The first hearing in the Chennai writ petition against foreign firms will be held today, after having been postponed from yesterday as the bench failed to convene for a post-lunch session.

A Tamil Nadu advocate has reportedly filed a writ petition against 30 foreign law firms and legal process outsourcing (LPO) company Integreon for “illegally practising” law in violation of the Advocates Act 1961, according to unconfirmed media reports, although no notices have been served on the respondents yet.

This week J Sagar Associates (JSA) partner Nishith Dhruva left the firm to set up his own practice. And on good terms too, throwing a party last Friday where most of the firm and partners put on their dancing shoes.

Now that is what is called “amicable”.

The question is not whether to allow entry of foreign lawyers in India, but the question is until when can entry of foreign lawyers be prevented in India, argues Kaden Boriss Legal LLP founding partner Hemant K Batra.

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) is hoping to widen its appeal outside of its traditional centre Delhi by strengthening local metro chapters and inducting new committee members.

SILF’s Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other regional chapters will be headed by prominent local lawyers.

For an Indian firm, going under the wing of an international firm is not necessarily as appealing as some might suppose and could even be downright dangerous.

Legally India caught up with Bar Council of India chairman Suraj Narain Prasad Sinha last week. We asked him about legal education, Australian racism and why allowing foreign law firms to practice here is a bad idea.

Law and Justice Minister Veerappa Moily wants India to “become the resource reservoir of the global legal fraternity” after upgrading the quality of its legal education system.

Former Solicitor General Goolam Vahanvati was appointed Attorney-General of India on Monday (8 June), giving AZB & Partners the second close family connection in that post.

The Bar Council of India has cemented its strong opposition to the entry of foreign law firms after its first official meeting with new Minister of Law and Justice Veerappa Moily, reported news wire Bloomberg today.

The new Minister of Law and Justice Veerappa Moily made his first statements about legal sector liberalisation last Friday (5 June), suggesting that he could continue the pro-liberalisation course followed by his predecessor HR Bhardwaj.