If I hadn’t done law, I would have been a doctor,” says the quiet and diminutive man sitting on a plush chair at the Mumbai office of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. (AMSS), the firm that advises the bluest of blue chips in corporate India. In many ways, Cyril Shroff brought medical precision to the practice of law at the family-run firm, one half of which he inherited.
Some who know the brothers closely say the situation between the two has not always been rosy. Sometimes, it was compared to the feud between the Ambani brothers especially when their mother came in for the mediation. When asked about it, Cyril laughs dismissively and says he has also heard this comparison.
For instance, On Wednesday, April 24, 2008, at 6:02 p.m., the Mumbai lawyers of Amarchand, the country’s supreme corporate legal minds who routinely dispense advice to clients worth billions of dollars, received an unusual email in their inbox. Paridhi Shroff, at the time the 18-year-old daughter of managing partners Cyril Shroff and his wife Vandana, had put out a firm-wide alert, a desperate plea for help from the lawyers who worked for her father. Paridhi was looking for someone to do her homework. Infographic: Minal Shetty
“This is a modified lockstep in the sense that if somebody is not performing as well as expected, they can be halted and if somebody is really performing well, they can be advanced quicker,” says Nick Jarrett-Kerr, a consultant specialising in strategy, governance and leadership development for law firms and who advised Amarchand on the overhaul of its lockstep “But even though the family share will eventually dilute over time, it will become a smaller slice of a bigger pizza.” Infographic: Minal ShettyThe move is welcome. Equity partners like L. Viswanathan and Ashwath Rau, both contemporaries of Guptan, feel the lockstep is a sign that the Shroffs want them to have a real stake and sense of ownership in the firm. They never left because they feel adequately rewarded, have strong client relationships that were allowed to develop and they maintain Amarchand is the best law firm to work for. “The legal profession in India continues to be dominated by individuals. Just like Jack Welch of GE dominated his space. But he didn’t do it at the cost of others — he was a giant among giants. You have to build other giants, “says Dinesh Kanabar, Deputy CEO of KPMG, India. Accounting firms like his went through similar challenges in professionalising about 30 or 40 years ago.
(This story appears in the 30 July, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
i would like to know of this esteemed firm imparts apprenticeship for those pursuing company secretary course,if so whst is the procedure??
on Nov 6, 2014It is really great post.Thank you.
on May 24, 2014I had worked with Amarchand at Okhla, New Delhi Office last 4 years' back and found that this Law firm is best. I worked as Executive Secretary in Patent Division and found the environment quite comfortable and satisfactory. Now, again I want job in Amarchand and consequently submitted my resume over their, but there is no response. during my tenure with Amarchand I worked hard and with satisfaction of my peers.
on Apr 4, 2013This is the best of the world, not only in India.
on May 3, 2011Considering that there has obviously been a fair amount of input in this article from the Shroffs, Forbes (and of course Shloka Nath, the author of the story) has done a fine job of producing this objective and balanced article. Despite the various pitfalls of the firm (some of the significant ones have been highlighted in the article), it is undoubtedly one of the best (if not the best) places to go to for (i) sound legal advise, and (ii) learning the art and science of transactional lawyering (especially if one is fresh out of law school). Sure the pressure is mind boggling and the hours often inhumane but it does teach you to swim in the deep end and stay afloat. Disclaimer: I worked in the Mumbai office (as part of one of the largest teams within AMSS- in terms of revenue and manpower) as an associate for 4 years. Quit because "80 per cent of the work is done by 20 per cent of the people" - you, smart reader, would have undoubtedly guessed that yours truly was part of the "20 percent"!
on Jul 28, 2010Well, Indian law firms lack professionalism and hardly promotes talent. Their is no steady career in Indian law firms whereas international law firms promote talent and respect individual lawyers. The argument that only 20% get the 100% work done is sham. In India the legal profession is highly monopolistic and promote cartel as understood in the logic given in opposing foreign law firm.
on Jul 26, 2010