Indian Legal Services

An Analysis

Publication Date	February 2006
Publisher	RocSearch
Product Type	Report
Pages	24
ISBN Number	not applicable
Product Code	ROC00153

Price

£785.00
approximately: $1,144 | €906

PDF

PRINT £785 ($1,144 | €906)

Order above formats by FAX

Summary

Global spending on legal services in 2004 was estimated to be over US$250 billion, with the US accounting for more than two-thirds of the market. A significant portion of this market is likely to be outsourced to fast growing economies like India. The Indian legal services market, in spite of the country's accession to the World Trade Organization, remains closed to outsiders. Foreign law firms are not allowed to open offices in India and, under the Indian Advocates Act of 1961, they are prohibited from giving any legal advice that could constitute practising Indian law. Only a few Indian Legal firms have the expertise to handle commercial work for multinationals. The vast majority of Indian lawyers do litigation in small domestic practices. The Indian legal BPO sector is in a nascent stage and has immense growth potential as a big segment of this industry is largely untapped. Some of the issues facing the industry include:

Controversies in Legal Services Sector Liberalization
Lack of Expertise on Laws Pertaining to International Affairs
Uncertainty about the Role of International Law Firms in India
Setting-up of a Regulatory Framework for Foreign Legal Firms
Slow Court System
Increasing Regional Competition

This report analyzes the legal services market in India using framework tools such as PEST Analysis and Michael Porter's Five Forces Analysis and highlights the issues and growth drivers of this market. It also studies the major regional markets and profiles the major players in the market. Further, the report identifies the trends and growth opportunities in the industry. It also covers important segments of the industry and analyses market dynamics. Majority of Indian lawyers have small domestic practices. This is in accordance with the Indian law under which law firms cannot have more than 20 partners, nor can they advertise their services.

Content

1.2 Industry Segments Commercial Legal Services Criminal Legal Services Civil Legal Services Other General Services 2. Market Dynamics 2.1 Market Overview The Indian legal services industry has been protected with the rights for the practice of law being restricted to Indian nationals only. This prevents foreign lawyers and law firms from establishing offices in India. Majority of Indian lawyers have small domestic practices. The Indian government is presently considering foreign participation from the UK in high skill legal services such as cyber law, anti-dumping, and investment. The section also includes an overview of the legal services in various regional markets like Delhi, Mumbai etc. 2.2 Trend Analysis In-House Legal Advisory: The Indian corporates prefer in-house legal advisory as they are more economical compared to external counsels. Emergence of Paralegal Outsourcing: An increasing trend has been witnessed in the area of paralegal outsourcing due to cost advantages. Arbitration for Quick Settlements & Timely Justice: With the increasing importance of timely settlements of disputes the arbitration route is being followed. Foreign companies prefer this route over the traditional form of dispute settlement mechanisms. 2.3 Key Drivers Diversification of Legal Services: With globalization, the Indian law firms are realizing the importance of providing legal services to international areas. Outsourcing of Legal Services and Strategic Alliances in India: Various companies in the US are outsourcing their legal work to India due to the highly qualified legal workforce. It has opened up new avenues for the legal professionals. 2.4 Major Issues and Implications Controversies in Legal Services Sector Liberalization: Various political parties oppose the idea of opening up the Indian legal sector to foreign players. Lack of Expertise on Laws Pertaining to International Affairs: India lacks the expertise to deal with issues relating to the international affairs. Opening of the sector is likely to bring in foreign expertise that would build up capabilities in the services relating to foreign affairs. Uncertainty about the Role of International Law Firms in India: International law firms are allowed to function only as liaison offices, or foreign legal consultants. The role of these firms need to be defined to avoid confusion over their status. Setting-up of a Regulatory Framework for Foreign Legal Firms: A regulatory body overseeing the foreign companies functioning in India is highly needed. This body would lay the various restrictions governing the foreign law firms in India. Slow Court System: The court system of obtaining justice is a very slow process. Foreign companies willing to enter the Indian market have to rethink as the slow process could impact their brand image. Increasing Regional Competition: Regional competitors like China, Korea etc are increasingly liberalizing their legal services sector .Indian government is concerned about this issue but has not yet made any formal decision on the liberalization of Indian legal services. 3. PEST Analysis 3.1 Political Factors Mounting international pressure to liberalize Accession to WTO to spur liberalization 3.2 Economic Factors Inconsistency in Billing Rates Strong economic growth 3.3 Social Factors Low judge-population ratio Rampant corruption Availability of low-cost skilled labor driving outsourcing 3.4 Technological Factors Use of information technology Use of technology to speed up the legal procedure 4. Porter's Five Forces Analysis 4.1 Buyer Power Lack of Knowledge Online Sites Empowering Clients 4.2 Supplier Power Law Schools Fail to Supply Quality Legal Professionals Alternative Careers Luring Away Law Graduates 4.3 Intensity of Competition Fragmented Market Legal Firms Competing in Niche Domains Competitive Pricing 4.4 Threat of New Entrants Entry of Foreign Law Firms 4.5 Threat of Substitutes Alternate Dispute Resolution 5. Competitive Landscape Indian law firms are better known for their market standing in specific functional areas such as banking, M&A, corporate, commercial and project finance, instead of expertise in industry segmentscommercial, criminal and civil legal services. 5.1 Banking and Finance Firms specializing in this area are mentioned in this area. Some of them include Nishith Desai & Associates, Amarchand Mangaldass etc. 5.2 Mergers and Acquisitions 5.3 Corporate and Commercial 5.4 Project Finance 6. Outlook With the proposed liberalization of the legal services sector, and the removal of citizenship barriers for foreign nationals keen to practice in India, more foreign law firms and foreign legal consultants are expected to come to India. The Indian services sector will witness the entry of more foreign investors and MNCs in 2006. This will increase legal expertise requirements in areas such as foreign direct investment, intellectual property rights, infrastructure financing, human rights, environment law and biotechnology, etc. Appendices Appendix 1 International Conferences and Annual Meetings: CLA 2006 Appendix 2 Industry Associations and Organizations National Legal Services Authority Bar Council of India Bar Association of India List of Tables/Figures Tab 6.1 Leading law firms in India 2005 Fig 1.1 Industry segments