Meeting Held By SILF On March 20 To Discuss The Move Allowing Foreign Firms To Set Up Practice In India

Bar Council of India (BCI) has recently framed new rules allowing the foreign lawyers and foreign legal practitioners to set up their practice in India. Since this has been a buzzing topic in the legal ecosystem of India ever since the news broke, there has been equal share of apprehensions about it. The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) held a meeting on March 20 at The Lalit Hotel, New Delhi  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 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. The society also discussed that the model for allowing foreign firms in India should be along the same steps as of Singapore where these changes took place in a staggered manner.

Singapore’s Model For Allowing Foreign Firms In India:

Currently in Singapore the foreign legal practitioners can choose between a complete or partial registration under it’s Legal Profession Act and has established itself as a hub for international law firms. The move in Singapore was made in a staggered and gradual way which contributed to it’s success. 

The foreign lawyers who have registered themselves in Singapore can practice in the areas permitted under the Legal Profession Act depending on the type of registration they hold. But the in-house profession is not restricted and they can advise on laws as per their wishes. Section 36P of the Legal Profession Act allows a practitioner to appear in any proceeding in Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). But such lawyers first need to register themselves  and then only a regulated legal practitioner such as a solicitor or registered foreign lawyer (RFL) can provide the legal services.

Interestingly the foreign lawyers are not required to have a practicing certificate unless they are registered under Section 36E of the Legal Profession Act. Thereafter, as mentioned earlier, the length of registration depends on the type of registration and can range from one to three years.It is important to note that only those foreign lawyers are required to be admitted to the Singapore bar who intend on appearing and pleading before the Singapore Court and wish to practice Singapore law.

Lastly there remains some areas of law which cannot be practiced by the foreign lawyers in Singapore which include cases relating to defense or sovereign functions.

Other Key Points Discussed In The Meeting:

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. Hence the meeting discussed that the foreign firms already have all such freedoms which the Indian firms do not have.

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.