| Mumbai legal firms feel outsourcing pinch |
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| The Hindustan Times 20/01/2007 |
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LAWYERS, JOSTLING for clients in Mumbai’s crowded courts, will soon become a thing of the past. Thanks to legal process outsourcing (LPO) firms that are ramping up head-count. LPO companies such as Inventurus, Pangea3 and Integreon have started massive hiring in Mumbai. Lawyers from traditional legal firms such as Amarchand Mangaldas, Nishit Desai & Associates are quitting to join LPOs for fat salaries. “We have had at least 25 people joining us recently from top law firms like Amarchand and Nishit Desai. We are planning to double the headcount,” said Sanjay Kamlani, CEO, Pangea3. LPOs are offering salaries as high as Rs 25,000-30,000 for an entry-level job.
Rishikesh Nair, a Mumbai-based lawyer, recently left a traditional firm to join an LPO. “My salary has doubled. I am also getting global exposure with an opportunity to specialise in patents and drafting M&A contracts” said Nair. “In traditional law firms, pay packets are very low,” he added. “The trend is just beginning. People are considering a shift,” said a lawyer at Nishit Desai. Despite repeated attempts, the spokesperson for Nishit Desai, was not available for comments.
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The big opportunity |
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Rs 11,000
upwards per
hour—Earnings of an American lawyer |
2,50,000—
Jobs that Legal Process Outsourcing can generate by 2010
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Rs 25,000
per month—Average monthly earnings of an Indian lawyer |
$3-4 billion—Size of Legal Process Outsourcing market
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Currently India churns out a million law professionals |
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Why are companies choosing Mumbai over Bangalore or Hyderabad? “Though the National Law College is situated in Bangalore, the majority of the law graduates who pass out from different colleges in India come to Mumbai to work with the traditional law firms,” says Nitin Gupta, President, Inventurus.
Sanjay Kamlani of Pangea3 agrees: “Being the financial capital, the concentration of lawyers is in Mumbai.” LPOs are also recruiting from law colleges such as Pune-based Indian Law Society and Symbiosis and Government Law College, Mumbai. Inventurus, promoted by Sachin Gupta, has set up a 400-seater office in Mulund.
It is planning to ramp up its head-count to around 1,000 from the existing 400. Similarly, Pangea3 is looking at setting up a centre in the suburbs.
Even stock market gurus like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala are fascinated by the potential of these LPOs. Last week, he invested $5.5 million in Inventurus. “The legal system in India can throw up high-quality graduates and I see a huge opportunity for companies in this sector,” Jhunjhunwala told HT. |
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