The Top Law Firms in India – The best of the best

Working in a top-notch law firm that pays the highest salaries, has beautiful work surroundings, has exposure to many areas of law, and has a wide variety of clientele is a dream of every law student or lawyer.  There are thousands of law firms in India, and not all of them are of the same level. The top law firms in India pay the best salaries because they have confidence among their employees and that their knowledge deserves to be rewarded.

Here are the top law firms of India[1] – 

• Khaitan and Co. –

Khaitan and Co law firm was founded in the year 1911 and is one of the oldest and the largest law firms in the country. As of 2013, it had 97 partners and directors. Its offices are situated in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. There are some International offices as well. Its practice areas include –

•  Banking and Finance
•  Capital Markets
•  Competition/Anti-Trust
•  Corporate and Commercial
•  Dispute Resolution
•  Energy, Infrastructure, and resources
•  Estate planning, trusts, and private clients
•  Funds
•  Intellectual Property
•  Labour and employment
•  Real Estate and Construction
•  Direct tax
•  Technology, Media and Telecommunications
•  White-collar crime
•  Indirect Tax

• S&R Associates –

S&R Associates is a very successful law firm founded in the year 2005. Its domestic work comprises about 20% whereas 80% of the work is International. It has offices located in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Its practice area includes –

• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
• Private equity
• Litigation and Arbitration
• Capital Markets
• Banking, Finance, Restructuring, and Insolvency
• General corporate
• Competition/Anti-trust
• Private client practice
• Employment
• Regulatory

• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. –

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is also one of the top law firm which came into existence in 2015 after the split of the iconic Amarchand and Mangaldas and Suresh A Shroff and Co. This is a full-service law firm having its offices in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurugram and Ahmedabad.

Its practice areas include –

• Banking and Finance
• Capital Markets
• Antitrust and Competition
• Corporate and M&A
• Dispute Resolution
• Insurance
• Investment funds
• Labour And Employment
• Projects and Energy
• Real Estate and Construction
• TMT
• Tax
• White-Collar Crime

• Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Co. –

Like Shardul Amarchand Mngaldas, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas & Co firm too came into existence in the year 2015. It is regarded as the largest full-service law firm in India having over 625 lawyers, including 103 partners. Its offices are in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai.

Its practice areas include –

• Banking and Finance
• Capital Markets
• Corporate And M&A
• Dispute Resolution
• Investment Funds
• Labour And Employment
• Projects and Energy
• Real Estate and Construction
• Shipping
• TMT
• Tax
• Competition Law
• Employment
• Intellectual Property
• Private client
• Investigations
• Financial Service regulatory

• J. Sagar Associates (JSA) –

J. Sagar Associates is a leading national law firm having more than 300 professionals. JSA has eight offices in India at New Delhi, Gurugram, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The firm was founded Jyoti Sagar in 1911.

Its practice area includes –

• Agriculture and Forestry
• Capital Markets
• Construction and Engineering
• Defence and Internal Security
• Education
• Environment
• Financial Services and Insolvency
• Hospitality, Tourism, and Retail
• Insurance and Pension
• Knowledge-based industries
• Manufacturing
• Mines and Minerals
• Non-Governmental Sector
• Pharma
• Real Estate
• Services
• Smart cities
• Startups
• Telecommunications, Media and Technology
• Transportation and Logistics
• White-collar crimes and Compliance practice

• Trilegal –

The tri legal firm was founded in the year 2000 and is among the list of top-notch law firms in India. Its offices are situated in Bangalore, Gurugram, Mumbai, and New Delhi. It has around 150 lawyers with expertise in diverse areas –

• Real Estate
• Infrastructure
• Energy
• Technology and IT
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Capital Markets
• Private Equity
• Capital Funds
• Corporate and Commercial Disputes
• Intellectual Property
• Banking
• Tax
• TM

• AZB and Partners –

AZB & Partners is one of the top three corporate law firms in India having offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Gurugram. Its practice area includes –

• Antitrust and Competitions
• Aviation
• Banking and Finance
• Capital Markets
• Corporate and M&A
• Dispute Resolution
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property
• Investment Funds
• Projects and Energy
• Real Estate and Construction
• TMT
• Tax

