The 10 Rising Law Firm Startups To Watch In 2019

ISSUE - 2

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Editor

From the

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The Rise of Corporate Law

ith the rise in corporate companies and jobs in India, the role of a Corporate Lawyer has become eminent. Corporate Law, also known as Company Law or Corporations Law is fast becoming a sought after career option. The law deďŹ nes and describes how various entities in a corporate environment like shareholders, directors, employees, etc. interact with each other and with the community.

Over the ages, various laws and amendments have been introduced by the Government to ensure fair practices across corporates. It also takes care of various factors like competition, foreign investment, partnerships, sales, buyer protection and many more. A dedicated or in-house corporate lawyer in a company is responsible for taking care of business decisions in a legal way. It is his/her responsibility to make sure that the company does not get embroiled in a law violating decision, help it with tax issues, employee relations and also legal charges that come in the way of the company.

Companies now agree to the requirement of a dedicated corporate lawyer, instead of the previously prevalent method of asking the CA or the CS for legal advice, they are now recognising the value of a thorough professional who is trained to do such tasks. Lawyers too are rising to the occasion and providing solutions that are eective and contemporary. They have taken to technology in doing so and are utilizing it with a penchant. The legal infrastructure is up for a facelift as it mingles around with the corporate culture and this blend is sure to beneďŹ t both in due course.

Sneha Sinha

S T N E T N O C

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COVER STORY

Empowering Corporates with Reformative Legal Expertise

26 Vandana Shah and Associates Exceptional and Personalised Legal Services

32 For the People

BRINGING JUSTICE SWIFTLY

ARTICLE

INTERVIEW WITH INSIGHTS SUCCESS

Veritas Legal

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Rajeshwari & Associates

Rishabh Gandhi And Advocates

Providing Insightful Advice and Seamless Services

A Name Synonymous for Comprehensive Legal Solutions

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CXO Standpoint Ease of Doing Business – Banking and Insurance Industry

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Atlas Law Partners

Corp Comm Legal

A Rising Star in the Legal Firmament

Providing Sincere and Professional Legal Solutions

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JusContractus

Samisti Legal

Providing Efficacious Solutions to Challenging Legal Issues

Leveraging Expertise to Provide Quality Legal Services

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Keeping Corporates Bound by Law

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company, apart from keeping an eye on profits, must also take care of the legal aspects. Different countries have different laws governing the functioning of companies that must be followed at all cost. These laws outline and highlight what is expected of a company and how it should go about its daily business. As such, it makes total sense to have a separate and dedicated legal department like other department.

Corporate Lawyers today have stepped up to the task of handling the legal matters of various companies. They might be working in-house with the company or a separate law firm which caters to multiple clients and offers end-to-end solutions. In this issue of Insights Success, we are glad to enlist “The 10 Rising Law Firm to Watch In 2019”.

These firm advice and take care of the legal matters of corporate clients with utmost sincerity and professionalism while they take care of their profits and targets.

The Cover Story of this issue features Veritas Legal, a legal firm that is empowering corporates with reformative legal expertise.

Rajeshwari & Associates, a full-service law firm, with expertise extending across a wide spectrum of areas amongst diverse industries and sectors is our Outstanding Law Firm.

Featuring as the Prominent Law Firm in this issue is Rishabh Gandhi and Advocates, a multidisciplinary Law Firm based in Pune having reputation for its expertise and excellence in a bouquet of diversified legal services.

Also featuring in this issue are Atlas Law Partners, a boutique corporate and transactional advisory firm, Corp Comm Legal, a corporate/commercial laws focused firm, JUSCONTRACTUS, a full-service law firm, and Samisti Legal LLP, an emerging Law Firm in Hyderabad specializing in niche areas of Corporate Laws.

Companies who also made it to the enlisting are Aureus Law Partners, Dhaval Vussonji & Associates and Ezy Laws.

The issue also highlights the viewpoint of Ashok Dhingra and Sonia Gupta, Partners at Ashok Dhingra Associates, who share their insight about Ease of Doing Business – Banking and Insurance Industry. The insightful interview of Vandana Shah, Founder, Vandana Shah and Associates showcases her strength and resolve. Read about various schemes aimed at speeding up the courts in our in-house article Bringing Justice Swiftly from For the People.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we did while creating it!!

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“Our success is driven by our core values which form the very foundation in defining our cohesive culture and what we stand for as a team.”

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he current developments in the Indian business eco-system, marked by the ever-evolving startup culture, have instigated a necessity in being au fait with the requisites of these developments, and the prominent of them being the sphere of Business or Commercial Law. For a fact, the discipline of Law, or much precisely, the science and art of justice, in its essence is complex for the common multitude to comprehend efficiently. This fact, in turn, leads us to the justification, as to why professional advocates play a significant role when it comes to legal conjectures within all spheres under the umbrella. Now, evidently, these notions of significance and the quest for unparalleled expertise have cleared the path for us at Insights Success in our endeavor to seek and unveil the 10 rising law firms in India, and brought us to the gates of Veritas Legal, Mumbai.

Established in 2015, Veritas Legal is a boutique business law firm comprising of experienced professionals who have worked in leading law firms in the country. The firm has extensively emphasized upon mergers and acquisitions, corporate commercial advisory, transactions and dispute resolution and has successfully carved a niche for itself in the highly competitive legal market in India. The firm’s congregation of experienced, motivated and dedicated lawyers thrives on energy and complexity. Its clients benefit tremendously from the team’s unparalleled skills blended with Veritas Legal’s culture, personal attention and streamlined advice that it provides. The firm’s success is driven by its core values which form the very foundation in defining its cohesive culture, and what it stands for as a team. The key practice areas of the Firm include Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate, Retail & Franchising, Competition law, Banking & Finance, Private Client practice, Restructuring

“We have a sense of direction and we believe in our values, hard work, quality and solid implementation, and beyond that time will tell the story, if we are deserving of it” & Insolvency and Data Protection and Privacy.

In its initial stages, the firm was only a team of five lawyers. Through the course of time, it has grown exponentially, and in less than four years, the firm’s strength accounts to approximately 60 people including 40 lawyers. As is the case, with the initial journey, there were a fair number of challenges, however, the client confidence in the firm and its people has been unwavering, thereby making the firm’s journey an exhilarating one.

