New Delhi, India: The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), in partnership with the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), successfully hosted the 2nd annual Legal Services Conference in New Delhi. Aimed at bringing together leading legal services professionals and industry experts, the key theme of the conference this year was “Hot Topics for In-House Counsel”.

Some of the luminaries who participated in the conference were Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court and Member of Parliament and Mr. Harish Salve, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court. While Mr. Singhvi delivered the inaugural address, Mr. Salve gave a special address highlighting some pertinent points relating to constitutional law and governance.

Discussing some of the pressing issues faced by in-house counsel, Mr. Singhvi asserted the need to strike a fine balance between delivering on company objectives and meeting the assumed standards of legal ethics. During the course of the deliberations, the nature of the regulatory challenges and ways to mitigate them were also discussed at length.

The conference included comprehensive sessions on critical issues within the field of corporate law, laying special emphasis on opportunities and risks associated with energy and infrastructure industries, state of competition laws, IP protection, FCPA compliance in India, E- Discovery and litigation.

The session on competition laws and antitrust laws was opened by Mr. Dhanendra Kumar, Chairman, Competition Commission of India who gave an update on the current competition landscape and addressed the concerns of the legal community and the industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashish Prasad, Board Member, USIBC, said “It is our belief that sustained dialogue and exchange between both our democracies is vital to development, business and the governance process. This is nowhere more evident than in the critical area of legal services. The USIBC looks forward to future such dialogues to generate mutual benefit for both India and the United States.”

Mr. Lalit Bhasin, President, Society of Indian Law (SILF) said “In view of the emerging partnership between the United States and India, there is a growing need to provide legal support to the initiatives of the two governments and the business sector. It is in this area that mutual cooperation and assistance between the legal professions of the two countries becomes vital. SILF and the American Bar Association have already taken steps by echanging high profile delegations. It is for this reason that SILF has supported USIBC in providing intellectual inputs.”

The conference was also attended by Ms. Judy Reinke, Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy who thanked USIBC for creating a platform, conducive to enhancing Indo-US legal cooperation. Ms. Reinke advocated the need to allow international law firms to operate in India in order to facilitate greater collaboration between the legal communities of the two countries.

Various legal and consulting firms came together to support this initiative. Among those were the platinum and gold sponsors of the event. These included, KPMG, Covington & Burling LLP and Tatva Legal (Platinum) and BMR Legal, Singhania & Partners, AZB & Partners, Tri Legal, Blakes, Axon Partners LLP, Nishith Desai Associates and Chadbourne & Parke LLP (Gold).

Strengthening the promise of the U.S.-India relationship, the conference provided enormous opportunities to those with an understanding of the critical legal, regulatory and political issues that are the foundation of the two economies.