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.

“It’s a very important milestone in the evolving debate,” says Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai managing partner Cyril Shroff about the Bombay High Court judgment. “Its ramifications will be analysed over the coming weeks by all concerned.”

But so far the analysis has yielded little in the way of certainty and the sparse judgment has become a reflection of individuals’ hopes and desires, as well as an ill-fitting receptacle for the status quo.

International firms Ashurst, Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case have lost the long-running case against the Lawyers’ Collective, with the Bombay High Court having decided today that the practice of all law by foreign firms in India is illegal.

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.

Top Indian lawyers are stumped by Veerappa Moily’s appointment as Minister of Law and Justice, which was announced late last night defying all observers’ expectations.

Moily (pictured) is a seasoned Congress politician and practicing lawyer in Bangalore but unlike the candidates expected to be shoo-ins for the job, he is an unknown quantity.

One top Mumbai lawyer said: “I have no idea what this will do to things.”

“It is a real surprise,” added another Delhi partner. “Now it’s very hard to tell what will happen. I know reforms will be on the agenda but I don’t know how quickly. I think there will have to be renewed lobbying.”

Lawyers are united in praise over the outcome of the Indian Lok Sabha elections.

They hope that the stronger Congress-led government will be a boon to the legal profession by driving forward the process of economic liberalisation.

“I think it’s absolutely fabulous that this has happened, I couldn’t have expected a better result,” enthused Luthra & Luthra managing partner Rajiv Luthra.