Bar Council Of India Permits Entry Of Foreign Lawyers, Law Firms

The Bar Council of India (BCI) allowed foreign lawyers and foreign law firms to practice foreign law in India on a reciprocity basis.

This is a significant development since now foreign law firms will be able to establish their offices in India to advise clients on transactional and corporate work such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters.

The BCI, however, has clarified that foreign lawyers and law firms will not be permitted to appear before any courts, tribunals or other statutory or regulatory authorities, according to a notification.

Also, such foreign lawyers and firms should not be involved or permitted to do any work pertaining to the conveyancing of property, title investigation or other similar works, it said.

ALLOWED WORK

• Doing work, transacting business, giving advice and opinion concerning the laws of the country of the primary qualification

• Providing legal expertize/advise and appearing as a lawyer for a person, firm, company, corporation, trust and society, who/which is having an address or principal office or head office in a foreign country in any international arbitration case, which is conducted in India and in such arbitration case “foreign law may or may not be involved.

• Providing legal expertize/advise and appearing as a lawyer for a person, firm, company, corporation, trust and society, who/which is having an address or principal office or head office in the foreign country of the primary qualification in proceedings before bodies other than courts, tribunals, boards and statutory authorities, who are not legally entitled to take evidence on oath, in which knowledge of foreign law of the country of the primary qualification is essential.

REGISTRATION & RENEWAL FEES

• Registration fee in case of a foreign lawyer, if he is an individual: $25,000

• Registration fee in case of a foreign lawyer, if it is a firm, private limited partnership, company, limited liability partnership (LLP): $50,000

• Renewal fee in case of a foreign lawyer: $10,000

• Renewal fee in case of a foreign lawyer, if it is a firm, private limited partnership, company, LLP: $20,000

The application for registration shall also be accompanied by security deposit as follows:

• Security deposit in case of a foreign lawyer, if he is an individual: $15,000

• Guarantee amount in case of a foreign lawyer, if it is a firm, private limited partnership, company, LLP: $40,000

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