The opening up of India’s legal market to international law firms appears to be on track after the bar council issued draft rules regarding the registration and regulation of foreign lawyers and law firms.
The proposed new rules, which were circulated by the Society of Indian Law Firms to its members on July 1, will enable foreign lawyers to practice non-Indian law and appear in international arbitration matters. Transactional legal work will be permitted, but they will not be able to provide any legal advice relating to, or appear before any courts, tribunals, boards or statutory authorities in India.
Foreign law firms will be allowed to open up law offices in India, hire local advocates and enter into partnerships with Indian law firms. And foreign lawyers will also be able to work for Indian firms.
The rules mandate the lawyers would need to be registered with the BCI. The registration fee has been set at $25,000 for individual lawyers and $50,000 for law firms, with a security deposit of $15,000 and $40,000, respectively.
The rules will be tabled at a meeting involving other ministries and organizations including the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry today (July 5).
