Moreover, Indian law firms are looking beyond national borders, taking part in major international deals and working out arrangements for sustained work through referral and best-friend arrangements with international law firms. Some firms are even opening offices outside India, leading to a need for enhanced brand image. In many respects, a whole new legal profession is now emerging in India. Government-led reforms of the legal profession have also played a part in this flourishing process. The Ministry of Law and Justice has drafted a Legal Practitioners Act that will establish a Legal Services Board to regulate the Indian law industry, structured along similar lines as the Legal Services Board in the UK. In addition, the ministry has announced its intention to restructure legal training methods, to design and implement a world-class CLE system, and to help the industry become more professionally managed. “Liberalization” of the legal industry remains an official government commitment, with the authorization of LLPs in 2008 regarded as a tentative step in that direction.
Many firms find growth stymied by challenges in managing their talent, creating and implementing business strategies, implementing proper KM processes, and instituting business support functions.The future is not relentlessly bright, however — at least, not for the many Indian firms for which growth and expansion remain a dream. Many firms find growth stymied by challenges in managing their talent, creating and implementing busi ness strategies, im plement ing proper KM pro - cesses, and instituting bu s i - ness support functions. Not only that, but the prospect of liberalization is not universally welcome in the Indian profession. Many firms worry about the impact of liberalization on the industry, fearing that it may suffer the same fate as the country’s accounting firms. The Big Four have virtually annihilated independent accountancy professionals in India, and there is a widespread belief that the same would happen to lawyers should the market open up. Many law firms also remain cautious about setting up “best friend” alliances with foreign counterparts, believing that they could lead to the loss of referrals. International firms, for their part, have to consider the possibility of lost opportunities to build relationships with other local firms. The role of cultural differences and their impact on each party’s expectations of these relationships is also significant.
India and other emerging economies in Asia will continue to be attractive destinations for law firms from North America and Europe; their success in this regard will have a major impact on the potential benefit and future viability of their internationalization strategies.
ndia’s consumption-led economy continues to make the country a highly attractive investment destination in the short- to medium-term. Its domestic demand-driven growth mo del has helped and will continue to help the country weather vo latility in the global markets, providing significant growth opportunities to local businesses. Beyond the myriad concerns and challenges, according to Dun & Bradstreet, lie opportunities and a promise of growth: India’s economy is expected to grow to a staggering US$5.6 trillion by 2020 at current market prices, up from US$1.7 trillion in 2010–11. This continued growth should help law firms to prosper, driving a more profitable industry. India and other emerging econo - mies in Asia will continue to be attractive destinations for law firms from North America and Europe; their success in this regard will have a major impact on the potential benefit and future viability of their internationalization strategies.
So what can we expect from the Indian legal industry in future? Look for: • a clear distinction between the management and ownership of firms, with management responsible for firm operations and strategic business decisions; • firms that are more process-driven and professionally managed, with active participation by non-lawyers in management and ownership; • firms more focused on achieving real strategic growth, as opposed to the simple maintenance of clients; • a cleaner judiciary, with the enactment of legislation like the Judicial Accountability Bill 2010 and the proposed Lokpal Bill; • large and midsized law firms “percolating” down to smaller centers to cater to the demands of litigants there; • better-trained lawyers, with vast improvements in Indian legal education and the arrival of more national and international law schools; • a more litigious society, as rising literacy levels result in greater awareness of individual rights and a corresponding growth in lawsuits; • “first-generation lawyers” on the rise, eventually bringing to an end the tradition of law as a family-run profession; • increasing use of ADR techniques such as arbitration and mediation, as they receive unprecedented levels of recognition and acceptance in the corporate world; and • the ongoing march of liberalization, with the eventual entry of foreign law firms creating more and better lawyer job opportunities and an increase in the quality of litigation. •
