India set to open legal services for foreigners

India will press ahead with liberalising legal services market to allow foreign lawyers to operate, said a statement issued by UK government after talks between finance minister Arun Jaitley and his British counterpart.

In a statement issued after 8th UK-India economic and financial dialogue here, the UK treasury department said the move would act as a “catalyst for international investment” in India and give businesses the access they need to global legal advice.

“India will press ahead with liberalising the Indian legal services market to allow foreign lawyers the right to operate in India,” the treasury department said.

This would bring new opportunities for the UK profession, who will benefit from being offered similar rights to those that Indian firms already enjoy in the UK.

It would also allow them to enter partnerships with Indian firms and bring their specialist expertise to India.

A joint statement issued after a meeting of Mr Jaitley and UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said that both countries discussed the importance of an open legal sectors and ease of access to international legal expertise as an enabler for bilateral investment.

UK already has a liberalised legal services market and a number of Indian law firms already have offices in London.

“Jaitley has expressed his support for enabling foreign lawyers to establish a presence in India, provide legal advice on non-Indian law and transact services as per regulations to be framed and to employ and enter partnerships with Indian lawyers,” the joint statement added.

“This should be progressed by the relevant authorities as a matter of urgency,” it added. Both countries agreed to make India, which is the world’s largest common law jurisdiction, become an international legal hub.