The Advocate Council of India (ACI) Trust is a national institution dedicated to advancing legal education, professional excellence, legal innovation, technology-enabled learning, legal research, and access to justice through institution building and public service.

Conceived in 2023 as a national initiative and formally constituted as a public charitable trust in 2025, the Advocate Council of India Trust operates independently with the vision of creating a comprehensive digital legal ecosystem that empowers law students, advocates, legal professionals, educational institutions, and citizens across India.

Founded by Advocate Utsah Chatterjee, the Trust is committed to bridging the long-standing gap between academic legal education and the practical realities of the legal profession. Through technology, innovation, institutional collaboration, and professional development, the Trust seeks to make quality legal education, practical training, mentorship, and legal resources more accessible, affordable, and inclusive.

The Advocate Council of India Trust believes that legal education should not conclude with a university degree or enrolment as an advocate. Instead, it should continue throughout a legal professional’s career through structured continuing legal education, practical advocacy training, research, professional networking, ethical development, and lifelong learning.

To realise this vision, the Trust is developing India’s Digital National Legal Academy—a technology-enabled institutional platform designed to promote continuing legal education, practical court practice, legal research, professional certification, legal technology, mentorship, publications, legal innovation, and professional excellence. The Academy is envisioned as a collaborative platform bringing together advocates, academicians, researchers, legal institutions, and other stakeholders to strengthen the legal profession and contribute to the administration of justice.

The Advocate Council of India Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees, comprising the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Secretary, together with such other trustees as may be appointed in accordance with the Trust Deed. The Board provides strategic leadership, safeguards the Trust’s charitable objectives, ensures statutory and financial compliance, and oversees the long-term institutional development of the organisation. As the institution continues to expand, the Trust proposes to establish specialised academic and advisory bodies, including the National Legal Academy Governing Council, to guide the development of its educational, research, and professional initiatives.

The Trust’s activities encompass a broad range of institutional initiatives, including practical legal education, continuing legal education, professional certification programmes, legal research and publications, mentorship, internships, legal awareness campaigns, legal aid and community outreach, digital legal services, legal technology, and professional networking. Through its Legal Relief Portal, the Trust also seeks to improve access to legal information, legal guidance, and professional legal assistance for individuals and organisations.

Recognising the importance of continuous professional development in a rapidly evolving legal landscape, the Advocate Council of India Trust is committed to promoting specialised legal education through workshops, seminars, conferences, webinars, faculty development programmes, publications, and digital learning resources covering diverse areas of law, advocacy, legal ethics, dispute resolution, constitutional governance, emerging technologies, and professional practice.

The Trust also seeks to encourage legal scholarship and innovation by supporting legal research, policy dialogue, journals, books, educational resources, and collaborative initiatives with universities, legal institutions, bar associations, research organisations, and other stakeholders, wherever appropriate and mutually agreed.

At its core, the Advocate Council of India Trust is more than an educational platform—it is an evolving institution committed to building a future-ready legal ecosystem that promotes excellence, integrity, innovation, and lifelong learning. Guided by the principles of the Rule of Law, professional ethics, academic freedom, transparency, collaboration, and public service, the Trust strives to contribute meaningfully to strengthening India’s legal profession and expanding access to justice for all.