The Government of India in association with the Bar Council of India has agreed to allow foreign attorneys and law firms to set up their offices in India and to practice non-Indian law. This move is significant for consumers of legal services who operate in international business and cross-country international trade and services.
According to the rules:
- A security deposit in the range of $15,000 and $40,000 for individual attorneys and law firms respectively will be levied.
- Expatriate attorneys will be allowed to do all non-Indian law transactional legal work and a firm will be allowed to hire Indian lawyers or enter into a partnership with them.
- Registration of individual attorneys will require home and Indian government ministry certificates, as well as certificates of practice from foreign bar council-equivalent bodies.
- Expatriate attorneys will not be allowed to provide any legal advice relating toIndian courts, tribunals, boards or statutory authorities. However, they will be allowed to appear as legal counsel for foreign-headquartered clients in international arbitrations held in India, irrespective of the type of law the dispute falls under, reports The New Indian Express.
