Newsletters

Moily on foreign firms, league tables and law firm movers and shakers in this week's newsletter.

Natural wastage is one of those great euphemisms that UK and US firms have been fond of during the downturn. Lawyers leave for various reasons, do not get replaced and the firm saves costs (and face) by avoiding lay-offs.

Law schools, law firms and law-related businesses are mushrooming all over the place these days as India does one of the things it does best: building enterprises.

Law firms have been seizing the week of Lord Ganesha's birthday to do many interesting things.

Luthra & Luthra has called the bottom of the slump, painting a longer term picture of where the law firm market as a whole may be headed.

Trilegal co-founding partner Anand Prasad is candid about the fact that the firm has lacked significant expertise in capital markets but the firm may be on a path to plugging that hole - and others.

For most lawyers it has been business as usual this week despite much of India descending into swine flu panic, today's streets being awash with Hindu god Lord Krishna's birthday celebrations and Independence Day national holidays tomorrow.

Deals still need to get done, after all, and there are plenty of sides to be acting for.

Indian law firms are famously enamoured with the letters of the alphabet. But is it rubbing off on the Indian tax office?

After a near-hiatus for almost one year the IPO pipeline has finally filled up this July. No company wants to be left behind by the cheap cash-for-equity gravy train, the gold rush now appears to be self-sustaining – at least for the time being.

The distribution of spoils among Indian law firms is likely to be less even-handed.

Late salary payments are nothing new for some lawyers.

"It's a regular feature at some firms and the reason is that the managing partner might not feel like signing cheques on some days," muses one Delhi partner.

It is hard to establish to what scale Indian law firms have laid off associates during the down-turn.

One thing is clear though: the domestic war for talent has begun to heat up again, especially as foreign firms have lost buying power after a tough year of retrenchments and falling profits.

Read a sumary of the last week's news, featuring comment on the taxed lawyers, LLP conversions, deals and more. To receive the next newsletter straight to your inbox for free, sign up below:

The 2009-10 Union Budget received a frosty reaction from the business community this week: investors reacted by selling and lawyers reacted by doing what they do best: threatening to file law suits and, err, going on strike.

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AZB's best friend Clifford Chance officially ceased being the world's largest law firm this week, falling several places behind Freshfields, Skaddens and Baker & McKenzie. And Linklaters is still to announce its results today.

For better or worse, law firm turnover competitions do not take place in public in India despite Clifford Chance blaming AZB a tiny bit for its turnover drop. Things could be changing though.

Our fourth newsletter has details on JSA's South India strategy as well as stories on lots of other legal entrepreneurs. Enter your email name and email address below to receive the next issue straight to your inbox:

Much of India is suffering under the delayed monsoon so badly that many economists are talking of revising growth forecasts downwards...