New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- The Bar Council of India (BCI) has flagged "unauthorized, unregistered, and impermissible collaborations" between Indian and foreign law firms without following specific registration processes mandated by the country's top legal practice and education regulator.

The recent pact between global law firm CMS and one of India's full-service law firms Induslaw has come under BCI's lens, and the regulator has issued show-cause notice to the merged entity.

"The BCI has noted with grave concern that certain foreign law firms, in association with Indian law firms, are holding themselves out as unified or integrated global legal service platforms. The Council affirms that such structures, if implemented and operationalized wi...