Foreign Law Firms Entry To India: SILF Will Send Representation To BCI

The Bar Council Of India has now opened up the Indian Legal arena to foreign lawyers and foreign law firms as they will now be able to practice foreign laws, international arbitration matters and more under the Bar Council Of India Rules For Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms In India, 2022.The BCI has said that it would not act as a stumbling block for the Indian lawyers if foreign lawyers are also allowed to practice in India in certain areas of law and it would also act in the benefit of Indian lawyers as the legal profession would grow in India as well. This would be done on a reciprocatory basis.

In respect of this development, Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) has formed a drafting committee including the heads to top tier law firms in the country including:

1) Jyoti Sagar, Chairman & Founder, JSA

2) V Lakshmikumaran, founder and Managing Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (L&S)

3) Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co

4) Amit Kapoor, Joint Managing Partner, JSA

5) Mukesh Bhutani, Managing Partner ,BMR Legal

This committee has been drafted by SILF to send representations to the Bar Council of India about the entry of foreign firms in India as several firms have put forth their concerns about reciprocity. It has also been  that it is not a level playing field which added to the concerns of the firms.

Background:

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) held a meeting on March 20 to discuss these new rules. In the course of the meeting these recent rules of the BCI were discussed in detail and every nuance related to them was carefully deliberated upon. It was held in The Lalit Hotel, New Delhi and was attended by over 100 law firms. The fundamental view that has been held since as early as 2014 is to allow the foreign law firms in India but the issue with these rules are their sudden nature. It was discussed that the announcement could have been made in a more calm and gradual manner. 

Another key point discussed at the SILF meeting was that before the process of liberalizing the legal fraternity in India, the Bar Council should have focused on curing the shortcomings of the legal system here. It was discussed that the firms in India are not allowed to advertise themselves and neither are they allowed to have full fledged websites. 

One of the several points that needs attention is the regulatory control of Bar Council of India over the foreign firms that have been allowed to set up shop here.as the BCI would not have a direct regulatory control over them because they will be governed by their own rules and regulations. So in case of any violation of the rules of the Bar Council of India , the BCI would only refer the matter to the disciplinary authority of the concerned country. However the rules also say that if the misconduct on part of the foreign lawyer is grave and prima facie apparent on the face of record, then the council may suspend the registration and refer the matter to the concerned Disciplinary Authority, with intimation of Government of India through ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice.

Conclusively, it can be seen that while the move has been widely accepted and is being welcomed, it cannot be forgotten that the manner in which it was laid upon the legal fraternity in a very hurried manner.