New Delhi: With the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) due to come into force on 15 July, international law firms are positioning themselves to capitalise on what they expect will be a surge in cross-border transactions, investments and disputes between the two countries.
Rather than rushing to open offices in India, many are instead expanding dedicated India desks and strengthening partnerships with Indian law firms, a model they say sits comfortably within the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) evolving regulatory framework.Among the firms to most recently launch a dedicated India desk is London-based Child & Child, a commercial law firm known for advising on high-value international property transactions.
In May, the firm entered into a formal partnership with Mumbai-based Solicis Lex while simultaneously launching its India desk, aimed at serving clients investing between India and the United Kingdom.“The India-UK corridor is one of the most exciting investment stories in the world right now,” said Gaurav Anarkat, India Desk Lead at Child & Child. He said the firm has seen growing demand not only from Indian businesses and high-net-worth individuals investing in London, but increasingly from UK investors and the British-Indian diaspora deploying capital into India, particularly in real estate and growth businesses.The India-UK FTA is expected to accelerate that trend, he said.“As tariff and market-access barriers fall, more UK companies will build Indian operations and more Indian businesses will invest into the UK – and every one of those journeys needs corporate, real estate, regulatory and financing advice on both sides,” Anarkat said. He added that easier movement of professionals under the agreement would simplify cross-border business, while a rise in transactions would inevitably translate into more disputes and arbitration work.Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), an international law firm headquartered in London, has also formalised its India practice this year, appointing dual-qualified lawyer Ankit Goyal as head of its India Desk based in Singapore.According to Goyal, the decision was driven less by regulatory changes in India than by the increasing internationalisation of Indian businesses.“India’s position as a core priority market” and the growing international footprint of Indian companies had prompted the firm to invest further in the market, he said.Indian companies are expanding across multiple jurisdictions while multinational clients increasingly have operations, investments and supply chains linked to India, creating greater demand for advice on international disputes, arbitration, insurance, regulatory matters and other cross-border issues.“The formal creation of the India Desk is building upon the considerable work undertaken by colleagues across the firm over a sustained period,” Goyal said.He added that the desk is intended to better coordinate India-related work across RPC’s international offices and deepen relationships with Indian clients and law firms.Amended rules
