BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a new press release to replace the 5 August one, now officially withdrawn, that named Dentons Link Legal and CMS IndusLaw in a warning against local and foreign law firms flouting regulations with their collaborations. This move follows a 21 August Delhi High Court order in the case of Atul Sharma & Anr v BCI & Anr that required the BCI to revisit the decision to issue the 5 August press release.
The 21 October 2025 press release reminds the law community that under BCI regulations foreign lawyers and law firms must register with the bar council and require certain disclosures, governance and ethical compliance. The same rules apply when any entities functioning as Indian-foreign law firms providing legal services and practices across jurisdictions, including India.
Hence, any arrangement that portrays the collaborative brand of a foreign law firm or lawyer with an Indian one, without registering with the BCI and following other due processes, is in violation.
The press release reiterated that a foreign lawyer or law firm can only practice foreign or international law in a non-litigious matter, and only after registration with the BCI.
This restriction includes law firms that have merged their brand names, and it is the Indian lawyer or law firm ultimately executing the Indian leg of the work. This practice would be constituted as practice of Indian law by the foreign firm. The press release notes that such a practitioner cannot appear before courts or tribunals, or even advise on or draft legal transactions of Indian law.
The BCI also said it was closely observing all announcements of foreign collaborations in various forms and it intended to conduct appropriate action against any violators.
In August, the BCI issued a show-cause notice to Dentons Link Legal and CMS IndusLaw stating that their collaborations with foreign law firms violated BCI rules and guidelines. After issuing this notice, the BCI also issued a press release flagging such unauthorised combinations and collaborations between foreign and Indian law firms, naming both firms.
The firms objected to being named in the 5 August BCI press release, with both reaffriming that they were not flouting the rules or regulations.
The Atul Sharma & Anr v BCI & Anr case is a civil writ petition and the next hearing is scheduled for 18 November.
In May, the BCI announced plans to allow foreign law firms and lawyers to practise foreign law in India on a reciprocal basis and with conditions. Reactions in the legal community were mixed and in June the BCI formed a committee on foreign lawyers’ entry to examine and suggest solutions for issue raised by Indian law firms and lawyers.
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra will be a special invitee to the committee and Cyril Shroff, managing partner of Cyril Marchand Mangaldas, will chair the six-member committee.
