English, Welsh lawyers have no intention of taking court work away from Indian lawyers: UK Law Society President

President of the Law Society of England and Wales Lubna Shuja on Saturday assured Indian lawyers that the decision to allow the entry of foreign law firms into India would not result in court work being taken away from them..Shuja was speaking at a technical session on the topic Global Law for Global Issues, as part of the International Lawyers' Conference hosted by the Bar Council of India (BCI)."Today gives us an opportunity to celebrate the BCI's rules and regulations on foreign lawyers and foreign law firms operating in India. I want to reassure all of you that English and Welsh lawyers have no intention of taking your court work away from you. They will not practice Indian law. They are only interested in International law, cross-border work, and arbitration. They want to have an office in India so that they can provide advice on foreign law to their clients who have interests in India. A lot of that work is already happening, but it is being done outside India in places like Dubai, London, and Singapore. The new regulations will allow this work to take place in India, where it will benefit your economy as well as grow your profession," Shuja said. .She also said that English and Welsh firms are eager to work with and alongside Indian law firms and lawyers."They want to offer you opportunities to work together for the benefit of all of our clients, whether through referral on areas of Indian law or employment and partnerships. We know that working with local lawyers is critical for foreign law firms. Because local lawyers understand how things work on the ground, here in India.".Shuja also noted that India and the UK already have very strong ties in numerous areas, including law, trade, and culture."Who doesn't love a Bollywood film with Amitabh Bachan in it? Who doesn't enjoy a good masala dosa? And we even have a Prime Minister of Indian heritage," she quipped..She pointed out that the UK is a welcoming destination for Indian businesses and that its jurisdiction has been open to Indian lawyers and firms for a long time.Expressing pride that the UK is presently home to legal professionals from nearly 100 jurisdictions, Shuja added that such openness to international talent has helped turn the country into a global leader."There is no reason to believe that India could not enjoy similar success as an open jurisdiction in the future...The timing of this conference is an excellent opportunity for us to reflect on the merits of a globalised legal sector, given the ongoing UK-India free trade agreement negotiations.".Shuja was one of seven speakers at the session, which included Supreme Court Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha member P Wilson and senior lawyer Nishith Desai of Nishith Desai Associates..The session was the first of ten technical sessions being held as part of the BCI conference, which will conclude tomorrow. The inaugural session held earlier today saw addresses being made by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, among other dignitaries..[Read live coverage of the first technical session]