• Luthra and Luthra – 

Luthra and Luthra’s firm was founded in 1991 by Mr Rajiv K. Luthra who had started his career in 1978. It is now among the Tier 1 Law firms with expertise in diverse areas. It has 52 partners and has branches in New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

Its practice area includes  –

• Corporate/ M&A
• Private Equity
• Banking and Finance
• Capital Market
• Dispute Resolution
• Projects, Infrastructure, and Energy
• Tax
• Intellectual Property
• Competition/Antitrust
• Real Estate

CONCLUSION –

Thus, above from the above information, we can conclude that there so many top law firms in India. Apart from the list mentioned above, there are quite a few top law firms such as S&R Associates, Talwar Thakore and Associates, Desai, and Dewanji, etc. It is a pleasure to work in these top law firms which give the lawyers exposure to international standards and help develop their overall sense of personality. However, we cannot say that this list is always going to be static. With External and Internal changes such as Governmental policies, changes in economic structures, the firms often decrease their salary, because that is one basis for determining the status of a law firm. New law firms are coming up now and then, and that firm may well be on top of the mountain in the next 10-20 years.

[1] Furtado, Rebecca. “Top 10 Law Firms That Pay The Highest Salary In India.” IPleaders, 24 Apr. 2019, blog.ipleaders.in/top-10-law-firms-that-pay-the-highest-salary-in-India/.

 

Strategies to get the best legal intern for your law firm

Every law firm hires some interns to impart legal education and to give them practical experience of how lawyers and law firms function. Internships have been included in the par of curriculum for many law colleges. The number of law colleges in India now can be compared to indefinite, and the intern positions in law firms are very limited. The number of applications received for an internship is also insane. In such a scenario, it becomes very difficult for the recruiter as well as the candidate to hire and to get hired. In this article, we have discussed the expectation of the recruiter from a student and what should be strategies can be implemented to get a good intern for the firm are. The number of positions for an intern is very less; however, the number of applications received is very high, so it becomes a tough call.
Read Also – How to Structure Internship Plan for a Law Student?

What should you expect from the intern?

It is important for a recruiter to understand that the person is applying for an internship and not the position of an associate. So, we should have amicable expectations from the candidates. The expectation should be based on research skills, eagerness to learn, punctuality, and dedication. We need to understand the person who is coming here to learn as well as to showcase some skills.

How to choose a good intern?

1. Primarily decide the nature of work for which an intern is needed

This is primarily important because we should understand what an intern is required whether taxation, the corporate side, litigation, content writer, etc. this clarifies what we expect in the intern. Because as lawyers are masters of a particular field, some students might be strong in research but not in taxation.

2. Throw the position open only for those years of students you think can complete the task

When releasing the internship application through any source, make sure you clearly mention who can apply for the internship. This can be the best way to shortlist cv, which is not matching the criteria.

3. Shortlist CVs

This is rather an important and most crucial stage to pass. What to look for in a CV?

1. Look for the marks secured, not in one semester but average, and this will help you understand the consistency;
2. See for the research and publications to get an idea of the vivid areas of interest
3. Look for the achievements section.
4. Look for languages known (Not always necessary) because at times internships have requirements like Odia, Hindi, Punjabi, etc.
5. Writing Sample or assignment

This is valid not only for a content writing internship, but other internships also, after shortlisting CVs, assign a task to understand the functioning, the ability to meet deadlines, and the amount of hard work done which will show how much the person is actually interested in the internship. The majority of the law firms ask for writing samples to be attached along with the CVs to fasten up the process.

In the alternative, you can provide them with a situation-based question and then understand the opinion of the candidate, analytical skills, and ability to understand the problem, etc. this method has also been adopted by leading law firms like tri legal, etc.

