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Entry of Foreign Law Firms in India

 

There is an ongoing battle being fought on the issue of liberalization of legal service sector in a growing economy. India is on the brink of opening its doors to foreign firms. Both international and local firms have a lot at stake in India, and the path to foreign entry is proving to be harder than expected.

Being in sync with this view, Mr. Som Mandal has approached various Governmental bodies concerned. Whatever may be the ultimate decision of the Government, we believe that in an upcoming economy like India, there can be plenty of work for everyone. Hence, the choice will depend on the tremendous need of foreign law firms with the size of the average Indian foreign acquisition rising tenfold to $315 million in recent years. Only when the Bar Council finally stands to one side and allows full deregulation will India’s legal market, not just its economy, flourish.

Also, a public interest is related to this issue, as Mr. Mandal rightly puts forth…

FOXMANDAL LITTLE HAS CAREFULLY CONSIDERED THIS ISSUE. WE BELIEVE ON BALANCE THAT THE PUBLIC INTEREST WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN LAWYERS SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATE SAFEGUARDS OF COURSE.

“We would like to categorically support the view adopted by the Ministry of Law and Justice in allowing the entry of foreign law firms to the Indian legal services sector to practise foreign law. We understand that foreign law firms are not interested in litigation and in that respect the objections raised by the Bar Council of India and all other Bar, lawyers and law firms fail to stand ground. A sufficient safeguard to this effect would be, to formulate rules that allow foreign law firms to only practice the law of their jurisdiction. The availability of foreign lawyers would greatly minimize costs to the Indian business enterprises, since as of date, to avail the services of a foreign lawyer an enterprise would have to approach lawyers located in that jurisdiction, which obviously entails more expenses. Indian lawyers are competent and can deliver quality work. We are positive that Indian lawyers will not be scared to face the competition once the government decides to open its door.

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