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New Kolkata LPO: JV between Khaitan partner, US Co

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO)


Kolkota_bridgeKhaitan & Partners managing partner Niloy Pyne is launching a legal process outsourcing (LPO) company of up to 35 lawyers in Kolkata in joint venture with a large US health insurance and BPO provider.

The LPO will start operations within two weeks to a month and will be called E Lex Solution.

The LPO will be majority-owned by the New York-headquartered Fox Insurance Company, according to market sources.

It is understood that the health insurance company also runs business process outsourcing (BPO) operation CF-Health in Kolkata, which currently employs around 150 people.

Pyne confirmed that he would own 25 per cent in a joint venture with a New York-based US healthcare company, although he declined to confirm the US company's name before the LPO's official launch.

He said that the LPO would tie in closely with the US company's existing BPO business in Kolkata, which currently receives significant work from its US parent insurance company.

Pyne explained: "They have approached me that they want to have a full fledged LPO facility.

"We are targeting the healthcare sector in the US, which is where this American company specialises but we will have a full-service LPO facility," he added. "The best thing is that this healthcare company, and we would be straightaway getting all of their legal work under American law."

However, he noted that in future he would expect that E Lex Solution also worked for other foreign healthcare sector companies and law firms.

The LPO would consist of 30 to 35 lawyers by the time of its launch, he said, and that 25 lawyers were currently "more or less on board".

"The BPO facility which is already existing, they already have seven to eight lawyers most of them from NLS Bangalore and one or two from NUJS [Kolkata]," he said. "I am in charge of recruitment and have personally looked at another 10 people and another 10 external associates who are having a practice at the bar in Kolkata - we'll be using them as of counsel."

Pyne said that he would definitely continue as a partner of Khaitan & Partners despite the law firm presently not being directly involved in the LPO venture.

Khaitan & Partners was started up by Pyne with a licence to use the Khaitan name from its sister firm Suman Khaitan & Co in Delhi.
Photo by: Dipanker Dutta

Comments (23)Add Comment
NB: The comments below are the personal views and opinions expressed by readers and are not those of Legally India. If you believe a comment is inappropriate, please send us a message with your objection and contact details and we will review it as soon as practicable.
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#1Prabir Sengupta
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 12:45
Does this mean calcutta is finally on the LPO map in a proper way ? I dont think there has been such a big tie-up in the legal field in along time. Lets hope and see if it clicks.
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#2Ujjwal Roychowdhuri
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 13:01
Are they only looking at national law school graduates or others also have a chance to get in ?
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#3Anusha Mittal
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 13:18
I have been part of one of the biggest LPOs in the country and I can vouch it will be impossible for Pyne to run it without being totally involved. Having one foot on the Khaitan Partners boat may not be practical. Otherwise, scope is unlimited and Pyne has the right credentials to run this show.
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#4Ruchira Gupta
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 13:37
Would this LPO only have office in Kolkata or other parts of the country as well ? Can one have some idea of the package etc ?
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#5...
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 14:08
Niloy can be only as good as his team. Are there that many expert lawyers in kolkata in lpo field ? It appears to be a very big venture. All the best anyway !
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#6...
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 14:44
Hi, I am a French paralegal on deputation in a New Delhi law firm. Would want to have an exposure in LPO in India. Will this LPo take foreign lawyers in their Indian office ?
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#7Manoj Singhvi
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 14:58
LPO business is catching on very fast but one would want to know what is the stand of the Obama administration on this issue. They are principally against outsourcing . Is this new LPO looking at business from outside US as well ? If such a large American company has shown interest, they must have done their homework, and prospects appear to be bright.
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#8Aroop Sen
written by Anonymous, 09 January 2010 15:04
It is not clear from this article about the exact specialisation of the LPO. Normally LPOs cant be full-service as in law firms. And it may not be possible for a LPO to survive only on medico-legal expertise.
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#9Shyam Mohapatra
written by Anonymous, 11 January 2010 01:05
Coming from Bhubneshwar, I can vouch this place is totally unexplored either by law firms or lpo. Only FoxMandal has some existence. There are great prospects though. I had interacted with Niloy Pyne quite extensively in some mining matter few years back and if he reads this and remembers me, I request him to open a branch here. I bet he would not repent. But anyway he will have quite a few CVs to look at from this part of the country as soon as he opens shop. There are excellent young lawyers here without proper opportunities. If Calcutta can get such a major break in this field, why should Bhubneshwar / Cuttack lag behind !
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#10Khaitan & Partners started by Mr. Niloy?
written by Anonymous, 11 January 2010 11:37
Hi,

Khaitan & Partners started by Mr. Niloy? Please confirm it as I am not sure.

Thanks
Ex-E'ee
Suman Khaitan & Co.
(Khaitan & Partners)
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#11...
written by Anonymous, 11 January 2010 15:05
# 10 may be right. The Kolkata office of Khaitan Partners was started by Niloy Pyne. The firm was already in existence though I think they were operating as Suman Khaitan & Co and the name Khaitan & Partners was not used earlier.
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kianganz
#12Moot point
written by kianganz, 11 January 2010 15:11
@10, 11: I think you are both right, the partnership structure between the firms is a bit complex and it will depend on interpreration what constitutes starting up/new firms/etc.

See story: "Khaitan & Partners was started up by Pyne with a licence to use the Khaitan name from its sister firm Suman Khaitan & Co in Delhi."

