Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) partner and Delhi deputy head Gauri Rasgotra will launch her independent boutique law firm early next year and is currently serving her notice period till January.
“I am starting a litigation office in Delhi, but we will be available for cases in other cities. Where needed, I will draw on the many contacts I have made in other jurisdictions,” she said.
She has been with CAM since 2015, and had previously worked with Khaitan & Co twice for almost 17 years in total. For almost three years she served as the first director at the George Washington University’s India Studies Centre between 2006-2009.
“I plan to start with a small team of fresh and mid-seniority lawyers. I do believe clients want their lawyers to be involved at every step and that is what I plan to offer. For expertise in their areas of law, I plan to develop professional relationships with other independent, experienced lawyers. We will review as we go along of course,” Rasgotra told India Business Law Journal.
She intends to use her own name, Gauri Rasgotra, for the new boutique firm.
Rasgotra believes that there are interesting, opportunistic and exciting trends in the commercial litigation space.
“Clients are very cost conscious today and want high quality at lower prices. They also want personal involvement on a day-to-day basis and not just a good draft or appearance in court. This, I believe, could open up some opportunities for someone with my kind of experience,” she added.
Litigation will be the initial focus for Rasgotra’s firm, but she is open to other practice avenues whenever they may be required. “I have been doing litigation therefore my core strength lies there. Litigation remains my passion. At this stage, I am not thinking of building other practice areas into my law firm. Nevertheless, I do not have a closed mind and I will cross new bridges when I come to them.”
She has 26 years of advisory and litigation experience in both academic and corporate settings. Her areas of interest cover commercial disputes including arbitration, white collar and other emerging areas such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
When Rasgotra joined CAM, she had the challenge of establishing a new office in Delhi. “It is combination of push and pull factors. I joined CAM with the challenge of setting up a new office for the firm in Delhi from scratch. Under the guidance and vision of Mrs and Mr Shroff [Vandana and Cyril], we managed to not only get the office going but also establish ourselves as one of the leading law firms in Delhi.”
She added, “CAM Delhi is today a full-service law office with over 250 lawyers. However, for some time now I felt that I needed a new challenge. This pushed me to think of setting up by myself.”
Rasgotra has advised various multinational companies on contractual disputes and corruption laws, working on privacy issues for international firms planning operations in India.
She also has addressed international conferences on issues for global law firms connected to the Indian legal framework.
