Brewing Turf War? India’s Largest Bar Council Directs Big Four To Not Offer Legal Services To Clients

In contrast to the corporate affairs ministry’s stance on the issue, a prominent lawyers body has directed the Big Four accounting firms not to start offering legal services to their clients, reports Economic Times (ET).

An expert committee set up by the ministry had earlier called for amending the Advocates Act to allow audit firms to offer legal services.

However, following a complaint by the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), the Bar Council of Delhi “refrained” the firms from providing any service that would amount to practicing law.

SILF is the only representative of law firms in the country. The Big Four accounting firms - Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC - are the four biggest professional services networks in the world, offering services in audit, assurance services, taxation etc.

“The BCD (Bar Council of Delhi) has asked the so-called Big Four to provide the list of lawyers who are part of them in any capacity and still practising the law,” said Lalit Bhasin, president of SILF.

“SILF believes that audit and consulting firms are also providing legal services in India, which is prohibited under the Advocates Act 1961.

Bar Council is a statutory body created under the Advocates Act and is the largest bar council in the country with over 60,000 members.

Also Read: From Big Four To Big Eight: Why Time Has Come To Redraw The Indian Audit Landscape