The Advocates Act, which is administered by the BCI, allows for foreign law firms or lawyers to visit India on a reciprocal basis for temporary periods to advise their clients on foreign law and diverse international legal issues. But the UK and the US have been pushing India to open up the sector to foreign firms.‘We have taken a note on legal services to the Committee of Secretaries (CoS). The CoS will talk about it shortly,’ Mr Kher told reporters. He added that discussions are also taking place with the Society for Indian Law Firms (SILF), a representative body of corporate law firms, and that they are broadly agreeing it is necessary to open up the sector in a calibrated manner. ‘There is a need to bring in a certain amount of competition in the sector. But the area of litigation will not be opened up,’ he said.  

Phased in

SILF President Lalit Bhasin commented: ‘We have suggested that the foreign law firms should be allowed in in phased manners, which would take 5 to 7 years.’ He added that Indian law firms should be allowed to avail basic quality services by liberalising the norms of the Bar Council of India and others. Source: DNA India