Legal News

Finally, for Foreign Law Firms, a Passage to India?

By Dan Slater

Last April, we blogged a story from the Economist, entitled “Legally Barred,” about how the Indian Advocates Act of 1961 prevents foreign law firms from doing business in India, the most populous democracy in the world.

That could be changing. Last month, the Times of India reported that the newly-enacted Limited Liability Partnership Act could mean that foreign firms can set up shop in India.

Union law minister H R Bhardwaj, who’s been advocating the entry of overseas law firms into India, asked top India law firms to “stop opposing” the opening up of the legal sector and to instead “benefit from it”. He said: “Whether you like it or not the legal services will only go global and if you (the Indian law firms) do not allow overseas law firms to come in, you will be looked upon with suspicion.”

For the salient features of the act, see this blog post from Practice Source.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).