Some of the world's leading companies have invested in India, and nearly half the Fortune 500 companies have set up call centres in the country. But the list of international law firms with offices in India is tiny. Zero, in fact. The Indian legal market, in spite of the country's accession to the World Trade Organisation, remains resolutely closed to outsiders.

Foreign law firms are not allowed to open offices in India and, under the Indian Advocates Act of 1961, they are prohibited from giving any legal advice that could constitute practising Indian law. The restrictions on foreign law firms are so strictly enforced that most have to run their "India" practices (where they advise on US or UK law) from London, New York or elsewhere in Asia.