Recently, Veritas Legal was ranked in the Top 10 Law Firms by Deal Value and Deal Count for India in the Mergermarket Global & Regional M&A Report Q1 2019; and ranked #6

by Deal Volume and #7 by Deal Count for the India Announced Deals in the Bloomberg Global M&A Market Review Q1 Legal Rankings 2019. The firm has been consistently ranked in the Mergermarket, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and Venture Intelligence league tables for India and

other global rankings. The firm and its members have also been recognized in the RSG India Report 2017 in the top 40 India ranking, Chambers and Partners (Asia-Pacific and Global Guides), IFLR1000, IBLJ, Benchmark Litigation, Asian Legal Business and Asialaw Profiles. (Source: LinkedIn, veritaslegal.in, mergermarket.com) The Torch of Leadership Veritas Legal has been consistently ascending the stairs of unmatched excellence under the leadership of Abhijit Joshi, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. From the flames of his inquisitive nature, his inclination towards logic-based solutions acting as a catalyst, and being apathetic towards math and science, conceived Abhijit’s decision of choosing law as a profession. With a prominent career spanning across 25 years, Abhijit is a qualified Solicitor in India and England and one of India’s leading Corporate and M&A lawyers.

Abhijit has been recognized in The A-List: India’s top 100 lawyers by India Business Law Journal and ranked in Band-1 for Corporate/M&A by the prestigious Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific Guide for a few years now. In addition, he has received many accolades including ‘Highly Regarded’ lawyer by IFLR1000. He has in the past received the Financial Times Innovation Award (Asia Pacific) for a complex merger transaction.

Addressing Contemporary Challenges Abhijit strongly believes that the legal profession in the last two decades has changed dramatically, trying to keep pace with the economic evolution of the country and consequently, many new laws have evolved. Pertaining to the same landscape, the legal profession is away from institutionalization considering it is

“Cumulation of jobs small and big done well, aggregates into goodwill and that’s what we are busy working towards” presently devoid of competition from foreign law firms. Growth on one side and lack of institutionalization on the other, sometimes creates an unhealthy tension for the evolution of the legal profession and developing a centre of excellence within the country. This also sometimes results in a lack of consolidation and over fragmentation in the market, which is not necessarily good for the legal industry at large.

Exhibiting Prominence Ÿ

Clients praised Veritas Legal for a number of reasons, namely, lawyers’ ’exceptional knowledge of all legal issues’ and ability to provide a ’personalised service’. Some clients commented on attitudes and culture at the firm, highlighting trust in its lawyers, their integrity and willingness to help. Clients also noted the efficiency with which the firm delivered legal services and praised its ‘phenomenal work’'

Upholding Culture, Achieving Distinction Veritas Legal has established a Pro Bono Program to ensure access to justice, promote the rule of law, provide legal services to those unable to afford a lawyer, and to assist clients to achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility objectives. The Pro bono service has been an integral part of the firm’s culture and is the backbone of the value system, which is clearly demonstrated from the firm’s and its lawyers’ involvement in several cases, one of which includes, being appointed as an Amicus Curie by the Bombay High Court in a Public Interest Litigation to assist the Division Bench of the High Court in regard to the issue regarding the right of inmates to practice their own religion during the tenure of their sentences in prisons all over India.

The firm has recently announced a 40% average increase of fixed remuneration across all associate levels for the Financial Year 2019-20(Source: IBLJ).

This is a substantial increase and puts a 4-year old Firm significantly in line with the Tier-I law Firms in India as far as remuneration is concerned. The firm expects to attract even better talent with the above announcement and has also embarked on structured internship programs with various law schools.

“Culture continues to be the cornerstone of our philosophy, but the remuneration in line with the top tier of the industry is essential for any platform, which intends to deliver high quality services to clients. It has taken us a little time given that we are only 4 years old, but this move has been on our mind for a while,” Abhijit expresses.

RSG India Top 40 Law Firm 2017

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Asialaw Profiles 2019 “The firm consists of a young team of professionals who are extremely dedicated to their clients and have in depth knowledge of the law as well as the facts. The firm is able to understand the client’s requirements, give practical advice and adapt to the situation at hand.

Extremely nimble and always on hand, thereby instilling a great level of confidence in the client.”

– Corporate and M&A, Dispute resolution, Regulatory

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Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2018 “Veritas Legal provides strategic advice and has business acumen. Further, it is able to deliver within stringent timelines with high quality advice and drafting. It also has strong negotiation skills.

The firm is very responsive, has strong bench strength and well-seasoned professionals. Access to partner time and attention on matters strengthens clients’ confidence in working with the firm.” – Commercial and transactions

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Chambers and Partners 2019 Commentators highlight the team as “an emerging firm in the M&A space.”

Photo Courtesy - Mr. Kunal Bhende (Partner & Creative Director at Nomsans Creative)

Bequeathing Success, Beholding the Future In his advice to the budding entrepreneurs and startups, Abhijit says, “the first lesson for any entrepreneur, in my view, would be for them to know their own business. Often there is haste or allure to many success stories without much concentration on the substance. The second aspect is that every entrepreneur should look into is scalability of their business. Great ideas are worth little if they cannot be implemented and even if implemented, are not scaled to its potential. Therefore, sustained implementation plays a huge role in the success of any organization.”

Commenting upon the future prospects of Veritas Legal, Abhijit says, “We see India poised to grow and along with it, the legal industry will also grow exponentially.” The firm plans to grow deeper into specialization and has added senior resources in Bankruptcy and Real Estate practice. “We will grow, but in a calibrated fashion, deeper as opposed to wider whilst continuing to remain true to our values. The rest will follow,” he concludes.

“Pro Bono service has been an integral part of the Firm’s culture and is the backbone of the value system”

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CORPORATE OFFICE Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off No. 22 & 510, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017.

Phone - India: 020- 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 USA: 302-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.in in

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ith each passing day, the corporate world is witnessing transformations like never before. In this new-age of tech-enabled discoveries and rapid advancements, it is necessary for an organization to place its best foot forward in staying aware about its rights, responsibilities, legal risks and various legal solutions for creating a niche in its sector.

Rishabh Gandhi And Advocates (RGAA) is an Indian multidisciplinary Law Firm striving with a vision to roll out comprehensive legal solutions to the client organizations.

Holding the reins of ethical and quality Law practice, commitment, mutual trust, and client contentment, RGAA is truly breaking the traditional legal shackles and benchmarking its presence in India and overseas. With a decade of concrete endeavors, RGAA now stands at the forefront of expertise and excellence. Its curated set of services is the evidence to its legal knacks.

