Indian call for legal liberalisation

India’s top law firms and largest companies are desperate for the country’s legal market to be liberalised, according to new research.

A YouGov poll, in association with magic circle firm Allen & Overy, found near-unanimous agreement among more than 300 Indian legal stakeholders. In total, 96% of respondents, including 98% of law firm partners, said the Indian legal market should be liberalised.

The survey will add weight to arguments for liberalisation. UK government attempts to help initiate the process last year appear to have made limited progress, leading to frustration among the UK’s biggest firms. Last month, City of London Law Society chairman Alasdair Douglas told the Gazette it would be a long time before the ‘closed shop’ in India would open to foreign law firms.