India, Nov. 23 -- The failure to include legal services in the recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is a missed opportunity for both economies in terms of market access for lawyers. The Law Society of England and Wales views it as a deliberate exclusion that exposes the complex realities of India's guarded legal market.

The UK is the world's second largest legal services provider. Legal services contribute £57.8 billion annually to the economy. The sector supports around 526,000 people in employment, amounting to 1.6 per cent of the UK workforce.

India is set to become the world's third largest economy by 2050, and, according to the UK government, the trade deal between the two countries had the potential to a...