That seems to be the position after international firms Ashurst, Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case lost their long-running case against the Lawyers’ Collective. The Bombay High Court decided yesterday that the practice of all law by foreign firms in India is illegal reports Legally India .

A lawyer associated with the case said:

“Apparently they’ve allowed the petition,” said Singh, “so they’ve held that the permissions which have been granted by Reserve Bank of India to run liaison offices [by foreign firms] were illegal and those permissions have been quashed.”

“They also held that the practice of law under the Advocates Act in India encompasses all forms of practice, not just litigation practice in court but also corporate practice, advisory practice, M&A and the whole works,” he added.

Will this be a blow to the long-hoped-for liberalisation of the Indian legal profession?

The full judgement can be downloaded at Legally India where there is also a healthy debate about the implications.