Your Correspondent Counsel in India

Reach out directly by phone or email to discuss a prospective client matter or an ongoing correspondent relationship. We review the matter for a conflict check, confirm scope and jurisdiction, and coordinate directly with your firm on next steps, reporting lines, and timelines.

Common matters include enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in India, corporate structuring for foreign investors entering the market, trademark and IP enforcement against Indian infringers, debt recovery from Indian counterparties, NCLT representation for foreign creditors in Indian insolvency proceedings, and commercial litigation support with an Indian nexus.

Yes - for firms anticipating ongoing referrals, we're open to formalising a correspondent relationship through a written understanding covering scope, communication protocols, confidentiality, and conflict-check procedures. For a single matter, a matter-specific engagement letter is generally sufficient.

Before accepting any referred matter, we conduct an internal conflict check against our existing and former client base. All information shared by a referring firm or its client is treated as confidential, consistent with our professional obligations under the Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India rules.

Our team communicates fluently in English for all correspondence, drafting, and calls, and regularly schedules calls across time zones spanning Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Written updates are provided promptly regardless of time difference.

Advocates in India are subject to Bar Council of India rules under the Advocates Act, 1961, which restrict fee-sharing and solicitation. Our collaboration with foreign firms is structured as professional correspondent relationships and reciprocal referrals as a matter of courtesy, not a commission-based arrangement.

Since 2022, the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India allow registered foreign lawyers and firms to advise on their home-country law, handle non-litigious transactional work such as joint ventures, M&A and IP matters, and advise on international arbitration in India, on a reciprocal basis. Up to 60 days in any 12-month period on a fly-in fly-out basis does not require registration.

The 2022 BCI Rules explicitly prohibit foreign lawyers - registered or not - from appearing before Indian courts, tribunals, or any authority empowered to record evidence on oath, and from practising Indian law. Commercial court litigation, IPR and patent enforcement suits, debt recovery actions, and breach of contract claims in India must still be handled by an Indian-enrolled advocate - the role we play for referring firms.

Yes. There's no general bar on foreign companies or individuals filing a civil suit in Delhi courts. You must be represented by an advocate enrolled in India, since foreign lawyers cannot themselves file or argue a case here. You'd typically execute a Power of Attorney in our favour to sign, verify, and file pleadings on your behalf.

Yes, provided it's properly notarised in the country of execution, then apostilled (for Hague Convention countries) or legalised through the Indian Embassy or Consulate, and then stamped in India. Under Section 18 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, this must happen within three months of the document's receipt in India.

No. Once a valid Power of Attorney is in place, your Indian advocate can sign pleadings, attend hearings, and represent you throughout routine proceedings. Personal presence is generally only needed where the court directs personal evidence or examination, which is uncommon at the early stages of most commercial matters.

Under Order XXV of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a court will generally direct a plaintiff who resides outside India and holds no immovable property here (other than the property in suit) to furnish security for the defendant's likely costs. We advise on this before filing, so it's never a surprise.