Key takeaways
- Members ask colleagues for a specialisation, such as transfer pricing or arbitration. Milvao publishes no member listings or adverts.
- Some professional bodies restrict soliciting work and advertising. Each member and your association judge how their own rules apply.
- Requests should never contain client or patient names or case facts that identify someone.
- Membership or registration numbers can be asked and kept visible to your team only.
What professional association software is used for here
Professional associations, such as a city CA study circle, an IMA branch, or a district bar association, have WhatsApp groups where members ask each other for help all day. A CA needs a colleague who handles transfer pricing. A lawyer needs counsel who appears regularly in another district court. A general practitioner wants to know which colleague in the association takes a certain kind of case.
These are referrals between professionals, not offers to the public. Milvao routes them privately to a member who lists that specialisation, instead of a public thread where members compete to answer.
Conduct rules and how Milvao works
Some professions restrict how members find work. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's 2020 advisory on website guidelines notes that clauses (6) and (7) of Part I of the First Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act bar solicitation and advertisement respectively. The Bar Council of India rules say an advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, directly or indirectly. Medical councils have their own codes. Rules change, and none of this is legal advice.
What Milvao does is narrow. It doesn't publish profiles, rank members in public or send promotions. A member is contacted only when a colleague asks for that specialisation, and only if they turned on introduction requests. Whether taking part fits a member's own professional rules is for that member, and your association, to judge. If your committee prefers to see each referral before anyone is asked, the owner can switch to Approve each match.
Keep client and patient details out of requests
Professionals are used to discussing cases. Requests to Milvao should describe the kind of help, not the person. Milvao removes phone numbers, emails and links before text goes to the AI, but it does not remove names, diagnoses or case facts, and your team can read the original message.
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| "Need help on the Sharma Textiles transfer pricing notice, AY 2023-24." | "Need a colleague experienced in transfer pricing assessments for a textile exporter." |
| "Patient Ramesh, 58, with suspected cardiac issue, who can see him tomorrow?" | "Looking for a cardiologist colleague in Mohali who takes referrals this week." |
| "Client's divorce case against her husband in Kharar court." | "Need family law counsel who appears regularly in the Kharar courts." |
Profile questions on health topics trigger a warning and can only be added by the owner. Questions asking for Aadhaar, PAN, passport, voter ID or driving licence numbers can't be added at all.
How a professional association differs from a business network
| Professional association | In Milvao | |
|---|---|---|
| Members | One profession, many specialisations | Skills are specialisations, such as GST litigation, Insolvency, Paediatrics, Arbitration |
| Proving membership | Institute membership or council registration number | A required question visible to operators only |
| What is asked | Peer referrals and second opinions between colleagues | Briefs describe the work, never the client |
| Sensitivity | Conduct rules and confidentiality | No listings or adverts; requests only reach members who opted in |
| Groups | Branch, study circles, specialty or court groups | A join link for each |
Setting up a professional association
- 1Hold the owner account on the association's own email address, and invite office bearers who handle membership as operators.
- 2Add a required profile question for membership or registration number, set to Operators only, and an optional one for years of practice.
- 3Build the skills list from specialisations members refer to each other, and add the cities or court districts members work in.
- 4Create a join link for each branch or specialty group and verify members against your membership list.
- 5Tell members in the group what a good request looks like, and that client details stay out.
Sources
- ICAI: Advisory with regard to compliance with the Website Guidelines of the Institute (14 October 2020) (checked 5 November 2026)
- Bar Council of India Rules, Part VI, Chapter II, Rule 36 (copy published by the Bar Council of Gujarat) (checked 5 November 2026)
- Milvao Help Center: Profile questions (checked 5 November 2026)
- Milvao Help Center: How requests work (checked 5 November 2026)
Facts about WhatsApp and other services come from the pages listed, on the dates shown, and can change.