LPO News

A full-blown war has erupted in the Indian legal industry with the entry of the foreign firms seeking talent in the labor market.

Firms like Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy are aggressively recruiting talent and salaries have substantially increased across the cities of India. This has pushed large domestic law firms to increase pay-outs in form of significant salary hikes some going up to even 100%. Law firms that are not giving out ad hoc increment immediately are giving year end bonuses and promotions. Current regulations do not allow foreign firms to open offices in India, but that does not stop them from recruiting attorneys for their foreign law offices.

It also appears that this is going to be the state of affairs for the times to come. A large percentage of policy and decision-makers in India are law graduates, and the advocate lobby is very strong in India. Forbes.com published an article by Mr. Cyril Shroff, one of the partners at Amarchand Mangaldas, a strong voice against Liberalization.

The Bar Council of India recently removed the restrictions placed on lawyers against advertisements, in a recent announcement. The BCI, constituted under the Advocates Act of 1961, to regulate the nature of legal practice in India and the state bar councils have passed a resolution on January 28, 2008, agreeing to amend the Rules of Professional Conduct and Ethics to enable lawyers to disseminate information on their qualifications, areas of specialisation, standing and skills only through websites.

Geetnath Ganguly, the executive chairman of the State Legal Aids Services, West Bengal, expressed:

I think this move was much needed to keep pace with global changes, the changing nature of legal services and the legal process outsourcing business. In today’s context, global exposure is mandatory and if lawyers can advertise their legal proficiency through websites, their prospects will only be enhanced.

What does this spell for the Legal Process Outsourcing Industry? Fresh law graduates can expect salary hikes in the face of an overall increase of wages in the industry. However, the caveat is that change in the industry might end up hurting the small and medium-size segment of the industry, as they might not be able to keep up.

Says Rohan Dalal, managing director of Mindcrest:

In our industry, entry-level salaries have risen by over 50 per cent over the last two years. Though it is a challenge to maintain profitability given the steep rise in wages, we are also getting better rates from our clients.