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Law Society of England & Wales Lobbies For Asian FTAs To Include Legal Sector 
Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 12:00 AM

A senior delegation from the Law Society of England & Wales is to meet European Union (EU) negotiators this week to lobby for legal services to be included in a raft of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with some of Asia’s key emerging legal markets.

It has been reported in legalweek.com that the team, headed by Law Society president Fiona Woolf, travelled to Brussels on 27 April 2007 before the EU begins discussions with India as well as South Korea and a number of other South East Asian nations at the end of May 2007.

The news comes as the Government ramps up its charm offensive on its Indian counterparts, with Department for Constitutional Affairs minister Baroness Ashton beginning a visit to India on 26 April 2007.

Ashton will meet trade and justice ministers in New Delhi and will then travel on to Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai to engage in discussions with the regions’ state bar councils.

Commenting on the FTA talks, Woolf said: “I want to raise the profile of legal services and to stress the benefits of legal market opening.”