Though Indian law firms may not be 'so big' as compared to their global peers, such as Clifford Chance, Linklaters, Baker & Mckenzies but being trivial in size do not daunted them from setting their practice abroad to do business in the highly international markets.
It has been seen that Indian law firms are stiffly competing in the global arena for cross border deals and are therefore, setting up their offices in different international financial centres like Dubai, Singapore, etc. Some Indian law firms are going farther by opening their branches in Beijing, Atlanta and even beyond also.
In the month of September, Nishith Desai & Associates (NDA) became the first Indian firm to open its third foreign office in Munich (German), while, two other offices are opened in Palo Alto (California, US) and Singapore. The firm is interested to cater to the divergent needs of central and south Europe. India has significant trade and economic ties with other nations, like, Italy, Switzerland, Italy, etc., and the firm is interested to leverage on that. Mr. Nishith Desai, Founder of NDA, said that in order to operate foreign offices, it is required to have long-term commitment, resources and money before they can actually break even. He said that, foreign offices usually do not get success in the initial years but they help in adding long term value both in terms of clients reachability and in serving clients in a much better way. The firm has a long list of foreign clients, including some reputed names, like, SAP, Siemens, Bilfinger, Kion, etc.
Last year, Delhi-based Kochhar & Co. get the 'Gaikokuho-Jimu-Bengoshi' (foreign lawyer registration) from the ministry of justice in Japan to initiate its operations in Tokyo. Kochhar & Co. became the first law firm to get an authorization to start the business in Tokyo.
Kochhar & Co. has made its presence felt in Atlanta (US), Singapore and Dubai. The firm has opened its offices on all these locations. The founder and managing partner of Kochhar & Co., Mr. Rohit Kochhar said, that the company has a robust Japanese clientele base and is representing some of the leading Japanese corporations which are doing business in India. The firm is planning to expand its business by opening offices at more locations so that they can advise their clients on Indian law within their own time zone. Other companies which are having offices in Singapore are Dua Associates and Wadia Ghandy & Co.
Delhi-based firm Singhania & Co has made a remarkable presence in both the global financial centers- London and New York, while, Fox Mandal has opened offices in Bangladesh and UK. Also, relatively young law firm, Khare Legal Chambers has started its operations in Ohio (US) and Greece to cater to needs of clients from both the continents.
