The legal services market access talks between India and the UK is likely to take off, with the Bar Council of India entering the fray and set to partake in the discussions for the first time in April. The entry of Bar Council of India in the discussions is likely to toughen negotiations for mutual liberalization of the legal service markets. This is due to the opposition on the entry of the foreign lawyers into India by the Bar Council.

The Bar Council is the regulatory body of the legal profession in India. Currently, foreign firms are not authorized to practice in India.

As the global marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, corporations are being forced to streamline operations and cut costs in order to maintain profitability. Law firms are subject to increasing pressure from their clients to reduce costs and maintain profits per partner. These factors have given them an incentive to look at alternative sourcing methods.

The legal services talks are being held under the protection of the India-UK Joint Economic Trade Committee, which was made a few years ago. The JETCO had set up a method to examine the requirements of non-practice legal advisory services for enhancing trade and investments.

The UK agencies explained that they were not looking to appear in Indian courts but were interested in providing advisory services to the international companies that are based in India.

Allowing foreign firms to establish office in India would be a great advantage for the Indian legal market. Because the Indian market is closed, the firms cannot expand. They cannot attain international profile with advertising being restricted too.

The foreign lawyers (including those from India) could set up office in UK and practice, but would have to clear one paper (issues relating to ethics, money laundering etc).
It was also maintained that concerns on immigration were not well founded and that more than 90 per cent of the applicants have been allowed to come into the UK.