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We believe in giving back to the society and strive for it continuously

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Being an ISO 9001:2015 certified full-service law Firm; its services define the true essence of ethical standards and quality management to the core. In 2018, it has been bestowed with the ‘Most Promising Corporate Legal Consultant’ award by Silicon India. Currently, the Firm provides legal solutions to a diversified client base that includes multinational companies, start-ups, corporate entities, commercial, real estate enterprises, and banks & financial institutions. It keeps no stone unturned to quench the needs of Government bodies and public sector undertakings, educational and charitable trusts, and other associations as well as individuals.

Treading an Extra Mile Over the years, the Firm has resolutely spread its wings JUNE 2019

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across different areas including Alternative Dispute Resolution, Consumer Law, Corporate and Commercial Law, Capital Market, Compliances, and Drafting & Conveyance. It provides services related to Insolvency and Bankruptcy, Private Equity Information Technology and Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law, Civil and Commercial Litigation, Real Estate and Construction, Environment Law, and Family Law & Estate Advisory.

Besides, Formation of Trusts, Apartment, Condominium and Societies, Insurance and Banking Law, Criminal Law are some of the other practice areas that RGAA focuses on.

Under Rishabh’s aegis, the Firm conducts weekly brainstorming sessions for its employees to keep them updated regarding the recent judgments, laws, amendments, etc. Motivating employees to participate and represent the Firm at various seminars and workshops in order to develop their overall knowledge and skillsets has played a pivotal role in RGAA’s success. The employees represent RGAA in acting as judges at various national and international moot court competitions conducted by various Law Colleges in Pune.

The Firm is on a mission to craft out Pro bono and free legal services for the marginalized communities and underserved populations. It is making assiduous moves to change the complete scenario for the masses that seek justice and lack economic resources with its able solutions.

The Firm strongly believes in ‘Giving back to the Society’.

Team RGAA is inclined with charity and community work, thereby treading an extra mile to quench the societal duties and responsibilities. Apart from all this, it is also a member of the District Legal Services Authority.

An Advisory Note The recent times is seeing a surge of ideas, innovations, and startups which have the potential to disrupt the business world with its full pace. However, laying the foundation of a startup in an ecosystem without being aware of the laws governing them is not an easy task for a neophyte.

At present, the AI-based online legal portals and software are thinning down the human touch from the legal space.

The new-age digital world is successfully driving the startup community and other cost-conscious clients towards the

Prominent Law Firm

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Holding the reins of ethical & quality Law practice, commitment, mutual trust, & client contentment

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Rishabh Gandhi Founder

MEET THE MULTIFACETED PERSONA An Advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa, a former Trial Court Judge and academician at heart, Rishabh Gandhi is the Managing Partner at RGAA. He is an Arbitrator and a Mediator associated with Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee of the Supreme Court of India. He has completed his Master’s degree in Law from Pune University, wherein he efficaciously bagged a Gold Medal and a Fellowship from Maharashtra State Education Board. Further, pursuing a Diploma in Cyber Laws and a Post Graduate Diploma in IPR Laws has added an extra plus to his legal proficiency. His extraordinary academic and extracurricular performance was appreciated and felicitated by Hon’ble Vilasrao Deshmukh – former Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

He read Law at the chambers of Hon’ble Dr. D. Y. Chandrachud – former Bombay High Court Judge and Fox Mandal Little and Co., Mumbai. Initially, he was a Junior Advocate at the Law Chambers of Karnik and Karnik Advocates, Pune and Associate Advocate at the J. S. Wad and Co. He has been visiting professor of law at ILS Law College, and D.E.S. (Fergusson) Law College and Department of Law – Savitribai Phule

Pune University, in Pune, to ignite the young minds w i t h h i s l e g a l ex p e r t i s e a n d w i d e - ra n g i n g experience.

Rishabh has presented and published research papers and articles on multifarious legal issues at various national and international Journals and Seminars. He is a member and associate of Pune Bar Association, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture, Bhandarkar Institute of Oriental Research, Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya and Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration. Being a Panelist Judge for Jan-lok Adalat at National Commission for Women’s Rights plays a vital role in his success journey. He has been a Legal Advisor for companies belonging to diversified industries alongside advising venture capitalists on complex Private Equity transactions, led Mergers and Acquisitions, and conducted Corporate Restructuring of several companies.

Today, his exemplary knowledge in the fields of Arbitration and Civil & Commercial Litigation, along with the wide-ranging experience has given him an extra edge to evolve as a multifaceted persona.

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Rendering continuum of legal services across the globe

tech-enabled online legal portals. For the existing and emerging lawyers, keeping up with times and changing the way of doing business is becoming the need of the hour.

On the other hand, an individual should take into account the seriousness of the legal principle ‘ignorance of the law can never be an excuse’ emphasizing that one may not escape liability for violating a law due to unawareness of its content. Acknowledging this scenario, the Firm advices the novices to build legally compliant and ethical organizations, that would withstand the complexities of the legitimate world in the long run.

Bringing in ‘Change’ that Matters!

RGAA believes that ‘Court Infrastructure’ plays a key role in instilling laws and rendering Justice effectively. There are voluminous pending cases and vacancies for Judges in Indian Courts that is hampering the speedy disposal of cases, whereas the public at large is not proactive, and fails to use and enforce their rights due to lack of awareness.

Keeping this in mind, the Firm is intends to revolutionize the legal landscape by launching its branches in metro cities and broadening its catena of services. It is planning to attain healthy associations with the Law Firms in Singapore and London. It aims to establish its own Arbitration and Mediation Centre in the near future. It is also taking crucial steps to creating its own Educational Videos and a Journal intending to pass on a better world for the Gen Z.

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LAWS TO KNOW Ÿ

Before any Judicial or Quasi-Judicial authority, everyone has a right to be represented through a Lawyer.

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A Complaint can be made against deficiency and defect in goods and services, under the Consumer Protection Act, 1956.

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Irrespective of the date of birth, women are entitled to equal share in ancestral property as coparceners, as per the Amendment in 2005 to Hindu Succession Act of 1956.

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Under Section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, if a police officer finds 100 ml. of alcohol in a person’s blood while driving then he or she can be arrested for drunken driving.

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According to Indian Sarais Act, 1867 any individual can ask for water free of charge from any hotel at any time for themselves and their pets. Furthermore, he or she can use the washroom for free.

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Atlas Law Partners

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n a dynamic economy such as India, one needs more than just business acumen to run a business successfully. Apart from financial and human resource experts, it is important to have the right legal experts. The common thought-process is ‘one needs a lawyer only when there’s a major legal issue’. However, in today’s business world a lawyer is not merely a legal advisor but also a strategic and commercial counsellor to the clients.

