AHMEDABAD: The global legal industry saw a seismic shift last week, with the partnerships at Herbert Smith Freehills, widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most elite law firms, and top US law firm Kramer Nevin Naftalis & Franklin voting to approve a historic merger. The new entity will have 2,700 lawyers and an estimated $2 billion in revenue and 26 offices worldwide. While the merger may not impact the domestic legal industry immediately, top tier Indian law firms have also started taking baby steps to consolidate in a bid to create specialised giant legal entities.
Neha Sharma, Founder and Head of Avimukta, a well-known legal recruitment consultancy, says “What we are seeing now is a move back to safe, compliance-driven tier 1 firms which offer sustainability over longer periods of time. Indian law firms are also entering a critical consolidation and hiring phase, with top-tier firms picking up rainmakers from the market along with their teams.”
Sharma adds that this trend is not only about expanding headcount but strategically building capability in specialised practice areas. “Most leading firms are investing heavily in top-dollar talent to enhance their bench strength in niche sectors. Inorganic hiring is also proving to be a gateway for firms to enter or bolster verticals where they previously had limited presence. This includes hiring senior lawyers along with their teams and client relationships, allowing firms to absorb fully-formed practices overnight,” she explains.
Large firms now offer seasoned lawyers a platform with deep pockets and a longer runway to establish themselves before being expected to perform. “There is a runway given to top lawyers from smaller or mid-tier firms, who are on boarded by large firms with the understanding that the first year is for consolidation. This approach allows firms to strategically fill gaps in their service offerings by acquiring teams that are ready to deliver from day one,” she concludes.
A top tier firm which is creating a buzz in the domestic legal firmament is full service law firm JSA. Amar Gupta, Joint Managing Partner, JSA Advocates & Solicitors, says the consolidation is a function of the country’s economic growth. JSA has been on an expansion drive over the last one year He maintains that “as large and complex assignments become more common, the size and scale of law firms play a crucial role in execution. This consolidation is occurring through both organic expansion and inorganically through lateral hires and strategic mergers”.
JSA has on boarded seven equity partners through the lateral route over the past few months with most coming in with teams while also organically promoting nine of its internal retained partners to equity partnership, reflecting significant expansion. Prior to 2024, JSA primarily followed an organic growth model. Since last year, however, the firm has started inorganic growth which entails lateral hiring as well. What attracts lawyers to JSA, Gupta says, is not only the work culture but also the fact that it is a firm with no promoter family, and the compensation structure rewards merit and performance. “Over time, we have kept pace with the emerging aspirations of the new generation of professionals coming into the industry,” he adds.
The equity partners who have joined JSA include infrastructure and projects focussed partners Arun Kumar and Deepak Chowdhury who have moved from mid-tier firm Indus Law along with 13 other lawyers, mergers and acquisitions rainmaker Iqbal Khan from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas along with a team of 20 lawyers, Trilegal antitrust head Nisha Kaur Uberoi along with her team of 23 fee-earners, S&R Partner Divyanshu Pandey and very recently, Luthra & Luthra’s banking and finance partner Karan Mitroo with his team of 15 attorneys. Exults Gupta, “This speaks volumes for the success of our model wherein talent compensation is fair and transparent, based purely on merit and performance. Culturally too, we are more welcoming, collaborative and congenial.”
Another top tier firm which has been in a consolidating phase is Khaitan & Co (KCo). As Amar Sinhji, Executive Director puts it, “As a Firm, we have always been opportunistic when it comes to top flight talent. Our firm has grown both organically & inorganically (acquisitions). As Indian law firms rapidly become global in nature & operations, to be able to hold one’s own on the world stage, the future will belong to those firms that build scale and depth and back that up with the right culture.” He, however hastens to add that the firm will not target specific teams or destabilise firms to acquire lateral talent (especially teams).
“Most of our team acquisitions have happened because we have been the port of first choice”, he says KCo took a giant step not too long ago towards consolidating its well established labour and employment law vertical by hiring the entire team from Indus Law. The firm has also bolstered its employment practice with the addition of two partners Avik Biswas (L) joins in Bengaluru, while Vaibhav Bhardwaj joins the firm in Delhi. Biswas led the employment practice at Indus Law and was also a part of the leadership of the anti-bribery and anti-corruption (ABAC) practice group. And Bhardwaj brings over 15 years of experience in employment law, ethics, and investigations.
Similarly, rainmaker Manan Lahoty, a renowned capital markets specialist at mid-tier Indus Law moved en masse with his team of eight partners and 40 associates and his books to top tier Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) a few months ago. Industry sources say what possibly led to his exit is that it made eminent sense for him to join CAM which is known for its booming capital markets practice. As for CAM, they benefit by consolidating their cap market practice even further as Lahoty has brought with him legacy clients and books.
CAM has also been making news for being extremely aggressive in terms of lateral hiring. In the past one week itself, the firm has inducted Amazon senior legal counsel Anirban Mohapatra, a leading lawyer in the telecommunication, media and technology practice. In addition, the firm has hired corporate attorney Prajna Mohapatra from Trilegal, another formidable tier 1 law firm as partner in the M&A and private equity space. Prior to this, CAM hired the 7 member real estate transaction team from Luthra & Luthra headed by domain specialist Vaibhav Suri.
Similarly, in a big ticket deal last week, Nishant Singh, corporate partner with Luthra & Luthra with his team of 12 attorneys joined legal biggie SAM’s already strong corporate office in Mumbai. “In today’s dynamic legal landscape, consolidation through mergers and formal alliances is no longer just a strategic option — it’s a necessity for law firms aiming to remain competitive”, observes Hemant Batra, an expert on new ventures and growth in law firms and also author of the acclaimed “The Law firm Playbook.”
Anand Desai, Managing Partner of reputed law firm DSK, says as business grows and develops, top firms too will strive to expand their capabilities. In this scenario, it’s logical that firms will catapult partners with deep sector experience and who have nurtured strong client relationships into top positions. Domain knowledge is extremely important for clients who need to feel comfortable that the firm they are working with would be in a position to handle multiple deals at the same time, he adds.
Source: The Financial Express
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