The Bar Council of India (BCI) has constituted a new committee to address the concerns raised by Indian lawyers and law firms regarding the recently-notified rules that permit foreign lawyers and law firms to enter and work in India in a regulated manner.
The decision was taken by BCI following certain apprehensions regarding the impact of these new Rules.
Led by Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, the committee would comprise Ajay Bahl (AZB & Partners), Suhail Nathani (ELP), Sandip Bhagat (S&R Associates), Mahesh Agarwal (Agarwal Law Associates) and Amit Kapur (JSA).
Principal Secretary of BCI Srimanto Sen was appointed as the Convenor of the Committee. BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra would serve as a special invitee.
BCI issued a statement on June 12, stating that it was committed to safeguarding the rights, interests and privileges of the Indian Bar, including the law firms of the country, while promoting clarity and coherence in regulatory enforcement.
As per the Council, the committee would examine the concerns of the Indian lawyers and recommend practical clarifications or additions within the framework of the current Rules.
It would keep a check on the functioning of new Rules and suggest changes, if needed, to make them clearer and more effective.
The committee would suggest safeguards to ensure foreign lawyers did not misuse legal loopholes to practice Indian law indirectly using partnerships, referrals, or alliances.
It would further recommend steps to protect Indian law firms from being unfairly affected during this transition period, including support in areas like growth strategies, technology, training, and infrastructure.
The committee would ensure similar freedom for Indian law firms in their business structure, capital access, and operations, giving them a level-playing field to compete with foreign law firms, added the Council.
It would also give recommendations to help Indian firms become globally competitive while following professional ethics and constitutional values.
The committee would ensure that legal services continued to be treated as a personal and ethical profession, not just a business.
It would hold consultations with Indian law firms to understand their feedback on how the new rules were affecting them. It would further handle new issues that may come up while working on this matter.
BCI Chairman may nominate any of its members, former judges, Senior Advocates, representatives of any foreign or Indian law firms, or other experts as special invitees to assist the Committee in its deliberations, said the Council.
The committee would submit its final report within 30-40 days. Once BCI received the report, it would make a final decision after consulting both Indian and foreign law firms. The meeting of law firms would be held in August 2025 in India, it added.
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