Liaising with corporate houses and businesses to provide them with timely corporate and transactional advisory are Harry Chawla and Niti Paul, Founders of Atlas Law Partners (ALP). The boutique corporate and transactional advisory firm specializes in corporate commercial laws, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, banking & finance, private client practice matters, regulatory matters, antitrust / competition laws, insolvency & bankruptcy and litigation & dispute resolution. It started as a two-member team in 2016 and is now represented by sixteen lawyers and four partners.

Experienced Founders Harry joined the law practice in 1990 and has been a part of several leading Indian law firms, including the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas, CAM, L & L Law Offices. He started his independent firm Chawla & Co. in 2001 which later merged with the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas in 2007.

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Niti was admitted to the bar in 1999 and started her career as in-house counsel for Rolls Royce India. She has also worked with leading Indian law firms such as erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas and CAM.

“The Founders have brought recognition to the firm through their established names and rankings in the legal market in India and outside”

Both the Founding Partners regard the practice of Law as not just a noble profession, but also as catalyst for development and evolution of the society and growth of businesses. The practice is intellectually stimulating and challenging, which makes work every day all more interesting. The role of lawyers has evolved from firefighters and problem solvers to strategic and commercial advisors who are involved in board room decision making as well.

Areas of Practice Atlas Law Partners has expertise in · Corporate Commercial Laws · Mergers & Acquisitions · Private Equity · Real Estate · Banking & Finance · Private Client Practice Matters · Regulatory Matters · Antitrust / Competition Laws · Insolvency & Bankruptcy · Litigation & Dispute Resolution The Founders are well-renowned in the Indian corporate commercial legal market and have often received accolades that boost their presence in

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Niti Paul

Harry Chawla

Co-founder

the market like the “Banking & Finance Law Firm of The Year - India

by ACQ5 Global Awards 2019”.

The Legal System and its Challenges Like any other profession, the legal one is also hounded by many issues.

Some of the key challenges faced by Indian law firms as per the ALP team are: a)

Reigning in costs by moving from a traditional hourly billable format to fixed fee matters.

b) Achieving super specialization to face intense competition heads on. c) Threat from accounting / consulting firms who have been investing heavily in their legal services arm. d)

Selection, grooming and retention of talent with thousands of lawyers entering the legal market on a regular basis.

Co-founder

Apart from these what also bothers the Legal Fraternity is the gap between Law Formulation and Law Enforcement. The founders believe that laws exist to fill in the various gaps created by society and the actions of men. However, the enforcement of these laws is far from satisfactory. To explain their view, they give the example of the recently formulated Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

They feel, “It is a comprehensive statute that seeks to cover all plausible situations involved in the insolvency resolution of a company. However, in terms of implementation, the road to success is slow and ever-changing. The fine-tuning of the law continues to date.”

But the founders are also positive about the future as they see the younger generation take up law more seriously. They feel that start-ups and entrepreneurs in the law firm space need to identify their niche practice areas and work with a focus towards

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developing these. In this day and age of super specialization, it is important, especially for start-up law firms to identify their practice areas and hire the right talent for these practice areas and industry sectors.

Looking Ahead As its future prospect, Atlas Law Partners endeavours to grow from strength to strength. The founders say, “We see our prospects increasing in leaps and bounds in our areas of specializations including banking & finance, mergers and acquisitions and real estate. We also see ourselves growing in the startup space, representing investors and startups alike from an early stage seed investment to a 6th / 7th round of funding. Our competition law practice, particularly in regards to merger control filing, is recent and has received successful approvals one after another.” The ALP team is a small but effective one, and it hopes to grow in numbers and transactions size and volume year on year.

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Vandana Shah Founder

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he Indian Society, however progressive, still considers Divorce as a taboo. There are various myths and prejudices attached to the whole process of divorce. Life becomes even more complicated for women who are just out of wedlock.

With a steely resolve, Vandana Shah along with her support group is trying to change this outlook, one divorce case at a time.

In the following Interview with Insights Success, she shares her story of ďŹ ghting for herself and more like her.

1. Brief us about yourself and your company Vandana Shah, the award winning

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Interview with Insights Success

Divorce Lawyer, Author and Columnist, who has been fighting to get justice to numerous women across the social demographic has now been empanelled by the prestigious National Commission for Women to represent cases filed by women or against them in the state of Maharashtra - which are specifically referred by National Commission for Women.

Renowned lawyer and columnist, Vandana has a thriving law practice, and specializes in Divorce cases. BBC has made a documentary, ‘Invisible Women of India, about her work’. She is also the author of ‘Ex-Files-The Story of my divorce’ published by Penguin under the Shobhaa De imprint. Ex-Files is now part of the Judicial College syllabus. Vandana has been involved with the family court since 2001 in varying roles as a litigant then a counsellor in running India’s first support group – “360 degrees back to life”, has been lauded by Gloria Steinem, the world’s foremost feminist who has endorsed her previous book.

She has also translated a book written by the Jain Saints.

Her work has been lauded both by the National as well as the International media. She has been a panellist frequently on BBC, NDTV amongst others and at various Literary Festivals.

She is also Divorce Law Consultant for Priyanka Chopra’s new film Firebrand, directed by Arunaraje Patil, currently trending on Netflix and nominated for several Mahrati film awards.

2. Kindly brief us about the initial journey and your contribution towards the upliftment of the of the company?

With a paltry sum of Rs. 750, I was the Daughter in Law of a respectable family out on the streets at about 2 am in the night with nothing but tears in my eyes, bewilderment at the cruelty of my new found family of my husbands, yet When I walked out, I had dreams in my heart and the grit and determination to survive. I said to myself, “I must amount to something in life. No one will ever trample upon me again because I will be a ‘somebody’, and the ‘something’

that this ‘somebody’ eventually did was to not only turn my own life around full 360 degree!) but also helped thousands of other women, in similar predicaments seeking a new identity and meaning to life.

My own divorce took 10 long years, but instead of sitting and moping around looking for sympathy or being a victim, I decided to be a ‘Victor’. I set up India’s first nonjudgmental divorce support group for those going through a divorce, which challenges the mores of a patriarchal middle-class society that obviously has different rules and expectations for women and then, wrote a book ‘360 degrees back to life - a litigant humorous perspective on divorce’ based on the experiences of the support group.

