Export of legal services – Is India ready?

By Vijay Kumar

Import of legal services – can we prevent?

In an excise case, the High Court observed, “Legal ingenuity knows no bounds. It baffles an ordinary person whether the pleas such as those put forward in the present case could be available at all.”

With so many legal brains crowding our court halls, can we think of earning some money by exporting some of our lawyers? Foreign Law Consultancy (FLC) is a vital service of the future. If our lawyers are not so capable that they cannot be exported, can we prevent import of capable foreign lawyers? The liberalization of the economy has not touched two important and powerful sectors – Law and press. Indian lawyers do not exactly welcome the import of lawyers – one good reason may be fear of the import quality. Actually there is no need for ant fear. The best of the barristers of England or the products of Harvard school of Law cannot get a favorable order from our Revenue officers.

The Commerce ministry has prepared a Consultation Paper On Legal Services Under GATS. GATS stands for General Agreement on Trade in Services. The paper draws attention to the following important issues.

1. Whether we are currently exporting enough legal services and what e the destinations of these service exports? Should we increase our trade in legal services so that Indian legal services professionals will get a pie of the US$ 20 billion world trade in legal services annually?

2. What is the potential for the Indian lawyers if they want to expand their activities to get market access in other countries?

3. What are the areas of potential for the kind of legal services in India with our globalization efforts? Are we in a position to meet these demands internally?

4. What are the constraints that Indian legal professionals are facing in providing their services to the WTO member countries of their interests? What are the most important methods by which our legal professionals want to reach out to their foreign clients?

5. In the future, which countries will be important export destinations for legal services? What type of legal services can be anticipated for exporting in the future?

6. Can our Legal professionals anticipate that method of delivering services internationally will change?

7. Is partnering with foreign firms is an effective way to deliver services?

8. What do Legal Professionals consider as priority concerns with respect to the liberalization of trade in legal services?

i) "Buy-local" preferences, and /or 2) Investment limits or restrictions, and /or 3) Immigration/temporary entry restrictions, and /or 4) Limitations on the number of service providers in the market (i.e. quotas, exclusive rights, etc.), and/or 5) Non-recognition of professional credentials, and /or 6) Lack of transparency of local practising/licensing regime, and /or 7) Restrictions on access to government procurement projects , and /or 8) Subsidies and tax incentives, and/or, 9) Licensing requirements, and /or 10) Qualification requirements, and /or 11) Restriction on the use of company names, and/or 12) Language requirements, and /or 13) Residency/citizenship requirements, and /or 14) Restrictions on fee-setting, and /or 15) Unfair bidding practices, and / or 16) Currency controls

9. Whether it is imperative to first create a liberalized regime domestically for the Indian Lawyers / Advocates before considering any form of liberalization? This would in effect allow consolidation in the legal profession, which allows Indian Advocates to attain global standards and would allow them to compete with the best of the best.

10. Whether India should allow FLCs (Foreign Legal Consultant) or foreign firms in a phased manner, after domestic reforms are in place or not at all?

11. what should be the structure of their presence: a joint venture or a staged liberalisation?

12. What would be the areas in which foreign lawyers can advise, while strictly excluding court advocacy?

13. What would be the role of the Bar Councils and that of the regulatory body in the home country of the foreign lawyer?

14. How would issue of liability and consumer welfare be handled in case involving foreign lawyers?

15. Are there certain areas where internationally liberalized market access in India will have a significant impact on Indian firms? What will be this impact and how large will it be?