Law firms & in-house counsel

Payroll for advocates, associates and articled clerks

Practice allowance for practising advocates, Bar Council fees reimbursement, articleship stipend per BCI norms, court vacation leave for litigation lawyers, billable hours bonus. Used by senior counsel chambers through 200-lawyer LLPs.

Real problems · real fixes

What law firms & in-house counsel actually need from payroll

Each row is a pain point we've heard from operators in this vertical — and the specific FastLegal Payroll feature that addresses it.

ProblemArticled clerks need a stipend per BCI norms (₹10-25k/month) but generic payroll doesn't have a non-employee category.

FastLegal solvesArticleship Stipend is a built-in salary component (₹15,000/mo default). Articled Clerk and Trainee Solicitor are pre-loaded designations.

ProblemLitigation lawyers need court vacation off when courts close — but it's not annual leave.

FastLegal solvesCourt Vacation is a built-in leave type (30 days/year, paid, doesn't carry forward). Only granted to designations tagged Litigation.

ProblemBar Council enrolment + state fund fees are paid annually by the firm — reimbursement treatment unclear.

FastLegal solvesBar Council Fees Reimbursement is a built-in non-taxable reimbursement (₹250/mo pro-rated). Pays employee back for the annual enrolment automatically.

ProblemPartner draws + salaried partners + of counsel + senior associate — generic HRMS can't model this hierarchy.

FastLegal solvesIndustry profile pre-loads 14 designations across Partner track, Associate track, and Trainee / Support tracks. Workspace-wide referenceable list.

ProblemMatter-win bonus is discretionary but accountants can't tell which case it ties to.

FastLegal solvesMatter Win Bonus is a built-in ad-hoc bonus type (₹50,000 default). Reason field captures the matter; audit log retains the link.

ProblemCourt hours (10:30-17:00 lunch break) and office hours (09:30-19:00) need different attendance treatment.

FastLegal solvesTwo shift templates pre-loaded: Court Hours (10:30-17:00, 30min break) and Office Hours (09:30-19:00, 60min break). Assign per role.

Built for the workflow

Three things that change when you pick law firms & in-house counsel at signup

Articleship + training

Stipend management for articled clerks, no payroll workaround

Articled clerks aren't full employees but they're paid. BCI norms set the stipend at ₹10-25k/month with a clear progression. FastLegal handles it as a designated employment type — TDS doesn't apply below the ₹2.5L exemption, but the stipend appears on the practice's books.

Articleship Stipend · ₹15,000/mo default
Articled Clerk + Trainee Solicitor designations pre-loaded
Below TDS threshold — no withholding required
Annual stipend summary for BCI training register

Billable hours

Billable hours bonus + matter-win bonus tracked separately

Most firms pay associates and senior associates a quarterly bonus tied to recorded billable hours, plus an ad-hoc bonus when a case successfully closes. FastLegal models both as separate Bonus Types with their own audit trail.

Billable Hours Bonus · ₹25,000 default · quarterly
Matter Win Bonus · ₹50,000 default · ad-hoc
Reason field captures matter / billing reference
Partner Profit Draw · per LLP deed · quarterly

Compliance

Bar Council fees + court vacation handled correctly

Annual Bar Council enrolment fees + state lawyer welfare fund are firm expenses, reimbursed monthly to advocates. Court vacation is mandatory time-off for litigation lawyers — but only for them, not for transactional / corporate lawyers.

Bar Council Fees Reimbursement · ₹250/mo · non-taxable
Law Books & Journals · ₹2,000/mo · non-taxable
Court Vacation · 30 days/year (litigation only)
Exam Prep Leave · 15 days/year (AIBE, judicial services)

Compliance baked in

The statutes that govern law firms & in-house counsel

FastLegal Payroll references each of these frameworks correctly in its payslips, PDFs and statutory exports.

Advocates Act, 1961

Bar Council enrolment + state welfare fund fees per BCI rules.

BCI Rules on Training

Articled clerks: 1-year training under a senior advocate, with stipend.

Income-tax Act, 2025

Section 392 salary TDS; Section 393 contractor TDS. Form 130 from FY 2026-27.

LLP Act, 2008

Partner remuneration u/s 40(b) ITA; salary income for the partner.

Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

26 weeks paid maternity. Applies to all firms ≥ 10 employees.

FAQ

Common questions from law firms & in-house counsel

›Can I pay articleship stipends through FastLegal Payroll?

Yes. The Legal industry profile includes Articleship Stipend (₹15,000/mo default) as a salary component. Articled Clerk and Trainee Solicitor are pre-loaded designations. The stipend appears on payslips and the practice's books; TDS doesn't apply because the amount is below the basic exemption threshold.

›How do you handle court vacation for litigation lawyers?

Court Vacation is a built-in leave type (30 days/year, paid, doesn't carry forward). The Litigation department category in the Legal profile applies it automatically for those staff. Corporate / Transactional / Tax practice lawyers don't get court vacation by default — they use standard EL.

›Are Bar Council fees a salary perquisite or a tax-free reimbursement?

Bar Council enrolment fees + the state lawyer welfare fund contribution are firm expenses incurred to enable the advocate to practice — reimbursed monthly to the advocate. We treat it as a non-taxable reimbursement under the general principle that reimbursement of business expenses isn't salary income.

›Does FastLegal support partner draws for LLP firms?

Yes. Partner Draw is an ad-hoc Bonus Type. Each draw is paid out per the LLP deed. The firm treats it as remuneration to partners u/s 40(b) of the Income-tax Act; the partner declares it as salary income. Annual aggregate flows into Form 16 / Form 130.

›How are billable-hours bonuses calculated?

Your time-tracking software (Clio, PracticePanther, an Excel sheet) tells you each associate's chargeable hours per quarter. You create a Billable Hours Bonus Grant on the associate for the calculated amount; FastLegal adds it to that month's payslip as a taxable line item, annualised for TDS.

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