MV Kini managing partner Ravi Kini has started up a legal process outsourcing (LPO) firm in Mumbai in a joint venture with seasoned LPO NewGalexy to focus exclusively on foreign high-end infrastructure projects work while the law firm will transfer a number of its lawyers to staff the new entity.

Kini told Legally India that the new LPO, in which he held a 50 per cent stake, would be set up as a joint venture entity run independently from the law firm and could expand to up to 20 lawyers in future under the NewGalexy brand name.

“It provides LPO services in the infrastructure sector. We do a lot of infrastructure work here in India and we do have a lot of resources which we can put on deputation and can transfer some of that resource to the company,” said Kini.

He added that the work was “high-end” LPO work and senior MV Kini lawyers would work out of the office in South Mumbai’s Marine Lines area and recruit new talent.

MV Kini has around 80 lawyers in Mumbai, 50 in Delhi and a number of other affiliate offices throughout India.

NewGalexy had approached MV Kini about the opportunity and will hold the other 50 per cent in the joint venture, being responsible primarily for business development and marketing to US and UK companies in the niche sector, said Kini.

Sarvarth Misra, London-based director of NewGalexy that was established in 2005 and has several shareholders, said that contrary to the LPO’s existing business the new “strategic alliance” with MV Kini would be at “the higher end of legal outsourcing”.

Kini said that although his firm worked with a number of foreign law firms, he was not concerned about the new LPO potentially competing with foreign law firms for overseas legal work in infrastructure because MV Kini’s infrastructure practice primarily acted for domestic clients.