 "Illustration: Ajay Mohanty")
The Bar Council of India’s (BCI’s) decision to allow foreign law firms to set up office in India and offer corporate law and merger and acquisition (M&A) services can be seen as a significant step in modernising business in recognition of the increasingly global nature of corporate activities in the country. The broad contours of the rules, which the BCI notified earlier this week, allow foreign law firms that register with the BCI to practise on a reciprocal basis, and limited the scope of work to transactional and corporate work, such as M&As, intellectual property matters, and drafting contracts. Foreign law firms or lawyers cannot, however, appear for clients in Indian courts, tribunals, or other statutory bodies.
Given that advisory and
