The Bar Council of England and Wales, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the Bar Council of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation and legal exchange in light of the opening up of India’s legal services sector to foreign lawyers.
In a MoU signed last night (Monday 5 June), the Bar Council of India committed to the implementation of its recently announced regulations to permit the practice of home jurisdiction law by English and Welsh lawyers and law firms in India, on the basis of reciprocity.
The MoU formalises an agreement reached in March this year between the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council of India. The signing ceremony was hosted jointly by the Law Society of England and Wales and the Bar Council of England and Wales.
Commenting on the historic decision to open up the Indian legal services sector to foreign lawyers, Law Society President, Lubna Shuja, said: “We are delighted to have signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Bar Council of India.
“The Bar Council of India’s decision is a significant step forward in this much anticipated development and will create huge opportunities for solicitors and Indian advocates in both countries. It will also give a boost to India’s wider economic ambitions.
“We thank the Bar Council of India for their support in reaching this agreement and look forward to engaging further on the implementation of the regulations.”
Nick Vineall KC, Chair of the Bar of England and Wales, added: “We very warmly welcome the signing of the MoU and see it as the first step in a process, and an important step in the right direction.
“At the Bar we hope that clarification of ‘fly in, fly out’ rights will give us more opportunities to work with our Indian legal colleagues in international arbitrations.”
See also the Bar Council of India's news release.
