The Indian legal profession is not "up for sale", and foreign law firms should not be allowed to enter the local industry, the president of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) has said.

Lalit Bhasin, a lawyer from Bhasin & Co. and president of SILF, in an opinion piece countered industry suggestions that the local legal profession be considered more of a business instead of simply a "noble profession".

"If [the legal profession] is a business then it can be acquired, merged, amalgamated, taken over and sold to global players... the suggestion is totally unacceptable," he said. "India and China offer good prospects - but the problem is that, in India, the legal profession is not a business and it is not up for sale."

SILF, whose membership includes various prominent Indian law firms, has openly opposed any government measures to liberalise the sector. The British Indian Lawyers Association has also opposed liberalisation, calling for the market to be opened only if Indian lawyers were allowed to practise overseas. But Bhasin has criticised reciprocity for the difficulties in obtaining work permits overseas.

"Reciprocity is only in name. It is virtually impossible to get a work permit for an Indian lawyer to practise in the UK," he said. "In the US, lawyers practising in one state cannot generally practise in any other state and this applies to foreign lawyers also."

Instead, foreign law firms should work only on a referral basis with Indian firms, he suggested. "An effective, transparent and clean referral arrangement is a far better alternative to allowing foreign law firms to open offices in India. So far, and by and large, referral system has worked satisfactorily."

Due to India's WTO commitments, the liberalisation of the legal market is widely anticipated by both local and foreign industries. India's Law Minister has said that liberalisation will happen sooner than expected.

"The general elections are coming up and until we have a new government there's nothing new going to happen," said Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, a partner at New Delhi-based Khaitan & Co. "There are two nationalist parties in India and we feel that, if one in particular of these comes to power, the market will begin to open up in the next year."

Bhasin countered that pressures for liberalisation come from regions where the legal sector is currently contracting. "The demand for opening the legal services sector in India does not come from Indian businesses or professionals or even foreign multinational companies. Strangely, the demand comes from foreign lawyers and particularly those from the UK. It is obvious that the UK is witnessing a negative growth so far as the legal profession is concerned."

The comments come as a number of foreign law firms have begun to establish a presence in India, including Clifford Chance, which has formed an alliance with AZB & Partners, and a number of others eyeing currently the market.

"A few firms have been actively promoting the foreign firms, but there are some, especially family firms, who have not been very happy with the market opening up," said Jhunjhunwala. "I know there are some lawyers, especially those in litigation, and Bar Council members who are not in favour of that either."