Slowly but surely? MoU between UK and Indian Bar Councils in the works

In a significant move towards opening up of the Indian legal market, the Law Society, Bar Council of England and Wales, and the Bar Council of India are drawing up a MoU, reports the Law Society Gazette..Bar Council of India’s Chairman, Manan Kumar Mishra confirmed that the Law Society has sent an MoU, and that the BCI is currently studying the document..Mishra also said that the BCI could agree to the MoU on the condition that complete reciprocity is ensured. If this was the case, then the BCI would formulate its own set of regulations as well. However, the BCI Chairman did categorically state that any decision in this regard would depend on the litigation pending before the Supreme Court of India..In September, the Supreme Court had granted leave in two appeals, one filed by the Bar Council of India, and the other by the Global Indian Lawyers dealing with the issue of entry of foreign law firms..Recently, both the Society of Indian Law Firms and the BCI had changed their stance on the opening up of the legal market. Since then, SILF has gone ahead and submitted a three-phased approach to open the market to the Ministry of Commerce..Stephen Denyer, from the Law Society, did say that there is ‘a lot of optimism’ on both sides, and that a satisfactory memorandum could be agreed upon within a few months..PK Malhotra, Secretary at the Ministry of Law and Justice in India, reportedly said that liberalisation is now only a question of timing, though ‘certain issues’ still need to be addressed..On timing of opening of the market, Malhotra said,.“It may be a question of a few days or a few months but I can’t make any commitment. The Indian Bar Council is now on board but they have to get the confidence of their own counterparts. This may take some time.”.Given the fact that the matter in the Supreme Court is unlikely to be listed again within the next four to five years, the debate over what foreign law firms can and cannot do in India may well continue for few more years.