The eligibility of foreign lawyers to set up an office in India has had a chequered history. In Bar Council of India v. A.K. Balaji (2018) 5 SCC 379, the Supreme Court held that foreign law firms or foreign lawyers could not practice the profession of law either on the litigation or the non-litigation side, unless they complied with the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961 or the Bar Council of India rules.
In a nutshell, it became impossible for any foreign law firm to carry out any legal work in India or even have a liaison office. However, there was no bar to a foreign lawyer for conducting international commercial arbitration in India. It was also held that the visit of any foreign lawyer on fly in and fly out basis may amount to practice of law if it is on regular basis. At the same time, liberty was granted to the Union of India and BCI to make rules in this regard. Thus, the earlier relaxation granted by the Madras High Court to foreign lawyers from visiting India for a temporary period on a fly in and fly out basis was restricted by the Supreme Court.
Source: Barandbench
