SILF counters BCI’s allegations over opposition to entry of foreign law firms

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) on Saturday sought to counter the Bar Council of India (BCI) over allegations levelled by the latter over the former’s alleged opposition to entry of foreign law firms in India.

"Does BCI want to bring in foreign interests to demolish Indian entities?" wondered SILF. However, reiterating its support for the entry of foreign firms, SILF expressed concern over the manner in which the changes are being implemented.

Responding to accusations levelled by the BCI, SILF questioned the BCI’s view that the entry of foreign law firms would benefit smaller firms by dismantling the monopolies of big law firms.

SILF president Lalit Bhasin stated that BCI's accusation that corporate, transactional and arbitration work in the country has been monopolised by a small group of Indian law firms is devoid of logic and is factually incorrect.

SILF said, “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,” the SILF letter read.

BCI had accused SILF of preserving the interests of only a bunch of big law firms.

However, SILF said that attacking the so-called big law firms was unfortunate as they have attained that position through sheer merit, hard work, knowledge, experience and expertise, and they have modernised the Indian legal profession.

There is no comparison between the size and revenue of the big law firms like Kirkland & Ellis, which has an annual revenue of nearly 7 billion dollars. The aggregate revenues of the entire corporate practice in India are a minuscule fraction of the annual revenue of just one of these "big" firms, SILF said.

“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.”