BCI enters an agreement with the Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales to exchange lawyers

BCI enters an agreement with the Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales to exchange lawyers

The Bar Council of India and the Bar Councils of England and Wales and the Law Society of England and Wales have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on an exchange programme for attorneys and law students for the benefit of mutual training and education among the three nations.

The Chairman of the Bar Council of India, the President of the Bar Council of England and Wales, and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales all signed the MoU at a meeting on June 5 in London, according to a statement released by BCI.

The meeting was attended by all BCI Members, including its Secretary Srimanto Sen.

The MoU, according to BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, aims to encourage a positive exchange of ideas, knowledge, and instruction among the legal professions in both countries.

The action will go a “long way” towards facilitating the interchange of legal knowledge, expertise, training, and ideas between the legal communities of the two nations, and the Indian lawyers will gain from the process, he added.

Manan stated that “certain crucial changes” were required to its recently proposed Rules allowing the entry of international legal firms on a reciprocal basis.

According to the MoU, the Bar Council of India is permitted to propose young solicitors to the Law Society and the Bar Council of England & Wales in order to offer them chances for training and education in English law courts and legal offices.

The Bar Council of India’s recommended solicitors, however, will not be permitted under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding to practise law in the United Kingdom. This is because the MoU was only intended to provide an opportunity for learning and experience-building in both jurisdictions.

The announcement stated that the MoU would not address foreign/UK attorneys practising in India and the UK in any capacity, including international commercial arbitration relating to the laws of their respective nations and in non-litigious sectors.

The Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022, which were created by the BCI, shall continue to govern the practise of Indian lawyers in the UK and vice versa.