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Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF)

02 May 2019

The Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) has issued notice to the Big Four accounting firms in a complaint filed by Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) president Lalit Bhasin (read order below).

16 November 2017

On Saturday, 11 November, the Indian National Bar Association (INBA) had held the “Bar Leadership Summit on Reforms in the Indian Legal Sector” conference to discuss the future and liberalisation of the legal profession, and to bring together leaders of the bar and the government.

22 September 2017

At a smaller meeting called by the commerce ministry on 1 September with legal industry stakeholders, including Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf), the Indian National Bar Association (INBA) and Bar Association of India (BAOI), the three Silf members present reiterated their position that foreign law firms, if they were to enter India, shouldn't be allowed to hire Indian lawyers.

25 August 2017

The commerce and law ministries are unequivocally in favour of opening up the legal sector to foreign lawyers as soon as possible, reveal the full minutes of the July meeting between ministries and lawyers, though the details of how this will be done remain uncertain.

27 July 2017

The Bar Council of India (BCI) is set to meet the government tomorrow to discuss the new draft rules that will enable the entry of foreign law firms into India, reported The Lawyer (full article requires free registration) adding that the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) has already met with its members as a precursor to what SILF called the “inevitable and imminent” opening up of the legal services sector.

02 May 2017

When we interviewed former J Sagar Associates (JSA) senior partner Berjis Desai last month about his new post-retirement life as a private lawyer, he said that one of the advantages with not being inside a law firm anymore, was that “one is freed from the world of conflict of interest - one is free to say what he wants, and speak what one wants.”

31 January 2017

The Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) reportedly passed a resolution yesterday opposing the government’s notification that might have been intended to pave the way for foreign law firms to operate in special economic zones (SEZs).

17 January 2017

The Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) is not yet sure how to deal with the government’s surprise rule change that might see foreign law firms open up in special economic zones (SEZs) such as the Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT).

05 December 2016

The Bar Council of India (BCI) talks to come up with a new proposal to reform its regulation of the legal profession, have been shrouded in secrecy due to a media gag order since October.

13 October 2016

Good friends: BCI invites Silf to help it come up with rules on Indian & foreign lawyers and profession

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has invited the Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) to help it fine-tune its proposal to the Law Commission, which was called upon by the Supreme Court to take a comprehensive look at the role of the bar councils’ “failure” and “inaction” in regulating the legal profession.

29 September 2016

BCI changes its mind on liberalisation after discussion floats possibility of alternative regulator The Bar Council of India (BCI) has backtracked on its earlier full-throated support of liberalisation of the legal market in a six-page letter, saying that it had encountered “strong opposition” from state bar councils and was therefore withdrawing its earlier draft rules to allow foreign lawyers.

28 September 2016

Lalit Bhasin: Silf 'contemptuously rejects' INBA proposal to open up legal profession this yearThe Indian National Bar Association (INBA), which released a report last week calling for the entry of foreign law firms this year, has now also been invited to also meet the Government in tomorrow’s talks on legal market liberalisation.

12 September 2016

The Bar Association of India (BAOI) has elected Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) president Dr Lalit Bhasin as its new president, according to a press release from the bar body.

24 August 2016

The Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) has sent its notes to the commerce ministry in the latest stage of the liberalisation talks.

11 August 2016

Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) Sonepat and the Indiana University Center on the Global Legal Profession is hosting a very interesting panel discussion today, which I intend to live blog here.

14 July 2016

Undated photo of Silf president Lalit Bhasin with cabinet minister Arun JaitleyAccording to a copy of the minutes of the meeting of Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) members on Monday, the SILF “decided to organise an interaction over dinner” with the recently re-appointed new law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister of state PP Chaudhary and law secretary Suresh Chandra, who is spearheading the liberalisation talks.

12 July 2016

The Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) meeting held in Delhi yesterday (11 July) to discuss its response and position to the Government proposal to liberalise the legal market, has seen the body set up a high-powered committee without any fundamental disagreements voiced about the next steps to take, according to several people who were present.

05 July 2016

Possible artist's impression of today's meeting...This morning’s hotly anticipated meeting between government ministries and several non-governmental organisations, including the Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf) and the Bar Council of India (BCI), passed without any principled resistance by stakeholders to the allowing foreign lawyers to practice in India.

04 July 2016

Is the door for foreign law firms to India half open or half closed? Guess what, it totally depends...The liberalisation process might never have been as advanced, but it remains a process fraught with sensitivity.