ALB reports that? as part of broader lobbying efforts towards the liberalisation of the Indian legal market, the British Minister of Justice, Lord Bach, met with Veerappa Moily, the Indian Minister for Law and Justice in August
The? magazine goes on to say …
As part of the August visit, Bach also met with local lawyers in a forum to explain that Indian law firms are allowed to work in Britain. FoxMandal Little and ALMT Legal are the select few Indian law firms who have set up in the UK.
Local lawyers, who are largely opposed to liberalisation, have previously raised the lack of reciprocity to allow them to practice in the UK as a major impediment towards liberalisation. ?We welcome Indian lawyers,? said Bach, in his speech to the UK trade and investment workshop, held in Chennai in August. ?We allow virtually unrestricted access for foreign firms. It doesn?t mean that the UK lawyers have to compete with them for work. On the contrary, the foreign firms present extra work opportunities for the English lawyers.?
In an earlier meeting with the Indian Minister, Bach argued that foreign lawyers should be allowed to advise local clients, but not be allowed to stand in court. However, the Minister said any decision on liberalisation would depend on the opinions of local lawyers, which further delays any decisive steps towards this happening soon.
See report here? http://asia.legalbusinessonline.com/news/breaking-news/india-pressed-by-uk-in-liberalisation-talks/36910
Will this persuade Indian legal bars and assocs – we doubt it