Each time, a new obstacle came I just learned to either jump over it or sidestep it. My father who was a fighter pilot with the Indian Air taught me how to shoot down problems as though they are the enemy and my mum taught me how to be a risk taker. So essentially, I would think that the path to be extremely empowered and successful in life is to let go of negativity and only focus on positivity.

3. What are the distinct areas of practice of the company?

The primary focus of Vandana Shah and Associates is Family Law. We have experience of cases in Mumbai and other parts of India.

As I have recently been empanelled by the National Commission for Women to handle sexual assault cases for them my firm has also begun to handle sexual assault cases referred to us by the NCW. These cases are handled pro-bono by myself and my associates.

I have also recently branched out into consumer law. This is still an underdeveloped area of Indian law as not many Indians are aware of their rights in this area. I feel they would benefit greatly from the experience I can In addition to litigation offered by Vandana Shah and Associates we also have an application called Divorcekart, India’s first legal app that focuses on answering legal queries regarding

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divorce instantly. The App is available free on both IOS and Android platform. It serves as an online help platform for those couples, who may feel that the marriage is over, and is unsure of their legal rights and process if and when they file the divorce. The app is only being a help platform to understand one’s legal rights and would not recommend or advise any person to end a marriage or continue with it.

“Ignorantia juris non excusat”Ignorance of Law is no excuse.

Since ignorance of the law is no excuse and I am practicing in the Family Court I would like to focus on laws relating to divorce that men and women should be aware of. Men and women should be aware of maintenance, alimony, child access and child custody.

Laws women need be aware of while filing for a divorce Hence women should be aware of Section 24 of the Hindu Maintenance Act, 1955 which discusses interim maintenance.

Women should also be aware of Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 which discusses permanent alimony after a divorce.

Laws men need be aware of while filing a divorce Similarly, men should be aware of Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act which focuses on child custody.

They should also be aware a complaint under section 498-A does not lead to an immediate arrest.

Divorcekart is currently manned by a team of legal experts vetted and trained by myself. There is always a lawyer available around the clock 24/7 even in the night shift. The advocates at Divorcekart also carry out legal research related to Divorcekart ensuring they are up to date with all the latest legal matters.

4. Share with us challenges faced by law firms in India? i) The judicial system being clogged up means cases take too long to resolve. ii) Since cases take long to resolve clients become impatient and frustrated often losing faith in the legal system.

5. Please share with us the firm’s view on the gap between Law Formulation and Law Enforcement

As we put on our best face forward for India’s Independence Day celebrations, I experienced a chest-thumping kind of pride for our values reflected in the Constitution and Fundamental Rights guaranteed to every citizen of Free India. Several brave judgements by the judiciary—ranging from the 12 June 1975 verdict of the Allahabad High Court convicting then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractices and debarring her

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from holding any elected post, to the Supreme Court in March 2015 striking down Section 66A of the IT Act which allowed unjustified arrests for “objectionable” content online—have been hailed as reflecting the kind of freedoms that only a mature society would allow an individual. A free and progressive judiciary determines whether a country’s fabric is healthy and robust or if it’s a combustible country like North Korea and certain nations in Africa and the Middle East which have little or no judicial system to speak of.

Did you know we are entitled to free drinking water even in coffee shops? Or that there is recourse to being refused a ride by an auto driver?

The judiciary in India can’t be bought, contrary to what some may have felt in the cases of powerful stars such as Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. After all, for every one of these there is a Subrata Roy who despite being one of the wealthiest industrialists in the country has spent time in jail (of course writing books from there), or a Chhagan Bhujbal who in spite of being the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in cooling his heels in prison.

However, what dilutes the impact of these path-breaking judicial decisions is the complete ignorance displayed by a majority of people when it comes to law. And if and when they do become entangled in legal matters they are at a complete loss. How can we not build awareness of the law when it is one of the strongest pillars of society and a country? It’s like living in a swanky high rise without knowing whether there is a safe and strong foundation. Our role has to go beyond uninterested and cynical to involved and pro-active to form well-informed opinions. Perhaps then it won’t be as easy to be dismissive of the law and believe and act on what is rightfully granted to us. The law is not a lofty ideal encased in a gilded vault with the keys with only a fortunate few—rather, it is enmeshed in our daily lives. Did you know we are entitled to free drinking water even in coffee shops, which often force us to buy overpriced bottled water, claiming that the regular stuff is not available? Or that there is recourse to being refused a

ride by an auto driver (I am sure that everyone, especially those in Delhi, are jumping to find out what that is!)?

Perhaps it’s time to pull out our phones and start googling “Fundamental Rights in India”, rather than going through the rest of our lives blindly. Also remember this, ignorance of law is not an excuse for having committed a crime and you’ll have to serve time. So if in doubt it’s better to check to see if you’re running afoul or not!

Now that our nation has been free for seven decades, let us also free ourselves from ignorance of the law to rightfully claim our place in the sunrise of India.

6. What should be your advice for budding start-ups and entrepreneurs in the industry?

The most important thing is to have a clear business plan before setting out. I had a very clear idea for Divorcekart which was to democratise legal solutions and give the power back to the litigant by shedding light and transparency on a hidden area of law. You must chalk out a plan to get to your desired destination and along the way keep customizing it to achieve your goal.

Secondly be prepared to learn constantly. As my start up is in the I.T sphere I am constantly adapting and learning concerning that industry. Not adapting to the circumstances just leads to futile hard work instead of productive smart work.

Thirdly remember there’s no failure but changed opportunities is what our mindset should be. No guts, no glory. Remember if you never take a risk you will never prosper.

7. Brief us about your company’s future prospects Divorcekart and Vandana Shah and Associates will become a global one stop solution for all legal issues. We are creative, original and hardworking so to be leaders in the noble profession of law is our destiny.

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BRINGING

JUSTICE SWIFTLY

I

t is said, “Justice delayed is Justice Denied”. An efficient judiciary is characterised by how quickly and correctly it brings justice to the needy. To reduce the number of pending cases and the turn—around time for general cases, the Indian Judiciary has taken some very effective measures. Fast-track Courts, Nyaya Mitra Scheme, and Gram Nyayalaya are three such steps taken for the welfare of the general public. Here’s how these schemes are working out: Fast-track Courts – Creation of Fast Track Courts (FTCs) was recommended by the Eleventh Finance Commission in the year 2000. It aimed at creating 1734 FTCs across the country with an aim to dispose of long pending cases in the Sessions courts and under trial prisoners. To put up the mechanism in place, the central Finance Ministry released funds to the State Governments directly. The term of the scheme ended in 2005 but looking at the effectiveness of it, the scheme was granted continuity.

