Foreign Law Firms Seek Talent, Acquisitions for Bigger India Play

Firms like DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie keen on mapping local corp legal professionals

As the Indian executive debates and formulates laws to allow foreign lawyers to practice here, big foreign law firms are scoping the market for talent and acquisition targets. Global recruitment firms that have so far remained fringe players in the area are beefing up their legal practices as firms like DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Jones Day and Gibson Dunn show interest in mapping Indian corporate legal professionals.

Foreign law firms at the moment are keen on identifying talent in niche areas synergistic to their existing clients with Indian presence or little law firms with low cost structures and small presence in major cities, said recruitment experts contracted by foreign firms almost on a quarterly basis for updated reports on Indian lawyers.

“Foreign law firms seem to be looking at lean operations and would not be looking to compete for domestic work, which is competitive and won't yield commensurate fees,“ said Premal Shah, founding partner of legal search firm FCL Search.The firm is in talks with several international law firms as they formulate their India strategy, he said.

Mails to the firms went unanswered.

Recruitment firm Options Group recently hired Dalfi Vakharia to develop its legal recruitment practice. The group will focus on providing strategic advice for mid-tier European firms in the Indian market, particularly in identifying niche practices or smaller full-service Indian law firms, said Vakharia, who now heads the legal practice at Options Group in India.

“We recently did a few assignments for global firms providing insights into ta lent availability, market map, price points, costs and compensation packages of legal talent in India,“ said Dhvani Anjaria, support function hiring practise head at Vito India Advisors. “Top law firms from US & UK are gearing up to enter India. The overall talent pool across top 10 legal firms in India is over 2,500 professionals,“ she said.

Foreign interest bodes well for Indian lawyers who have seen rising salaries since the country's largest law firm Amarchand Mangaldas split last year. A founding partner of a top 10 law firms said, “CAM (Cyril Amarchand), SAM (Shardul Amarchand), AZB competition for talent and work is resulting in higher people cost and lower fees.“ Entry of foreign law firms should infuse funds, rationalise and unify the corporate legal market.

Ironically, it is also the Amarchand split that most industry experts credit for the possible opening up of the sector.As the largest firm, Amarchand was vehemently against permits for foreign lawyers to practice in India. Soon after the split, the Indian Bar Council issued its acceptance to open the market to foreign law firms in a gradual manner.The Bar Council is currently working on regulation guidelines to allow entry.

Currently India-related matters of global clients of major law firms are managed from their international offices. If their competition opens a branch in India, global law firms must also do it swiftly as a counter competitive measure, said a senior partner with a global firm asking not to be named.

The Economic Times New Delhi, 22th July 2016

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