UK and India to negotiate on access to Indian legal market

There appears to be some movement on the issue of access to the Indian legal market for foreign firms, with India’s Law Minister Salman Khurshid agreeing to work with U.K.’s Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke to come to a reciprocal arrangement between India and the UK. “We understand the UK firms want to open offices in India for non-litigation purposes — mainly drafting of business contracts, deeds, agreements and other similar works,” said Ashok Parija, the chairman of the Indian body that regulates the legal profession. “We will negotiate with our UK counterparts to work out a principle of reciprocity, which will benefit both sides.” Meanwhile, there remains significant resistance on the part of Indian lawyers, who are opposed to lowering India’s barriers to for fear of the competitive threat posed by foreign firms.

UK and India to negotiate on access to Indian legal market blogs.wsj.com Wed, Sep 28, 2011