India opens legal market to foreign firms - but full access is still off the table

India’s legal regulator - the Bar Council of India (BCI) - has updated its rules to allow foreign law firms and lawyers to practise in India for the first time, provided they stick to non-litigious work like M&A, other transactional matters and international arbitration.

The changes, published on Wednesday (14 May), follow earlier draft reforms from 2023 and are part of a push by the BCI to position India as a hub for international commercial arbitration while safeguarding the interests of domestic law firms.

To practise in India, foreign law firms will have to register with the BCI and those wanting temporary entry to advise on a "fly-in, fly-out" basis will have their stays capped at 60 days a year. All access routes are subject to strict compliance rules and approval from two Indian ministries.

But the BCI has made one point crystal clear: foreign firms remain banned from practising Indian law or appearing before Indian courts.

Regarding arbitration, the BCI clarified that foreign lawyers may participate in international commercial arbitration seated in India, but only if the matter involves foreign or international law. This, it said, is intended to promote India as a destination for global dispute resolution "without compromising the rights of Indian legal professionals."

What it means for UK firms

For UK firms with long-standing India-facing practices, it’s a long-awaited, but limited, opening. The practical impact is likely to remain muted in the short term, particularly given that the UK-India free trade agreement signed earlier in May excludes legal services - a decision the Law Society described as a "missed opportunity."

Without the added push from that framework, while UK lawyers can now register with India’s regulator and advise on international legal matters, full market access remains off the table. Much of the high-end work involving Indian clients is likely to stay routed through firms' India desks out of hubs like Dubai or Singapore.

India is a huge market opportunity for UK law firms thanks to its historic ties to the country, as well as its (predominantly) common law system. India is on track to become the world’s third largest economy by 2050.