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For the People FTCs are established by the State Government in consultation with the respective High Court. Initially, the scheme recommended establishing an average of five FTC in each district of India. The judges are appointed on an ad-hoc basis by the respective High Courts. In 2011, the Central Government decided to stop the funding for FTCs and the onus shifted on State Governments if they wanted to continue with them. While most of the State Governments continued with FTCs, few chose to shun them.

Nyaya Mitra Scheme – The Nyaya Mitra Scheme was launched in April 2017. The scheme is again aimed at reducing the bulk of pending cases across select districts with special focus on those clocking more than 10 years. The initiative has been launched in 227 districts to start with. This scheme utilizes the services of retired judicial or executive officers who are experienced and are designated as Nyaya Mitra. The responsibilities, among others, include: • assistance to litigants facing delay in a trial; • identifying delayed cases through the National Judicial Data Grid; • providing legal advice and connecting litigants to District Legal Service Authority; • refer marginalized applicants to Lok Adalats; • and render assistance for prison reforms.

Gram Nyayalaya – The Gram Nyayalaya Act was brought and passed by the Indian Parliament in 2008. This Act looks for the establishment of Gram Nyayalayas or Village Courts to provide access to justice at the grass-root level i.e. the villages. Presided over by a Nyayadhikari, the court is generally established at headquarter of a gram panchayat.

Their area of jurisdiction is marked by the State Government and includes both criminal and civil offences. They are also given the power to accept certain pieces of evidence which are in general not acceptable under the Indian Evidence Act. The objective of such courts is that no citizen should be denied justice due to social, economic or other disabilities.

The above are just a few steps that the Government and the Judiciary are taking to bring justice to all the citizens of India. The participating authorities, as well as the general public, should now make the most of these schemes and help in establishing a just society.

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Ease of Doing Business – Banking and Insurance Industry

E

ase of doing business is one of the key initiatives of Modi administration. It is not one wing of Government and industry or sector regulator which has to work in sync but entire set up and contributors to economy have to work as well-oiled machinery. In case some sectors or departments are not aligned then entire initiative suffers.

Here we are looking at how banking and insurance sector has fared in this regard.

Banks are backbone of our economy and contribute to sustained growth of entire business environment. An advanced and industry friendly banking industry becomes engine of growth of any economy. Banks have to provide necessary support and liquidity to business and make sure that cost of transactions does not go up. Introduction of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code with an aim to promote entrepreneurship and protect interests of investors has eased the process of resolving insolvencies, which was earlier a long-drawn process and is a welcome step in promoting ease of doing business.

Hence, banks have a larger role to play for success of ease of doing business initiative.

Likewise, Insurance Sector also plays a pivotal role in sustained development of economy. Just like banking it helps in mobilising domestic savings, mitigating losses, provides financial stability and security, promotes trade and commerce which collectively help in economic growth.

Federal government also encouraged investment in insurance sector by increasing foreign direct investment to 49%, which led to many large players set up joint ventures in India.

Few years back many banks were also facing liquidity crunch. However, with de-monetisation of INR 500 and INR 1000 currency bills, large amount of cash have been deposited in banks providing much needed liquidity to banks and denting parallel economy. However, on account NPAs and fear of losing money in funding high risk or long gestation projects, banks are treading very carefully and slow in approving projects. While on one hand government is pushing for faster growth of economy and easing regulatory environments on the other hand banks and financial institutions are treading carefully and slowly.

Similarly insurance sector provides necessary security to individuals and industry and contribute to growth of economy. On account of intense competition insurance companies are aggressively chasing growth. However, to achieve higher profitability while at the time of issuing insurance cover false promises are made to insured but in an unfortunate situation giving rise to claims, same insurers take shelter in fine print in insurance cover and adopt all kinds of tactics to reject or delay sanction of claims. This has contributed negatively to ease of doing business.

Another trend is being noticed where many banks have also set up subsidiaries and group companies in related sectors like insurance, non-banking financial institutions and asset management companies. This has led to the vice of cross selling services and products of group companies. Most of these banks and their group companies are following

However, many Indian banks are facing number of challenges. Non-performing assets (NPA) sitting in books of many banks are biggest dampeners. To show better performance and compliance with regulatory laws some banks have not reported true status of NPAs but painted JUNE 2019

rosy pictures after window dressing leading to false sense of security among investors and regulators. However, when caught by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or by auditors, such banks have suffered heavily causing a loss of investors wealth and erosion of faith of public. Some citizen groups and individuals have filed many applications under the Right to Information Act (RTI) or pubic interest litigation in courts seeking information of true status of financial health of banks and financial institutions. In a very recent ruling Supreme Court has come down heavily on RBI for not sharing inspection report of banks under RTI to applicants.

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CXO Standpoint policies of giving cross selling targets to junior and mid-level managers and their increments and bonuses are decided on basis of achieving cross selling targets, which is major cause of frauds committed on their customers.

A live case of one non-resident Indian who is an American citizen suffering at the hands of one of the largest private sector banks having group companies in insurance, etc., is the best example. And he is not alone in this category. This person has opened account with bank during one of his visits to India.

On the insistence of branch manager of bank during subsequent visit to India, this person has agreed to open fixed deposit. However, he was made to sign blank documents and provide large number of details of his family and tax in the USA on the pretext of making his minor daughter nominee.

Subsequently he got to know that his account has been debited by two entries of the same amount – one for fixed deposit and another for buying insurance policy from another group life insurance company for whom such bank is acting as insurance agent. On persistent follow up and initially holding up of no mis-sale bank and insurance companies agreed to cancel policy and reverse funds but insisted upon filing a claim to be decided by them. On a complaint to senior management and board of directors of both entities nothing has been done.

Further, on a complaint to Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRDA) and bringing all facts with evidence to its notice with

the request to initiate investigations of wrong doing and violation of Insurance Act and other legislations and cancellation of insurance license to insurance company and agent license of bank, IRDA refused to do any thing on the ground that it does not adjudicate customer complaints. This is unfortunate response from IRDA, being regulator of insurance industry. Further, RBI and Insurance division of Finance Ministry is also not alive to cheating of customers by such rogue elements. It is high time both RBI and IRDA investigates following of such predatory HR policies of cross selling by banks and insurance companies. Further, authorities under the Companies Act and Securities and Exchange Boards of India Act should also provide for mandatory compliance with such matters under corporate governance policies enforced by regulators under these legislations.

