If you have valuable legal or professional expertise, one way to share it, help others and build another dimension to your work is to turn it into courses and workshops. These are structured educational offerings that take what you know and turn it into something other people can learn from.
For many lawyers, teaching can also be a rewarding extension of their professional life. But where the person teaching is a practising advocate, the activity should still be approached within the applicable professional framework. A genuine educational offering should not become a disguised method of advertising or soliciting legal work. Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules restricts advocates from advertising or soliciting work, directly or indirectly.
Quick answer
Turning your expertise into courses and workshops means packaging what you know into structured educational offerings for a defined group of learners, such as law students, lawyers, professionals or the wider public.
To do this well:
- Identify expertise that is genuinely valuable and teachable.
- Define who the course or workshop is for and what participants will learn.
- Design clear, useful and well-structured content.
- Deliver it in a way that makes the learning engaging and practical.
- Offer it through appropriate channels while considering your professional obligations.
Teaching and genuine educational activity can be distinct from legal practice, but the distinction does not mean that every commercial or promotional activity connected with teaching is automatically permissible for a practising advocate. Rule 36 restricts direct and indirect advertising and solicitation, so courses should not be used as a pretext for procuring legal work.
The strongest educational offerings are built around real expertise, clear learning outcomes and good teaching. They should provide genuine value rather than simply package information in a way that sounds impressive. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Verify your professional position and the applicable rules before setting up a particular offering.
What this involves
Turning expertise into a course or workshop means taking what you already know and structuring it into a learning experience.
A course is generally more structured and may cover a subject over several sessions or modules. A workshop is usually more focused and interactive, often designed around a particular skill, problem or topic. In both cases, the basic exercise is the same: identify knowledge that others genuinely want to learn, organise it clearly and teach it well.
This can be a useful way to share expertise beyond individual client matters. It can also help establish a reputation for teaching and subject-matter knowledge, provided the offering is genuine and the way it is presented remains consistent with the applicable professional obligations.
How to do it
1. Identify teachable expertise
Start with what you genuinely know well. Choose a subject where you have enough knowledge and experience to teach usefully, rather than simply selecting a topic because it appears commercially attractive.
The best course ideas often come from questions people repeatedly ask you, areas in which you have developed practical knowledge, or subjects you can explain particularly clearly.
2. Define your audience and outcomes
Be specific about who the course or workshop is for. A programme designed for first-year law students will look very different from one intended for practising lawyers or business professionals.
Then define what participants should understand, learn or be able to do by the end. Clear learning outcomes help determine what should be included and what can be left out.
3. Design it well
Organise the material into a logical structure. Break a large subject into manageable sections, use appropriate examples and exercises, and make sure every part contributes to the learning objective.
Good design matters because knowing a subject and teaching it are not the same thing. A person can have deep expertise and still need to work on how that expertise is communicated.
4. Deliver it well
Good teaching depends on clear explanation, engagement and responsiveness to the learners. Encourage questions, use examples where helpful and pay attention to where participants are struggling.
A workshop in particular should not feel like a long lecture. It should give participants an opportunity to engage with the subject and apply what they are learning.
5. Offer it appropriately
Choose channels and formats that suit the offering and its intended audience. This may include educational institutions, professional organisations, learning platforms, workshops or other appropriate settings.
If you are a practising advocate, consider the professional conduct rules before promoting or presenting the course. Rule 36 restricts advertising and solicitation, so the educational nature of the offering should be genuine rather than a vehicle for obtaining legal clients.
The professional considerations
Teaching and genuine educational activity can be different from practising law for a client. However, that does not mean the professional rules can simply be ignored when the teacher is also a practising advocate.
In particular, an advocate should not use a course or workshop as a disguised way to advertise legal services or solicit professional work. Rule 36 expressly prohibits advocates from soliciting work or advertising, directly or indirectly.
The content itself should also be genuine. A programme that actually teaches a subject is very different from an ostensibly educational event whose real purpose is to market the lawyer or obtain clients. Maintaining professional dignity and standards is also important.
The precise position can depend on your professional status, the nature of the teaching activity, how it is structured and how it is promoted. Verify the applicable rules and your own professional position rather than assuming that every educational activity will be treated in the same way.
YLCC ACTION STEP: Identify one area of expertise that others genuinely want to learn. Define the audience and learning outcomes, then design a focused course or workshop around them. Before offering it, consider your professional position and the applicable conduct rules. If you are a practising advocate, make sure the programme is genuinely educational and does not function as a disguised method of advertising or soliciting legal work.
If this is you
If you have deep, teachable expertise: Turning it into a course or workshop can be a meaningful way to share what you know and help others learn. Start with a subject where your knowledge is genuine and your teaching can add something useful.
If you enjoy teaching: This can give that interest a structured professional outlet. Invest in course design and teaching quality rather than assuming that subject-matter expertise automatically makes someone a good teacher.
If you are a practising advocate: Keep the educational activity genuinely educational. Be particularly careful that the course, its promotion and related communications do not become a means of advertising or soliciting legal work. Rule 36 applies to direct and indirect advertising and solicitation by advocates.
PLEASE DON’T DO THIS: Please don’t create a course that is really a marketing exercise disguised as education, or use it to solicit legal work if you are subject to the advocate conduct rules. Don’t overstate your expertise, offer poor-quality material or promise outcomes you cannot substantiate. Build something that genuinely teaches, delivers value and respects your professional obligations.
FAQs
- How do I turn my expertise into a course or workshop? Identify valuable and teachable expertise, define the audience and learning outcomes, design a clear learning experience, deliver it well and offer it through an appropriate channel while considering your professional obligations.
- Is teaching separate from legal practice? Genuine teaching and educational activity can be distinct from practising law for a client, but the distinction does not remove other professional obligations that may apply to the person teaching.
- What professional considerations apply to practising advocates? Advocates must comply with professional conduct rules, including Rule 36’s restrictions on advertising and solicitation. An educational course should not be used as a disguised vehicle to procure legal work.
- What makes a good legal course or workshop? Genuine subject-matter expertise, a clearly defined audience, useful learning outcomes, thoughtful course design and clear, engaging delivery.
- Can teaching help build professional reputation and income? Genuine, well-delivered educational offerings can help you share expertise, contribute to learners and develop a teaching profile. Any commercial or professional activity should still be structured in accordance with the rules applicable to you.
