Centre plans to partially open up the legal market; May allow entry to foreign firms in phases

The Commerce Ministry is working on a proposal for a phased opening up of the sector in non-litigious services and international arbitration, a Commerce Ministry official told HinduBusinessLine..The idea was discussed at the recent National Services Conclave. “We are giving finishing touches to a paper and will take it up with the legal department soon”, said the official..The Commerce Ministry is expecting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to back the proposal..According to the media report, the paper proposes that foreign lawyers could be permitted to practice in India in conjunction with Indian lawyers, as a joint venture, with a cap on foreign participation..The paper further proposes that after about two-three years, advisory or non-litigious services in Indian law could be opened up subject to foreign lawyers going through a pre-qualification examination in various aspects of Indian law..However, the Bar Council of India and Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), who are still opposed to the idea of opening up the legal market, need to be convinced, the official says..India could also sign bilateral arrangements with other countries to allow foreign lawyers to practice in limited areas in each other’s territories on a reciprocal basis..All of this is still in the making and it may take a couple of years for the market to actually open up, considering there is still a lot of opposition from different some sections of the Bar. There is also a petition pending in the Supreme Court against the entry of foreign law firms.