28.07.2010 (UNI): Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) has condemned Indian government ‘interest in allowing the entry of foreign law firms in the country.’ The issue of letting foreign lawyers practise in India has cropped up from time to time since the advent of globalisation but resisted by the bar led by the Bar Council of India.

In December 2009, the Bombay High Court held the practice of law by foreign firms in India illegal. A petition on the issue has been before the Madras High Court.

The statement by a Society of Indian Law Firms alluded to Law and Justice Minister M Veerappa Moily’s recent remarks suggesting a move to transfer the matter to the Supreme Court so as to obtain a broader perspective.

SILF President Lalit Bhasin said that the reviving interest was a consequence of ‘insurmountable pressures being exerted on the government by the British lobby.’ The statement cited United Kingdom delegations visiting India ‘every month’ to get ‘legal services in India open up to the foreign law firms.’ Referring to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to India, it said ‘one of his topmost priorities is to discuss opening of legal services sector in India.’ ‘While UK government is fully backing its legal profession for seeking greener pastures due to negative growth in the UK..(government) of India, instead of supporting and protecting India’s legal profession appears to be supportive of these moves by UK government.’ The statement stressed how the Council, a statutory regulatory body, ‘has totally and unequivocally opposed the entry of foreign law firms and we are going to oppose it in the future too.’

Bhasin remarked that Indian legal profession and Indian law firms ‘are second to none'. He further added that 'they are involved in billion dollars deals, acquisitions and transactions. It is absolutely unjustifiable to say that Indian law firms are not equipped to handle multinational corporate deals and they do not have the necessary expertise. This is a bogey being raised to justify allowing foreign law firms into our country.’

He echoed a question raised before-- whether India would allow foreigners to be members of Indian legislatures or executive. ‘Can foreigners be inducted into our legislatures or in the executive-- then how and why in our justice administration and delivery system. Legal profession is too sacrosanct to be polluted by deep pockets of foreign governments or foreign lawyers. Unlike our foreign counterparts we are not into the business of law-- we are a profession. And our profession is not for sale.’

At the same time, Bhasin said ‘we are not opposed to our brethren in other parts of the world. We have extremely cordial, mutually rewarding and beneficial relations as with the American Bar Association, the Law Society of England and Wales, the French, the Australian and the Japanese Bars.’

UNI