5. Shortlist some write-ups and conduct an interview

A telephonic or skype interview should be part of every recruitment process. This should not be a stressful call but a call to give insights about the company, understand the knowledge the candidate has about the various fields of law, how much time and effort can he/put in, etc.
Read Also – Importance of Law Firm Internship

Some other pointers

• The traits like hard work time dedication etc. must be believed what the candidate says but cannot be tested.
• Make the internship a process of giving and taking. Teach the intern. Something which he may not learn
• Do not hesitate to give a pre-placement offer to someone you think deserves it.
• Go through the CVs do not make blind rejections.
• Do not only give preference to the top 5 NLUs. There are good students in other colleges too.
• Communicate the decision even if you are hiring a candidate process an auto-generated email for them so that they do not just keep waiting.
• Provide remuneration for the work, and it gives a boost and motivation to work.
• Appreciate it if you like someone’s work, it is a very good motivation to come back tomorrow and work with you.

Conclusion

Interns always look forward to opportunities to learn, so be courteous enough to provide them with one. The above strategies will help your law firm hose a good intern. An intern may prove to be an asset for the law firm, choose wisely. But also keep in mind, you are hiring someone who is yet in the learning stage, so act accordingly. Choosing the best legal intern may be tiresome work, so make sure the process of filtering is adequate, and you do not end up interviewing everyone who applied.

 

5 Techniques Lawyers use to retain their Clients

5 Techniques Lawyers use to retain their Clients

INTRODUCTION

It is a well-established principle that getting people hooked and retaining them are actually separate ballgames. It takes a much more substantial and well-thought-out approach to keep people hooked and want more of your services.

This same psychological yet meticulous approach applies to various business models including the legal profession as well. Improving client loyalty should be a priority or those clients you worked so hard for could vanish before you even know what happened.
Read Also – The Only 3 Reasons you Should Work in a Large Law Firm

These are the following 5 best-proven techniques that Lawyers and attorneys use to retain their clients

1. SHARING AND ESTABLISHING YOUR VALUES:

Legal clients are often attracted to various legal firms based on matching agendas and etiquettes. Clients find it very easy to understand the services of a legal firm when they can inculcate and understand the core basis and values of the firm. According to a study by the Corporate Executive Board of 7000, U.S. consumers have cited “shared values” as the primary source for brand loyalty. This logic can be applied in the legal profession well. Hence, if you need to retain clients, you have to convince and share with them what your firm stands for and what values it projects. If you are looking to acquire new clients then you may like to refer to this excellent article.
Read Also – Sex Selection and Sex Determination in the Womb

2. EXCELLENT CLIENT SERVICE

As evident as it is, client communication and service are fundamental to maintaining an impeccable and satisfactory legal profession. This has always been a differentiator that Lawyers use to retain their clients. Client service is the necessary factor that keeps reeling the clients in because they feel like their needs are heard, and their concerns are catered to. It is essential to improve client service by adopting various methods such as appointing a designated client relations employee or client service executive who is accessible without a hassle and who is more than capable of hearing out the client and their concerns. Ultimately, it’s the care that a legal firm shows to its clients that brings them back. Excellent client service has been known to create a loyal client base for all businesses.

Refer: 6 ways Lawyers can improve their Client’s experience

3. BE TRANSPARENT

The legal profession is a two-way street. It is imperative to maintain a certain rapport with clients. The age where firms kept silent is now over. In this digital age, firms are fast becoming entities with their own opinions and values. There will be days when the necessary operations won’t go as planned, and it is way easier and comfortable to come clean and inform your clients about the issue. Being honest and offering to find a solution rather than keeping it behind doors and making way to unnecessary speculations. Another method is to admit mistakes and maintain a good social media profile for the firm rather than getting sensitive and endangering the reputation of the firm. It can be instead, be an opportunity to display transparency by addressing the issue and providing updates. This is another way of attracting loyal clients to your legal firm.
Read Also – Drink and Drive: Know the implications

4. CREATE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY

With so many social media platforms, it is quite easy to gain attention, but it takes a particular work to make it stick. A sense of community and belonging will attract like-minded people to your legal firm, and it paints a positive image of the firm as it looms after the clients feel included in them. This sense of belonging will create a personal touch in the minds of clients. This is an effective way that Lawyers use to retain their clients and an excellent way for user-generated content to attest for client satisfaction and further to share it on social media platforms.
Read Also – What is the Lady Lawyers Dress Code?

5. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

A healthy and pragmatic legal firm will “under-promise and over-deliver”. It is merely a nuanced way of saying to exceed expectations. As a client, people will have prejudices and presumptions about the firm, and it is helpful to exceed their expectations positively. One of the methods to do this would be strengthening client care relations. If a client is informed that it would take 24 hours for a client care executive to reach them, the client’s expectations can be exceeded by contacting them in a much shorter time than 24 hours.

Read Also – Problems faced by lawyers working in Law Firms

CONCLUSION

Hence, to conclude, building a loyal client and retaining clients helps in several ways – it saves you from spending marketing dollars to continually find new customers, and bring more referral clients to your door.
Read Also – Role of Judiciary in promoting ADR in India

 

Why We Need More Women Lawyer In India?

There is always a major concern about the lack of women lawyers in the country. Like many other professions, the law is short of women lawyers. The former chief justice of India, during the celebration of Women Lawyer Association’s golden jubilee in 2014 said, “There is an almost equivalent ratio of women and men in law schools and colleges, but when they move up in the ladder from students to lawyers and then Benches, the number of females in the profession drastically reduces.”

The Indian legal industry has witnessed unprecedented growth, especially in law firms, post-liberalization. In the last decade, the legal sector claims to have transformed from a kinship-based partnership model to an industry that is based on meritocracy. The adoption of a “professional” hierarchal structure in law firms, international clients, and an emphasis on rankings and branding has reinforced this assertion. But how does this burgeoning legal industry retain its women lawyers? Why do women lawyers disappear as we move up the proverbial corporate food chain?

Automate your practice with our legal practice management software – Sign Up Now!

An Un-Indian Problem

Retaining women lawyers all the way to partnership has been a headache for almost all international law firms and is a perennial debate. However, female career progression appears to be rarely talked about within India’s law firms. Nevertheless, many women in Indian corporate law have arguably already achieved much greater visibility than their London City or New York Wall Street counterparts.

HISTORY

Most of the first generation of today’s top female corporate lawyers started their careers at the Bar. Indeed, there were few alternatives in the first decades after India’s independence but many nevertheless soon beat a hasty retreat. Even beyond overt sexism, however, the general lifestyle of the Bar and. A bench is not conducive to the careers of women, many of whom are traditionally also expected to lead a family and household.
The rise of Indian corporate law firms may have improved women’s legal career prospects but juggling the demands of transactional law and family is still far from easy.

Bearing The Family Burden

However, bearing children, raising them and maternity leave are usually cited as the main reasons why women and demanding legal careers do not go well together. But if the in-laws, grandparents, extended family, and domestic help step in, it creates a resource that is culturally or financially all but unavailable in most times.

So Why Does India Need More Female Lawyers?

Most corporate organizations are unwilling to invest in women’s talent. They view maternity leave and benefits as a drain on their resources. Not surprisingly then 84% of women in law firms and companies rated their employers below average on the parameter of childcare assistance programs and 74% of them felt their employers fared average and below average in promoting or mentoring women within the organizations.

Women In Top Roles

Female lawyers, in general, have better empathy and social skills than their male counterparts. Therefore, they handle relationships with colleagues better and have a more subtle approach during negotiations, where the big egos of clients can easily be bruised. Women tend to be good at being corporate legal counsel due to their ability to multitask.

Less Prone To Job-hopping

Also, options such as flexible timings and work from home have enabled women to manage work-life balance and that is proving to be a win-win situation for companies as well as women.
The Piramal Group has 20 lawyers, of which eight are women. All three of the latest recruits to its legal team were women.
Regulatory changes have made it important for companies to ensure they hire more women. The Companies Act has made it mandatory for all listed companies to appoint at least one woman director.

Ready Or Not

At least anecdotally it appears that at many firms, particularly those with female role models at the top, the ratio of men to women at the partnership level is higher, although by necessity senior and equity partners still make up a minority at the older firms. Nothing succeeds like success and complete focus, grit, and determination are the bare essentials in making it, both point to the same conclusion. Ultimately most successful women lawyers appear to have gotten there through ambition and hard work, despite the expectations and the environment.

