From pay packages to partnership prospects, law firms are rethinking their approaches to attracting and retaining talent. George W Russell reports on the changing face of compensation and benefits in India’s legal market
What is an Indian lawyer really worth? “How long is a piece of string?” responds Shalini Agarwal, a London-based partner at Clasis Law. The short answer, say most lawyers, is whatever the market will bear. But there are a surprising number of factors that affect legal salaries in India.
Firms vary widely from large full-service combines in Mumbai and Delhi to nimble technology boutiques in Bangalore and venerable, if slow-moving, local firms in Kolkata and Chennai. “We have yet to achieve uniformity and standardization in the ways of law firm functioning and governance,” says Juhi Garg, the India partner at Edge International, a consultancy that advises law firms.
Until this standardization is reached, say consultants, Indian lawyers will continue to bemoan the relatively low salaries and retainers that make them so attractive to international firms keen on outsourcing legal tasks from higher-income locations.
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