According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) and its equivalents in England and Wales, the English and Welsh legal services markets are available to Indian lawyers and law firms, subject to some limitations. The MoU was signed on June 5.
The MoU comes in the wake of the BCI's decision to allow the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms into India on a reciprocity basis. The agreement clarified the conditions under which Indian lawyers will be allowed to practise in the United Kingdom.
The Law Society and the Bar Council of England and Wales have decided to support the implementation of the BCI's regulations allowing English and Welsh lawyers and law firms to practise English law in India, but only in non-litigious matters and international commercial arbitration.
The terms and limitations on the practise of foreign lawyers in the UK are listed in Schedule A of the MoU. Foreign lawyers in England and Wales are permitted to practise any type of law, including Welsh and English law, without having to recertify their qualifications, except for the following activities:
- The exercise of a right to audience in the courts and certain tribunals
- The conduct of litigation
- Reserved instrument activities
- Probate activities
- Notarial activities
- Administration of oaths.
Foreign lawyers can practice in England and Wales as:
a) Sole practitioners,
b) In a partnership of foreign lawyers,
c) As an assistant or consultant with a firm of foreign lawyers,
d) In partnership with solicitors,
e) As an employee of a solicitor and
f) As in-house lawyers.
Likewise, the authorities decided that the BCI would have the power to control how foreign lawyers and firms practise law in India. The 2022 BCI Rules will have an overriding effect on the MoU in this regard.
Significantly, the BCI stated in a press statement that "certain crucial changes" were required to its recently enacted rules allowing the entry of international law firms on a reciprocal basis. It further stated that prior to implementing any modifications, it will take into account comments from Indian law firms, a portion of the Indian Bar, and outside organisations.
