee a) The applications shall be considered by a Selection Committee constituted by the concerned Regional Director. b) The Selection Committee may be constituted for interaction with the shortlisted applicants. The work of scrutiny and shortlisting based on documents, profile and past performance may be done at the legal branch level of the concerned Regional Office. c) For Regional Office panels, the Committee may include the Regional Director and a minimum of two external members of eminence from the legal field (preferably Professors from Law Schools etc.) d) For Headquarters panels, the Committee shall be constituted with the approval of Director General, ESIC or the authority authorized by him.
10. Selection Criteria Selection shall not be automatic merely on submission of application. The Committee shall assess suitability on the basis of: a) professional experience before the concerned Court/Tribunal; b) quality and nature of cases handled; c) experience in Government/PSU/statutory body litigation; d) knowledge of service, labour, insurance, recovery, medical, administrative and other areas relevant to ESIC; e) integrity, conduct and professional reputation; f) availability and responsiveness; g) office infrastructure and ability to coordinate electronically; h) performance in interaction/interview, wherever held. i) Satisfactory past performance with ESIC, where applicable.
11. Approval and Notification of Panel a) After completion of scrutiny/selection, the complete proposal along with recommendations of the Selection Committee along with names of the Standing Counsels shall be forwarded by the Regional Director through Insurance Commissioner (Legal) to Headquarters for approval of the Director General. b) The final panel shall be notified only after obtaining approval of the Director General. c) The approved panel shall be published on the ESIC website. d) Letters of empanelment shall be issued separately to selected Advocates specifying judicial/ quasi-judicial fora, tenure, fee schedule and terms of engagement.
12. Size of Panel and Allocation of Cases a) The size of the panel shall be decided keeping in view the workload, number of courts/fora, number of pending and expected cases, and need for effective monitoring. b) As far as practicable, workload shall be distributed equally and concentration of cases in the hands of one Advocate or a few Advocates must be avoided. c) As a broad guideline, around 8 to 10 active cases may be allocated to one Advocate depending upon complexity and performance. Additional cases may be assigned to a good performing Advocate for reasons to be recorded. For larger regions, having multiple benches of a particular Court, cases may be allotted to advocates having practice before the concerned jurisdictional Court. d) ESIC shall be free to engage any Advocate of its choice and empanelment shall not confer any right to claim allotment of work.
13. Fees and Billing a) Fee shall be payable as per the fee schedule notified by ESIC in terms of OM dated 25.03.2026 in this regard. Bills raised by an Advocate for matters before a specific judicial or quasi-judicial forum shall be processed and paid by the office that assigned the case to the Advocate. b) Retainership fee shall be payable only to the Standing Counsel. c) Bills shall be submitted in the prescribed manner with hearing details, orders and other supporting documents required by the concerned office. d) Where a matter requires engagement of a Law Officer, Senior Advocate or an Advocate outside the panel in the interest of ESIC, reasons shall be recorded and approval of Regional Director (in case of States) and Director General (in case of Headquarters/ NCT of Delhi) shall be mandatory.
14. Duties of Empaneled Advocates a) The Advocate shall appear on every date of hearing and shall not allow any ESIC matter to go unattended. b) The Advocate shall not seek unnecessary adjournments and shall oppose unjustified adjournments sought by the opposite party, wherever appropriate. c) The Advocate shall collect the brief/case papers promptly after assignment and shall coordinate with the concerned ESIC office for drafting, filing and arguing the matter. d) The Advocate shall submit a brief hearing report/status report after every hearing, along with copy of order whenever available. e) The Advocate shall keep ESIC informed about important developments, next date of hearing, compliance requirements and litigation risks. f) In cases decided against ESIC, the Advocate shall provide a reasoned opinion on advisability of appeal/review/other remedy within five working days from receipt/availability of the order, wherever urgent action is required. g) The Advocate shall maintain strict confidentiality and shall not share ESIC case information with any third party, opposite party or media. h) The Advocate shall not advise or appear against ESIC during the period of empanelment and shall immediately disclose any conflict of interest. i) The Advocate shall not use ESIC name, logo or symbol on letterhead, signboard, nameplate or publicity material. j) The Advocate shall return all case records/briefs to ESIC whenever required or upon cessation of his/her empanelment.
15. Monitoring and Review a) Performance of empaneled Advocates shall be reviewed periodically by the concerned office as per the registers already circulated. b) Every Regional Director shall institutionalize quarterly legal review of important and sensitive cases within the State, including review of pleadings, court directions, compliance requirements, litigation strategy and legal risks. c) Performance of Advocates handling sensitive matters shall be reviewed with reference to professional competence, preparedness, responsiveness, coordination with departmental authorities and effectiveness in defending the Corporation's interest. d) All concerned units shall provide records, factual reports, para-wise comments, affidavits, witness-related assistance and other inputs required by the Legal branch HQ/Regional Office or Panel counsel within the timelines as demanded in each case and in terms of SoPs already circulated in this regard.
16. Removal / De-empanelment An Advocate may be removed from the panel for sufficient reasons, including: a) submission of false or misleading information; b) failure to attend hearings without sufficient reason; c) failure to act as per ESIC instructions; d) frequent or unjustified adjournments; e) failure to submit hearing/status reports; f) breach of confidentiality or passing information to opposite party/third party; g) accepting briefs against ESIC or conflict of interest; h) professional misconduct, misconduct with ESIC officials or unsatisfactory performance; i) any act prejudicial to the interests of ESIC. Before removal, reasonable opportunity may be given to the Advocate, except where immediate discontinuance and reassignment is considered necessary in the interest of ESIC.
17. Transition of Existing Panels a) Once the Regional Office constitutes and notifies a new approved panel, separate panels maintained by SROs, Hospitals, Medical Institutions and other field units shall cease to exist. b) Cases already assigned to Advocates who do not figure in the new approved panel may be withdrawn and reassigned to Advocates on the approved panel.
18. General Conditions a) Empanelment shall confer only a right to be considered for legal work and shall not guarantee allotment of any case. b) ESIC reserves the right to accept or reject any application, postpone/cancel the process or modify these Guidelines, without assigning any reason. c) All offices shall exercise procedural diligence, accountability and institutional reporting discipline while handling litigation matters. Any lapse affecting ESIC's legal interest may attract appropriate administrative action under applicable rules. d) Annexures I to VII are sample model formats which may be used by ESIC Offices with suitable modifications as per local requirements and instructions of Headquarters. e) These Guidelines are intended to be simple and uniform. Any difficulty in implementation may be referred to Headquarters through proper channel.

ANNEXURE-I MODEL ADVERTISEMENT / NOTICE NOTICE INVITING APPLICATIONS FOR EMPANELMENT OF ADVOCATES Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, invites applications from eligible practicing Advocates for empanelment to represent ESIC before [name of Court(s)/Tribunal(s)/Fora] for a period of three years or such period as may be notified.

1. Eligible Advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of India/State Bar Council may apply in the prescribed format.
2. Existing panel Advocates, if any, shall also apply afresh.
3. The details of eligibility, documents required, fee schedule and terms of engagement are available on the ESIC website/office notice board.
4. Applications complete in all respects must reach [name/address/email of office] by [date and time].
5. Empanelment shall not confer any right to claim legal work. ESIC reserves the right to reject any application or cancel/postpone the process without assigning reasons.

Competent Authority / Authorized Officer