“Sometimes you have to be really high, to see how small you really are”
Thought-provoking words by the Austrian Felix Baumgartner as he stood 39 kilometres above ground and saw himself in comparison to the vastness of what lay below. As every wordsmith will know, an ability to conjure up such vivid images is invaluable for anyone looking to make a point.
A recent report from the World Bank – the latest in its Doing Business series – uses similarly powerful comparisons, albeit without the drama of a visit to the edge of space, to drive home its message about the importance of well-designed regulations and institutional arrangements.
Using information culled from more than 57,000 pieces of data from 185 economies, Doing Business 2013 once again reminds policy makers in India that the country trails others when it comes to the “ease of doing business” for small and medium-sized enterprises. India is ranked 132 out of 185 economies in the overall rankings and while it is an easy place to obtain credit (ranked 23 out of 185), only one country is worse than India for enforcing contracts: East Timor.
While comparisons such as this capture the imagination of many, will they influence investors who are betting on India’s market potential, or diminish any gains to be had from the recent relaxations in foreign direct investment (FDI) norms? As we detail in this issue’s Cover story, these reforms appear to be a step in the right direction for the Indian economy. However, a lot more may need to be done to boost investor confidence. “India requires structural reforms beyond FDI relaxations,” says Sumesh Sawhney, a partner at Clifford Chance.
Our coverage details potential hurdles for investors and includes specific advice, from Kosturi Ghosh at Trilegal, for potential investors in the broadcasting sector. While the aftershocks of the cancellation of telecom licences may be slowly receding, the corruption scandal that triggered the cancellations continues to haunt investors. The importance of getting to grips with the big picture before making investment decisions has never been so great.
One area where there has been little change in recent years is in rules governing lawyers in India. Law firms – both outside and inside India – are coming to terms with the market remaining closed to international players for the foreseeable future. In The end of monogamy? , we analyse what lies ahead for Indian and international law firms as alliances struck between them become a thing of the past.
Is this the end of law firm tie-ups and will firms be unhappy about forgoing the benefits they bring?
A corner of India that has remained peripheral to many developments in the legal profession is Kerala. All but one of the national law firms have chosen to bypass the state, which is dominated by litigators.
Yet, as we report in Waiting for its moment , change is brewing as younger lawyers look to grab a slice of the transactional work triggered by Kerala’s boom in real estate and retail, and of demand for legal services in the areas of intellectual property and shipping.
Can lawyers who are preoccupied with dockets and perfecting their courtroom skills advise on the nitty-gritty of a document? More importantly, does it matter whether a lawyer performs in a courtroom or a conference room?
Charles DiSalvo, a professor at West Virginia University and author of The Man Before The Mahatma: MK Gandhi, Attorney At Law, believes it shouldn’t.
Writing in this month’s Vantage point , DiSalvo reminds lawyers that questions about the worthiness of life as a lawyer are worth pondering. Pointing to Gandhi’s life in the law, DiSalvo suggests lawyers need to maintain a balance between making a living and serving those who are less fortunate.
Wise words to ponder, especially as we present the results of India Business Law Journal’s sixth annual survey of billing rates . Our work to lift the shroud of secrecy that surrounds billing appears to be paying off. This year we received submissions from 53 Indian law firms – up from 44 last year and just 25 in 2007, when we conducted the first billing rates survey.
Yet, once again India’s largest law firms are conspicuous by their absence. We hope this will not be for much longer, and many of their clients, it seems, are of the same opinion: A list of legal fees “will be very welcome and will give a fair idea of the rates across firms and engagement models,” says Shruti Dvivedi Sodhi, the director of legal at Colt Technologies. “Publishing rates will certainly be helpful,” adds Vivek Mittal, the legal counsel at Lupin Pharmaceuticals.
Our survey reveals that billing rates rose over the past 12 months for both senior partners and managing partners. This follows a fee sensitivity detected during last year’s survey and modest drops in fees for these more experienced lawyers. The rise this year may indicate that business confidence is beginning to rebound. However, it could also indicate that clients are willing to pay more for much-needed strategic advice.
Either way, we hope the survey will provide domestic and international companies with a valuable benchmark of the current level of legal fees in India. Unlike Baumgartner, we looked at the billing landscape with our feet planted firmly on the ground.
