Bar Council of India accuses SILF leaders of misconduct for misleading public on foreign law firms issue. BCI warns of strict action and defends reforms meant to globalize India’s legal sector.
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NEW DELHI: The Bar Council of India (BCI), which controls and regulates the legal profession in India, has strongly criticized the leaders of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF). On Sunday, BCI said that SILF office bearers have shown serious professional misconduct by repeatedly challenging BCI’s authority and spreading confusing and misleading information about the entry of foreign law firms into India.
BCI mentioned that it is seriously thinking about sending legal notices to those SILF representatives who are releasing public statements with “misleading public information” about foreign law firms being allowed in the country.
“Issuing sensational or deceptive press releases in the name of protecting law firms, when in reality aimed at safeguarding private commercial interests, constitutes using the profession for personal or sectional gain, which is strictly prohibited. In light of this, the BCI is seriously considering issuing notice to the individuals responsible for these press releases to explain their conduct. If found guilty, appropriate disciplinary action may be taken, including reprimand, suspension, or even removal from the roll of Advocates,”
-the BCI said in its letter.
Recently, BCI had changed the rules to allow foreign lawyers and law firms to offer certain types of non-litigation legal services in India. This move was meant to modernize the legal system and help India compete globally. But this decision led to strong objections from SILF, even though SILF had earlier said that it supported opening the Indian legal market. SILF’s main issue is with the way these rules are being implemented.
On June 28, SILF released a statement asking whether the BCI wants to allow foreign law firms just to destroy Indian law firms. In reply, BCI strongly denied these allegations and said the language used by SILF in the press release was a case of professional misconduct.
BCI reminded everyone that it is a legal and constitutional body created by law to regulate lawyers in India and does not need to follow the instructions or wishes of any “self-serving private institution.”
“Public sentiment and media feedback overwhelmingly support the BCI’s reforms as necessary to modernize and globalize the Indian legal profession. The continued resistance of this Society, representative of negligible number of law firms is widely seen as an attempt to protect narrow monopolistic interests rather than the welfare of the legal community at large.”
BCI also pointed out that the group SILF represents only about 2% of Indian law firms, mostly large corporate law firms, and it cannot claim to speak for the entire profession. According to BCI, these big firms have been getting unfair advantages for years.
“It is a well-known fact that almost all the members of SILF have already established foreign offices and informal tie-ups with foreign entities while denying such opportunities to smaller and emerging Indian firms,”
-the BCI noted.
BCI explained again that a few large law firms have taken control of most corporate legal and arbitration work in India by forming private connections with foreign clients. This, BCI says, has blocked smaller and medium-sized law firms from getting international work and has hurt fair competition.
BCI also made it clear that the new changes in rules were carefully written after studying Supreme Court decisions and going through detailed legal checks.
“They precisely restrict foreign lawyers to non-litigious advisory work, explicitly prohibiting them from practicing Indian law or appearing before Indian courts and tribunals (Rules 8(2)(b) and 8(2)(c)). The claim of these Regulations being ultra vires is therefore unfounded and without merit.”
The Bar Council added that it will soon make important decisions on other related matters like advertisements and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs). This will help Indian law firms become stronger and more competitive globally.
“There is ample scope and potential for this growth, however, driven by their vested interests, a handful of individuals operating under the name of SILF have actively sought to hinder the progress of thousands of law firms and lakhs of lawyers. This has also resulted in substantial financial losses to the government. Therefore, this is a serious matter, which the BCI views with utmost concern.”
Finally, BCI assured that it will not take any final decision without hearing the views of legal professionals across India.
“The BCI shall carefully consider all letters and opinions received from law firms, following which a large meeting will be convened in Mumbai. Representatives of all law firms will be invited to this meeting, and only after hearing their views in this forum will the BCI take any final decision on the matter.”
BACKGROUND
The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) gave a strong reply on June 28 to the Bar Council of India (BCI), rejecting the claims made against them over opposing the way foreign law firms are being allowed into India.
SILF President Lalit Bhasin wrote to BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, calling BCI’s accusation unfair and wrong. The BCI had said that corporate, arbitration, and transactional legal work in India is dominated by only a few big Indian law firms.
SILF said this is not true and not based on facts.
“Does BCI want to bring in foreign interests to demolish Indian entities?”
SILF asked why the BCI thinks that foreign law firms entering India will help small firms by breaking the control of big ones. SILF clearly said that the idea of monopoly does not exist. Many young law firms are already handling big legal projects and are doing very well. They are modern, use technology, and have good legal knowledge.
“Firstly, there are no monopolies. Even young and emerging law firms are engaged in big corporate and transactional legal work. These young firms are technology-driven and very competent and knowledgeable. Further, thanks to the policies and initiatives of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, there has been, due to India’s position as one of the top four economies in the world, a significant surge in legal work resulting in more and more emerging law firms getting a big pie of the legal work. Indian law firms are more cost-effective, a consideration which is vital for foreign clients,”
-SILF said.
SILF also said they are not against foreign law firms, but the way the rules are being changed is not right. They want these changes to happen slowly, in a well-planned way.
This fight between SILF and BCI has been going on since the new rules were announced to allow foreign law firms to start practice in India.
On June 18, BCI had replied to SILF’s objections and accused it of only protecting the interests of big law firms. BCI also said they would create a register of all Indian law firms and lawyers and form a democratic body at the national level.
SILF replied that blaming big law firms is wrong because these firms have grown due to their skills, dedication, and legal knowledge. These firms helped bring modern ways into Indian legal practice.
SILF compared the legal profession to the accounting field. It said no strong Indian accounting firm exists today, and that space is now taken by the big four foreign firms. SILF warned this should not happen in the legal sector.
They also talked about the revenue of international law firms like Kirkland & Ellis. SILF pointed out that the total money made by all corporate law firms in India is much smaller than what just one of these big foreign firms earns.
“If BCI envisions a place under the sun for the Indian profession, then BCI should recognise the role of India’s law firms, whether big or small, and BCI should create conditions in which Indian law firms can dream “big” of becoming global law firms. Do not dismantle our law firms on the alleged ground of being “big” or “monopolies”. “Big” is a relative term.”
SILF also reminded everyone that it is the only organization of its kind for Indian law firms. The government, judiciary, and even the BCI have accepted its status. Elections for SILF are conducted properly, and its rules support small and new law firms too.
SILF repeated that they are open to foreign law firms coming to India, but only if it is done in a regulated, step-by-step way.
“I would like to reiterate that over the last 10 years, SILF has maintained a consistent stand and expressed consistent concerns, as outlined in our meetings with IMG and BCI, and documented in our representations to BCI since 2015.”
Finally, SILF said that this letter is just their reply to the BCI’s comments. They will soon send a detailed response pointing out the problems in the new rules as well.
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