Partner Terms

1About this page

This page summarises the main terms that apply to independent advocates who apply to join, or are on, the verified advocate panel of The Debt Rescuers Advisory LLP (“TDR”, “we”, “us” or “our”).

It is a summary only. The full terms are in the Partner Agreement, which each advocate signs separately after verification. If this page and the signed Partner Agreement differ, the Partner Agreement applies.

2Eligibility and verification

To join the panel, you must:

• be an advocate enrolled with a State Bar Council in India and entitled to practise;

• have no current suspension or disciplinary order restricting your practice;

• complete our application, including your enrolment details, practice areas, forums and availability; and

• complete a verification call and provide the documents we ask for, including proof of enrolment, identity and a bank account in your own name.

You must tell us promptly if any of this changes. Joining the panel is subject to verification and approval, and does not create employment, partnership or agency between you and TDR.

3Your professional independence

You are an independent professional. You decide how to advise the client, what legal work is needed and how to do it. TDR does not direct or control your legal advice or professional judgement, and your professional duties run to the client.

TDR’s role is intake, scheduling, client communication, coordination and the platform. TDR does not provide legal services and does not share in legal fees.

4Matter offers and your right to refuse

• Offers. Matters are offered to you through the Partner Portal when they fit your practice areas, forums and availability.

• No guarantee. TDR does not guarantee any number or type of matters.

• Your right to refuse. You may accept or decline any matter, without giving a reason. You must decline a matter where there is a conflict of interest or where you cannot give it proper attention.

• Once accepted. You agree to attend consultations on time, deliver the agreed work within the agreed time, and upload short minutes and any written opinion to the Partner Portal.

5Engagement with the client

When you accept a matter, the client receives an engagement confirmation through the portal showing your name, enrolment number and the scope of your work. On portal screens, you are shown to the client by your Partner ID. Your name and enrolment number also appear on any document you sign, and are given to the client on request.

Where a matter goes to a court or forum, a vakalatnama is executed as required. Any work outside the confirmed scope must be agreed in writing through the portal before you begin.

TDR does not send legal notices in its own name. Every notice or legal document prepared through the platform is reviewed and signed by you as the engaged advocate.

6Standard fee schedule

Each type of matter, such as a video consultation or notice drafting, has one standard advocate fee that applies across the whole panel. The schedule is attached to the Partner Agreement and is available in the Partner Portal. It is never a percentage of any amount.

We may revise the schedule with advance written notice. A revision does not apply to a matter you have already accepted.

7How your fee is collected and paid

• Collection. The client pays TDR once, through TDR’s payment gateway. TDR collects your fee as agent, on behalf of the panel advocate assigned to the matter.

• Holding. Your fee is held in a separate TDR bank account used only for advocate fees. TDR does not use it for its own expenses.

• Payout. Your fee is paid to your verified bank account in full, within the number of days set out in the Partner Agreement after the consultation or work is delivered. The matter ID is shown in the payment narration.

• Statements. Each month, you receive a statement of your matters, the amounts collected on your behalf, any tax deducted, and payouts made.

• Refunds. If a matter is cancelled before assignment or before the consultation takes place, the advocate fee is refunded to the client from the held account and no payout is due.

8Tax

Where tax must be deducted at source on your payout, TDR deducts it as the law requires, deposits it and credits it to your PAN, and issues the relevant certificate. The amount deducted counts as part of your fee, so your fee is still paid in full. You are responsible for your own income tax and any GST obligations on your professional fees.

9No commission, referral or listing fee

There is no fee-sharing in either direction:

• you pay TDR nothing: no commission, referral fee, listing fee or subscription;

• TDR’s advisory and coordination fee is charged only to the client and is never deducted from your fee; and

• TDR does not pay you, and you do not pay TDR, anything for referring or receiving clients.

10Confidentiality and data processing

You must keep all client information confidential, both under your professional duties and under the Partner Agreement. In addition:

• use client information only for the matter you have accepted;

• access and share client information only through the Partner Portal, and keep any downloaded documents secure;

• follow TDR’s data processing terms in the Partner Agreement, which reflect the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023;

• tell TDR immediately, and within the time stated in the Partner Agreement, if you become aware of any unauthorised access to or loss of client data; and

• return or delete client data when the matter ends, except records you must keep under law or professional rules.

These duties continue after you leave the panel.

11Non-solicitation and no off-platform dealing

While you are engaged on a matter through TDR:

• do not solicit the client for other work, directly or indirectly;

• do not share your personal phone number, email address or office address with the client, or ask for theirs;

• do not take the matter, or any payment for it, outside the TDR platform; and

• communicate with the client only through the TDR portal, video-call links issued by TDR, and TDR’s case coordinator.

Breach of these rules may lead to removal from the panel and recovery of TDR’s fee for the matter, as set out in the Partner Agreement.

These rules protect the coordination TDR provides. They do not restrict any client’s right to choose their own lawyer, and a client who chooses to consult you independently is free to do so.

12No advertising of your TDR partnership

Bar Council of India rules do not permit advocates to advertise or solicit work. So:

• do not describe yourself as a TDR partner, panel advocate or similar in any profile, signage, website, social media post or other publicity;

• do not use TDR’s name, logo or materials in connection with your practice; and

• TDR will not name, rate or advertise you to borrowers or the public.

13Professional conduct

You must comply at all times with the Advocates Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India Rules and the rules of your State Bar Council, including the rules on professional conduct, conflicts of interest, confidentiality and fees. You must not ask the client for any payment beyond the agreed fee collected through TDR.

You are professionally responsible for your own advice and work. We recommend that you hold professional indemnity cover.

14Suspension and removal from the panel

Either you or TDR may end your panel membership with written notice, as set out in the Partner Agreement. TDR may suspend or remove you from the panel, and stop offering matters, if:

• your enrolment is suspended or you become ineligible to practise;

• you breach the Partner Agreement, including the confidentiality, non-solicitation or no-advertising rules;

• you repeatedly miss consultations or do not deliver agreed work; or

• there are serious or repeated client complaints that are found to be justified.

Fees for work already delivered are paid in the normal way. For matters in progress, we will work with you to hand over or complete the work in the client’s interest.

15Disputes

If a dispute arises between you and TDR, both sides will first try to resolve it in good faith through discussion. Any dispute that is not resolved will be settled as set out in the Partner Agreement. The Partner Agreement is governed by the laws of India, and the courts at New Delhi have jurisdiction, subject to any arbitration clause the Partner Agreement contains.

Any complaint by a client about your professional conduct may also be taken to the State Bar Council where you are enrolled.

16Contact

To apply, visit Become a Partner (/become-a-partner). Panel advocates can raise questions through the Partner Portal. For a complaint, write to our Grievance Officer at grievance@thedebtrescuers.com or at The Debt Rescuers Advisory LLP, A-230 A, Chhattarpur Enclave Phase-II, New Delhi 110074.