>The Indian government has published a consultation paper on opening up its legal services market, which could see foreign lawyers move a step closer to being able to practise on a limited basis in the subcontinent.


The document seeks the views of the Indian state bars on the desirability of liberalisation, the preferred model that could be adopted, and the impact on Indian firms. At present, foreign lawyers are prohibited from working in India, which is at the top of many City firms' international wish list.



The country has the second largest legal profession in the world, but its 600,000-plus lawyers practise as individuals or in small or family-based firms under a restrictive regulatory regime that has limited the scope for growth. The only practice model permissible is a partnership and firms are limited to 20 partners.



While the Indian government said it recognised the need to open up, it noted that there is a fear that permitting foreign firms to operate even in a limited way, could shrink the opportunities available to domestic lawyers.



'Having functioned in such a limiting framework for the past 50 years, the Indian legal profession is totally ill-equipped to compete on a par with international lawyers,' it said.



The Indian representatives on the legal services working group at the UK-India Joint Economic Trade Committee, which met last month, said domestic regulatory reform should precede any relaxation in the conditions governing foreign law firms, so as to provide a level playing field.



Alison Hook, the Law Society's head of international and its working group representative, said: 'We have been engaging positively with the representatives of the Indian legal profession to find a way forward whereby foreign lawyers can practise in India in a way that does not upset the Indian legal profession.'



The consultation was prepared in readiness for India's ongoing negotiations at the World Trade Organisation and it is hoped that the initiative will not be hit by this week's collapse of the Doha round.



Catherine Baksi