In case proper governance policies are implemented and strictly monitored by regulatory authorities, banks and insurance industry will become once again engine of growth and major contributor to success of ease of doing business initiative. All that needed is concerned efforts by banking and insurance industry and strict enforcement by government and regulators.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Ashok Dhingra , Founder and Managing Partner, Ashok Dhingra Associates, is an Attorney having more than 42 years of experience. He is ranked among the best GST; erstwhile Indirect Taxes; Customs and Trade Laws including Export Controls and Sanctions Attorneys in India. He is also considered an authority on Supply Chain; Prevention of Money Laundering; AntiCorruption Laws and White-Collar Crimes.

Ashok Dhingra, Founder & Managing Partner

Sonia Gupta, Partner at Ashok Dhingra Associates is Chartered Account and Attorney. She primarily focuses on Customs and Trade Laws including Export/ Import Controls and Sanctions; Foreign Trade Policy and Regulatory Laws, providing both advisory and litigation services to clients.

Sonia Gupta, Partner

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The

Rising

LAW FIRM To Watch In 2019

Corp Comm Legal

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dynamic economy and commercial environment in India are keeping the corporates on their toes. They must be adaptive to the changing laws which are influenced by various Governmental, economic and competitive needs. As such, they need a law firm that understands their business needs and provides legal advisory that is relevant, solutiondriven and value for money. Focusing on these needs of domestic and international corporates is Corp Comm Legal. It provides legal advice inter alia on M&A, Joint Ventures, Technology Transfers, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Commercial Litigation, IPR registration and protection, compliances, due diligence and more.

Treading a Different Path While there is no dearth of corporate law firms, what sets Corp Comm Legal apart is the assurance that it offers to clients. The clients who ask for its services are assured of the timing, quality and pricing of the services. Each one of these three elements is very necessary and has to work in tandem. Even if one is missing, the other two are of no use.

Corp Comm Legal offers virtually all legal services which big law firms provide – however, at a fraction of the cost associated with the big firms.

Clients get to actually work with the JUNE 2019

professionals they want to work with and don’t have to pay the price for the brand name, old age of the firm, marketing costs, etc.

“Our vision is to be the law firm of the first choice for our clients”

But being different is never easy and comes with challenges. A firm like Corp Comm often has to compromise in terms of manpower as Big firms have the clout, financial resources and may indulge in predatory pricing to capture most of the big business. But in a booming economy like India, there is space for all sizes of organisations. This works for law firms as well and many boutique law firms are doing very well.

To counter these challenges, Corp Comm is engaging with other small and midsize firms within India and globally for better coordination and level playing field. Global Business Lawyers’ League has been its first endeavor in this regard and it is trying to replicate the same model in India too.

An Experienced Learner Corp Comm Founder Bhumesh Verma likes to describe himself as “A law student with some experience- 25 years to be precise.” A corporate lawyer of International repute, Bhumesh has had the privilege of working with some of the best law firms for about 23 years. 2 years back, he took a leap of faith and started

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Bhumesh Verma Founder

Corp Comm Legal with an idea to provide world class services with a more personal approach.

He has mostly been associated with corporate and commercial transactions involving clients from different countries providing him an opportunity to work with the world’s best lawyers and other professionals and also cultivate his business development skills. His global network encompasses a large number of MNCs and foreign lawyers which came handy when he decided to venture out on his own.

channelize my thoughts - so far it has resulted in 3 books and 350 plus articles on various platforms. I’ve also conducted workshops/seminars on various topics and have trained thousands of students and professionals.”

He has been approached by institutions of great repute and publishers. He is also a guest faculty with leading law institutes. Conveying his insights to future lawyers by way of practical training in different aspects gives him immense pleasure and pride and a sense of being useful to the society.

For Matters Close to the Heart Advising the Start-ups Apart from running the law firm, Bhumesh is deeply involved in writing and teaching as he believes that it is important to share one’s learning. He says, “I am passionate about sharing my experiences and expertise with the fraternity. Writing and teaching provide me with the avenues to

Bhumesh believes that the Indian economy is one of the most happening and growing economies in the world with too much-untapped potential for economic growth. However, from a legal perspective, start-ups and entrepreneurs must be very careful

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about stressing on compliance from day one. In the garb of informality, there should be no scope for laxity. He suggests, “We have seen so many start-ups faltering in this aspect and entrepreneurs fighting among themselves if due care hasn’t been taken in the initial stage regarding watertight contractual relations, affixing rights and liabilities or taking care of statutory compliances.”

Defining Future Corp Comm Legal is very optimistic about the future. With so much FDI, industrialization in India and international trade picking up, it expects stupendous amount of business flows in near future. It is also strengthening its local and global networks to be more effective to tap business. It believes that its efforts should start fetching visible results in the not-too-distant future.

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The

Rising

LAW FIRM To Watch In 2019

JUSCONTRACTUS

W

omen Empowerment might be the talk of the decade, but just talks don’t bring change. They need to be backed by efforts and action. Carrying forward the idiom ‘actions speak louder than words’ is JUSCONTRACTUS - that India’s first and only all-women-law firm was established. It is a corporate transactions and dispute resolution law-firm based out of New Delhi which began with a vision for women to be ‘rain-makers’. The firm’s idea is to be an example for the creation of women businesses run by woman that are able to provide superlative services to the community as a whole.

An Ignited Mind Bearing the torch of change at the forefront is JUSCONTRACTUS’ Founder – Payal Chawla who has a distinguished legal career. The legal industry wasn’t exactly her first choice of a career as she recalls, “Going to law-school was driven by advice from my father rather than choice. But once at law-school, I knew, from the get-go, I had found my calling.” Now considered as a premier corporate lawyer across the country, Payal specializes in the areas of Arbitration, Commercial Courts and Insolvency.

She has served as a legal counsel for some very prominent corporate companies and is known in the industry for drawing up robust litigation strategies.

law firm that provides clients with comprehensive and efficacious solutions in a creative, innovative and resultoriented manner and in accordance with the clients’ business and/or litigation objectives. Primarily focused on disputes, it has an equally strong Corporate Law practice. They recently were involved in buy-out of Innov8 by OYO and have previously represented two selling shareholders in the Interglobe IPO.

“We believe in providing the highest quality legal services”

The firm takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously. It does a lot of pro-bono work for the poor and for the women. Payal is also the director of the Nani Palkhivala Arbitration Centre, a non-profit organization institutional arbitration body.

