India Licensing Law 'Nothing to Get Excited About,' Lawyer Says
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In a decision troubling to foreign firms eyeing India’s booming legal market, the Bombay High Court recently held that India’s Advocates Act requires all lawyers—whether they litigate or simply handle transactions and negotiations—to be licensed there.
Yet the ruling, arising out of a challenge to the India outposts of U.S. and U.K. law firms, is “nothing to get excited about,” says Gene Theroux, a senior counsel in Baker & McKenzie’s Washington, D.C., office who spent three years in India referring work to local firms.
India breeds legal matters “across the widest imaginable spectrum,” including employment litigation, project finance and intellectual property, he says.
The case originated in 1995 when Chadbourne & Parke and Ashurst opened in New Delhi, and White & Case in Bombay, all with permission of the Reserve Bank of India. The Indian public interest group Lawyers Collective challenged the RBI’s order. In January, the Bombay High Court ruled that the bank wasn’t authorized to allow foreign lawyers not enrolled as advocates to handle non litigation matters.
But India is not closed to foreign firms, Theroux explains. The decision stated only that Indian law practice—in and out of the courtroom—is limited to India-licensed attorneys. “No international law firm I know of would dream of sending lawyers to India who are not licensed to practice there.”
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