Ques: There has been mounting pressure from members of the WTO for opening of the legal services sector in India. On the other hand, there has been a strong apprehension of the Bar Association of India and particularly the Bar Council of India in permitting foreign law firms to enter India as according to them, it may lead to the shrinking of opportunities available to the domestic lawyers. What is your opinion on this?

Ans: We are the only major Indian law firm to repeatedly go on record saying that we would welcome a market opening up. It would help enhance the level of services provided to corporate India. We believe in delivering value to our clients and such a move would force us to achieve even higher quality. It will also provide better opportunities to professionals.

Ques:  According to you, should legal advertisements be allowed in India?

Ans: If the legal services market opens up to international competition, it would only make sense to ensure firms play on a level field and let domestic players advertise too.

Ques:  As one of India’s largest law firms, how do you continue to attract and retain lawyers in the legal market?

Ans: We put a great emphasis on attracting and retaining talent. Our internal policies are framed around flexibility given to our resources and bespoke career paths to meet individual aspirations.

Ques: What is the vision of your firm and where would you see it five years from now?

Ans: We do not necessarily aim at achieving a specific numerical target. Our priority is rather to concentrate on our people and on technology in order to deliver the best quality of services. Agility and flexibility are two keys to our approach because we constantly want to meet clients’ demands and anticipate markets’ evolution. We are known in the market to be trend setters and being ahead of the curve.

Ques: Can you tell us something about the management structure and decision making process at Khaitan & Co.?

Ans: We have an open partnership (98 partners today) and a management committee elected by the partners. The management is also advised by in-house professionals who are non-lawyers, and specialists in their respective fields. We ensure each partner is empowered with responsibilities, based on his/her forte and aspirations.