Changes in the profession

The essentials

The Indian legal profession has changed greatly since economic liberalisation in 1991. Growing trade and investment created demand for corporate lawyers, large law firms, in-house legal teams and legal process outsourcing (LPO). Technology has brought e-filing and virtual hearings. Another major change is the growing presence of women in law, who were once barred from practice.

Key points

• Foreign lawyers: in Bar Council of India v. A.K. Balaji (2018), the Supreme Court held that foreign lawyers and firms cannot practise Indian law in India, but may visit on a temporary, casual basis to advise on foreign law, and may take part in international commercial arbitration subject to rules.
• 2023 rules: the BCI notified rules allowing registered foreign lawyers and law firms, on the basis of reciprocity, to practise foreign law, international law and international arbitration in India, but not to appear in Indian courts.
• Debate: supporters say entry of foreign firms brings investment and expertise; critics fear unequal competition for Indian lawyers.
• Women in law: in the early twentieth century courts refused to enrol women (for example, Regina Guha's application in Calcutta, 1916). The Legal Practitioners (Women) Act, 1923 removed this bar.
• Cornelia Sorabji is remembered as India's first woman lawyer.
• Firsts in the judiciary: Justice Anna Chandy became the first woman High Court judge (Kerala, 1959); Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court (1989); Justice Leila Seth became the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court (Himachal Pradesh, 1991).
• Continuing issues: under-representation of women in higher judiciary and senior positions; workplace harassment, addressed by the Vishaka guidelines and later the POSH Act, 2013.

Exam tips

• Remember the year 1923 and the A.K. Balaji case for foreign lawyers.
• Pair each "first woman" with the correct court and year.

Common mistakes

• Saying foreign lawyers may now argue cases in Indian courts – they cannot.
• Mixing up Anna Chandy (first woman High Court judge) and Fathima Beevi (first woman Supreme Court judge).