A lawyer is a legal person who represents their clients in court. According to research the level of skills that a lawyer should want was a little bit higher in lady lawyers rather than men attorneys. There are lots of qualities that a lady lawyer has like high efficiency in work, dedication, trust, etc... But like other professions, the number of women lawyers is also less in the legal field

Nevertheless, senior women lawyers are still more of an exception than a rule. And although menacing discrimination against women in the profession has decreased and the new generation of lawyers may improve matters it is yet unclear whether all Indian law firms are ready for them. Or perhaps they do not need to be and families will take care of things.

Benefits of using a Virtual Office for Legal Startups in India

Virtual Office and Startups

One of the best things about owning a startup is the fact that you can run it on your own terms. You get to decide the work environment that best suits you and your business. With the advent of startups and freelancing, there has been an increase in the very concept of something known as the virtual office.

Read Also: 3 Mistakes to Avoid while Working with a Virtual Legal Assistant

A virtual office is a benefit of working for your company from anywhere you desire but also having a verified office address to entrust your clients with the legitimacy of a traditional office. Most startups, especially in the industries of real estate, tech, and legal, have shifted to virtual offices. Setting up a legal startup in this day and age where real estate rates have hit the roof is a grueling task. In addition, creating an engaging work environment is just expensive. This is where a virtual office saves your bacon. Mentioned below are some of the benefits of legal virtual offices.

Legitimate and Reliable

The most popular criticism of the virtual office is that it is not legitimate owing to the absence of a traditional office and its services. Well, that is not true. Virtual offices in India give you a professional office address which also acts as your business postal address. There is a valid local telephone number along with a receptionist who will answer your queries. It also includes an envelope opening and scanning service that helps you get information faster. If you need to meet your clients, you can also rent a meeting room in that location. It has all the requirements and services a traditional office provides but just in a more comfortable way. This helps inculcate trust in clients, especially in a legal virtual office.

Cost-efficient

The biggest benefit of a virtual office is that it cuts down on a lot of your expenses and does not burn a hole in your pocket. The very fact that you need not rent an office in a commercial hub of the city is proof of that. Thus, saving you some more money from not having to spend on furniture, maintenance and decor for the fancy look. Additionally, not having to commute every day is just a cherry on top. Legal startups usually need a lot of space with separate conference rooms, research cabins, and desks, etc. Since a legal virtual office cuts down on all these, it is more efficient.

The Work-Life Balance

The benefit of flexibility provided by a virtual office immensely helps you maintain a work-life balance. Since you are mostly working from the comfort of your home, it gives you more time to focus on work and also to fit in personal errands in your schedule. Thus, providing higher rates of satisfaction which ultimately results in business productivity. Some employees are really comfortable with not having to make small talks, being under constant supervision, and escaping the ‘office drama’ which helps increase the efficiency of the employees.

Expansion

Since you own a startup, it is important to test the market before you commit to it.

A virtual office is highly reliable this way where it becomes a testing ground for the future scope and expansion of your business. Since you have not spent a lot of money, it seems like a safer option to test the market first. If everything works out well, you can always get back to the traditional office. With the option of telephone services and receptionist, clients’ queries are actually answered instead of it being transferred to a voicemail, even when the advocates might be busy in court. Happy clients help expand the business.

Read Also: 5 KPIs to Make a Law Firm More Profitable

Eco-friendly

No fuel emissions and adding to the pollution since you don’t have to commute. All employees, collectively are using less electricity and water. The waste generation also decreases due to the reduction of paper and trash. Thus, virtual offices produced less carbon footprint than traditional offices. Shifting to this Eco-friendly option is helpful to the environment at large.

Read Also: Best Areas of Law for Work-Life Balance

Benefits of Virtual Legal Offices During Crisis & Emergencies:

As business comes to a halt with this global pandemic at our door, the importance of virtual offices is felt ever than before. With social distancing being the norm to avoid the spread of COVID-19, virtual legal offices ensure legal matters are taken care of from the comfort of home. Even though legal matters are considered to be people & paper-oriented, virtual legal platforms are catching up by demonstrating efficiency, accuracy, and safety.