Lawyers from 18 different Indian law firms visited Birmingham on 4 September 2008 as part of a UK trade mission.

The Law Society of England and Wales has organised the delegation, which also spent time in London, Cambridge and Leeds between the 2 and 5 September.

The Birmingham Law Society hosted the Midlands’ leg of their journey and has organised meetings between the Indian lawyers and local firms, as well as a lunch buffet at No 5 Chambers and an evening drinks reception at One Ten’s Alhambra bar on Colmore Row.

The top 50 law firms in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore all received invitations to join the trade mission to the UK.

The Law Society of England and Wales asked the firms to meet rigorous selection requirements, including proving they had experience working with international clients and showing they had the capacity to undertake international referral work.

It also recruited English law firms to pair up with their Indian counterparts. Up to three individuals from participating firms received invitations to all the briefing and networking events in the four different cities during the four days.

Carla Hull, chairman of Birmingham Law Society’s International Committee, said: “Establishing links on the subcontinent is high on our agenda.

“This visit precedes the Birmingham Law Society, IPTU and UK Trade and Investment delegation to Delhi on 17 November 2008 and furthers the work the International Committee are doing to establish links in this developing market.

“Participants in the UK trade mission will have valuable access to Indian law firms who have an interest in finding partners for Indian legal work.

“The programme will also provide plenty of time for firms to set up their own bilateral programmes to meet like minded Indian lawyers and the Indian law firms attending have been asked to commit to a minimum number of bilateral meetings.”