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Yes, the Society of Indian Law Firms. A self-appointed cartel of status-quoists, whose primary mandate, it seems, is to protect their own turf while pretending to represent the Indian legal ecosystem. Let’s not mince words—this is a club of law firm proprietors writing the rulebook for foreign law firms, without so much as a nod to the larger legal fraternity. That’s not stakeholder consultation; that’s old-school gatekeeping.
And here’s the inconvenient truth: these firms don’t even employ 15% of India’s legal talent. Meanwhile, we have a surging supply of lawyers—many bright, many trainable—who are left disillusioned, disenfranchised, and disheartened by a market that simply doesn’t create enough meaningful opportunities.
We now have an NLU (or equivalent) in every state—some excellent, others middling, but almost all expensive and rigorous. If we’re going to subject young Indians to that grind, then the least the government can do is open the doors. Let foreign law firms come in. Let them practise Indian law. Let them litigate. Let the market breathe.
And if that ruffles feathers? Then let’s go the whole hog—shut down the excess NLUs. Tell young people the truth: we’ve created more lawyers than we know what to do with. And then, let’s do the responsible thing—support those who can’t find their footing in the profession, and help them transition into other careers with dignity and direction.
Because what we have now is a closed loop of privilege masquerading as policy. And the longer we pretend otherwise, the more talent we waste.