And more details here:
http://www.legallyindia.com/20090802120/Law-firms/Khaitan-Partners-in-office-move-Confident-in-Kolkata-s-revival
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#13Legal Dodo
written by Anonymous, 11 January 2010 19:12
"The best thing is that this healthcare company, and we would be straightaway getting all of their legal work under American law." If this article is a puff piece to promote a new venture - fine. However, if Niloy means what he said, then he needs a reality check here. In fact, quite a few reality checks:

Reality Check No. 1 - There is no way you can start an LPO and "straightaway" start getting "all legal work under American law." God forbid if you do - it will be a total disaster. To my knowledge, no Indian law school/college teaches you the basics of US law. The gestation period for any one to get a reasonably good grip over US law and procedure is pretty long. Even the best grads from the better law schools need supervision and training before they can independently handle US legal issues. All of Niloy's experience and expertise too may not be enough here. For example - can this new venture draft a motion to compel document production before a California state court if it were asked to do so? It's a snowflake's chance in hell that they will be able to do it on day one - even if they hire the entire new batch of NLS and NUJS.

Reality Check No. 2 - If you are starting an LPO with 30-35 lawyers - as the article claims - the chances are that you are aiming for low end, volume intensive work. Probably this is all that Niloy's new venture will land up doing, given that it is tying up with a BPO. Pray - why do you need NLS or NUJS grads for that? This type of work does not even require lawyers. Smart English grads will do. Also, it's wishful thinking that he will get NLS and NUJS grads in such numbers. Hiring any NLS or NUJS grad for doing low end work is bad financial planning too, given the salaries these kids command.

Reality Check No. 3 - No matter how dexterous you are, it is impossible to have parallel careers in the legal industry. Being a partner in a law firm is itself a challenging proposition. Launching a new LPO will require your full time attention too. And if you have no prior experience in the legal off-shoring field, the chances are that you will make more mistakes than the right decisions.

I have nothing against Niloy and wish him well in his new venture. It's just that he should be careful of not falling into the trap of believing that there is a ton of easy money to be made in the LPO industry and that his law firm credentials and capital investment will ensure his new venture's success.
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#14hmmmmmmm
written by Anonymous, 12 January 2010 10:24
@Above post

You think LPO work is so easy? DO you have any experience in this filed my dear friend? If not then do not make such comments. If yes, then you need to work harder.

Can a graduate draft agreements and contract? I dont think so. Now dont tell me in LPO there is not drafting and no real legal works.

When big firms like Allen & Overy, Clifford chance outsource their work to LPO, are they fool?
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gyan
#15hi
written by gyan, 12 January 2010 23:06
wish you all the best Mr. Niloy

10th & last one is posted by me. Looking ahead to see the views of others

thanks
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debjyoti
#16Contact Information
written by debjyoti, 17 January 2010 22:28
Dear All,

Can you kindly provide me with the contact information of this new LPO or the valid e-mail id of Mr. Pyne.

I am looking to relocate to Kolkata and I would appreciate your help.

Regards,

Debjyoti
BBA.LLB
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lawyersoumendeb
#17soumen
written by lawyersoumendeb, 22 January 2010 01:53
congratulation and best wishes Niloy.The wonderful thing about game of life is that winning and losing are temporary unless you quit.
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#18Saurav
written by Anonymous, 27 January 2010 10:14
Great going Niloy. All the best for this venture.
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#19PANKAJ PARNAMI, DIRECTOR, KPO CONSULTANTS
written by Anonymous guest, 30 March 2010 11:19
Irrespective of the nature of work Niloy wants to do in Kolkata, I would congratulate Niloy for begining the journey with LPO initiatives. We have been receiving several queries from that part of the country to help entrepreneurs establishing their LPOs and I believe, Kolkata has got lot of potential with trainable manpower to work. I wish Niloy going ahead rapidly with this project. Providing training on US laws is not at all tough. We do that, by the way. Learn more at www.kpoconsultants.com and get connected. Thank you.
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#20Apurv Majumdar
written by Anonymous guest, 31 March 2010 05:05
Hope the training of the lawyers is done properly. No laid back attitude please or else you will spoil the game.
Suggest that you take in people with prior LPO experience at the higher level.
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#21...
written by Anonymous guest, 20 April 2010 17:38
People are Laid Back in Kolkata..No offnce please!so dont knw how is it goin?Law firms in Kolkata have a miserable and Oldie Look..Mumbai , Delhi , Blore law firms are way ahead with gud packages and fresh talent!
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Iyengar
#22Sri
written by Iyengar, 30 June 2010 18:59
For any entity to carry out LPO be it a Law firm, IT company it is essential that there is a proper balance of two aspects 1) Domain Knowledge and 2) Operational Capability. This is in addition to a very strong IT infrastructure. My experience has been IT firms do not appriciate the importance of domain knowledge and the Law firms are not sensitive to operational requirement / processing.

The key here is Legal Process Offshoring it is the Processing of the Legal knowledge that holds key to success.

It is also essential to bear in mind the future of such legal resource working in a LPO. My fear has been that a lawyer working in a LPO may lose the skills of Advocacy, the future of such legal resource must be enhanced by continious process of training and providing a wholistic knowledge.

I wish Khaitan & Co all the very best in their new venture and profitable venture.
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#23...
written by Anonymous guest, 31 July 2010 23:51
Whoever has written the 10th one must know that his conception of the kind of work performed in a LPO is not at all clear.... there is actually very little involvment of American laws in the work u r expected to do?
All it needs good communication and written skills in English... Even a 10th passed can do it....
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