Accolades Law is a difficult profession. It requires tireless hours and a gestation of 15 to 20 years before gaining credibility – amongst judges, peers, and clients. With Payal’s expertise gained over years and the team with a fire within to prove their worth, JUSCONTRACTUS’ journey has been an amazing one. Since inception, the firm has been recognised and facilitated by several awards: l

Rising Star of the Legal Profession 2018 - IBLJ

l

Arbitration Law Firm of the Year India, 2018 - Corporate Live Wire Legal Awards

l

Rising Star of the Legal Profession 2017 - IBLJ

Impressive Services JUSCONTRACTUS is a full-services JUNE 2019

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Payal Chawla Founder

Amongst the Best firms to work with 2017 - IDEX l

Corporate Lawyer of the Year India for 2016 - Corporate Live Wire Legal Awards

Roadmap Ahead Being an industry professional, Payal advises the neophytes, “To familiarize themselves with Intellectual Property laws, Shareholder Agreements and Share Subscriptions Agreements with particular regard to their rights and pitfalls – such as Drag/Tag rights, Call/Put options, reserved matters etc.”

As for the Firm’s future roadmap, she shares, “Our future aim is to continue to build on the trajectory we started – quality over quantity. We aim to provide the best in class service and to be India’s top corporate disputes firm.”

Payal advises citizens to be aware of : l

The Constitution - one must endeavor to educate oneself on their fundamental rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and the constitutional scheme of the separation of powers.

l

Familiarize yourself with the difference between an Agreement to Sell and Sale Deed for immovable property;

l

Know about the basics on law of contracts and, benefits of alternative disputes resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration

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Company/Firms should familiarize themselves on basics of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy law.

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The

Rising

LAW FIRM To Watch In 2019

Samisti Legal

S

tarting a venture is an uphill task which must be conquered in a step-by-step manner. The first step in establishing a successful venture, entrepreneurs suggest, is recognising the need of the clients and capturing the requirement as an opportunity. While practising in a corporate set up in Hyderabad, Raghu Babu Gunturu and Prashant Jain noticed that a lot of clients in Hyderabad were being serviced by the firms from Mumbai. This arrangement of working remotely had its own limitation in accessibility and pricing exposing a clear gap in the market. It opened an avenue for mid-segment law firms to come up where corporates could get good professional legal advice. This realisation led the duo to come up with their legal firm christened ‘Samisti’. The literal meaning of Samisti is United or together. Justifying the name, Raghu says, “Whatever we do would like to keep our interest aligned with that of other stakeholders could be a client or an employee who are our biggest stakeholders.”

The Founders Raghu has over two decades of experience in corporate secretarial and legal services. He brings in strategic direction to the firm, mentors the team, challenges the status quo to better it, introduces new practice areas etc., Prashant Jain, an Advocate and a qualified CS, has over a decade of legal experience in niche areas of Corporate laws. He is a dynamic young professional, out-of-the-box thinker JUNE 2019

“Samisti continues to track and learn about evolving business models, best practices, and global trends in technology and changes in the legal landscape for business” with vivid and thorough knowledge on the subject. He has extensively worked on matters relating to Corporate and commercial laws, Forex, start-up/angel funding, Private Equity/VC Transactions, acquisitions, structure debts, Joint ventures, mergers, de-mergers, representations in NCLTs for IBC matters, M&A and O&M matters, and all kinds of business re-structuring, cross border investments, and capital markets. He has been sharing knowledge and insights on his core practice areas through the numerous speaking engagements for which he is invited from time to time. He is supported by a

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team which consists of interdisciplinary professionals like advocates and company secretaries who together leverage their knowledge, expertise and experience in providing quality legal services.

Services across Sectors The initial years were tough and were more towards laying a foundation. The subsequent years saw an exponential growth due to the good word recognised by clients and word of mouth publicity. The firm now renders its services not only to clients spread all over India but also to international clients engaged in diverse businesses.

Samisti has a great client base of wellestablished companies, institutional funded emerging businesses and has also been servicing start-ups and incubation. It has been doing decent work in transaction advisory for capital raising, M&A, Insolvency &Bankruptcy, and General Corporate Advisory.

A few characteristics which set it apart are a hands-on approach, deep involvement with the clients to understand their commercial intent, thereby adding value to the transaction.

Samisti also closely works with various overseas clients and has informal affiliations with overseas law and accounting firms. This has helped it to garner valuable insight into various legal and commercial needs of those clients.

Prepping for Challenges The firm believes that the legal industry is quite fragmented with

Prashant Jain

Co-founder & Partner

millions of firms and individuals practising and is facing many challenges. To sum them up: Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

Ÿ

The democratisation of professional services and technology are disrupting corporate law firms.

The traction gained by Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to impact the paralegal area and can be a big differentiator.

The pressure to rein in legal costs has forced law firms to diverge from the traditional billable-hours model.

Onboarding talented lawyers with the right skill set and the right attitude to work is quite often a challenge.

Given the overlap between accounting and law services, accounting firms are investing heavily in their legal service arms leading to increased competition.

Words of Wisdom Samisti regularly works with start-ups, incubators and accelerators and charges very nominal costs. Prashant advises them to ensure that while

focussing on their core business, they must give equal importance to the Legal and compliance needs. He says, “They must ensure that they avail Legal advice since the inception, make the right moves, have the legal documents in place in order to avoid any unforeseen complexities that may arise in future.”

Gearing Up! In the coming years, increasingly sophisticated legal technology will become a baseline expectation for the clients, with automated due diligence already making an impact on deals.

Samisti would be focusing on and investing more on this. It is prepared for radical changes in staffing profiles, recruitment, retention, graduate education and continuous development. The reality calls for a systematic approach to scan for potential developments and identify, embrace and pre-empt new entrants through collaboration and competition.

The firm is all set to go a long way with a clear vision and a futuristic approach.

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Firm’s view on the gap between Law Formulation and Law Enforcement We have fantastic laws, but poor enforcement continues to be cause of concern. The justice delayed is denied.

Particularly for businesses all decisions weaved around strategic and commercial considerations, the delay can have impact on profits.

Enforcement agencies need to think like a person who does the offence / crime, but act within the law. To make this all work, it is essential that a robust legal framework exists that allows law enforcement officials to work effectively and efficiently. This requires strong political will and it is the role of government to enact the laws.

Additionally, there needs to be careful investment in capacity building, data collection, investigative techniques, intelligence training and judicial training.

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