So, Legally India sometimes gets mail, both electronic and physical, addressed by, presumably, a clueless intern searching Google for a law firm name and clicking the first link they see.

LI is therefore sometimes privy to some of the less public proposals law firms receive.

(Name of partner, magazine and law firm redacted - let’s call them Lex Legal & Partners - while magazine rechristened to Global Merger Stars.)

Dear [law firm founding partner],

Further to my email last week, would [Lex Legal & Partners] like to move forward with inclusion in [Global Merger Stars’] 2013 Q3 Review?

Heading into 2013 dealmakers were optimistic and predictions were that this would be the year when the transactions market went back into growth after five years of decline and that 2013 would close as the most active for private equity investment since the crisis hit. The uptick has unfortunately not yet been seen but M&A markets are growing and are set to continue recovery through the remainder of 2013.

Within this report we will be taking a look over Q3 as the period comes to a close. AI would like to invite [Lex Legal & Partners] to be included within this report as a leading player in India.

We have two options for you to consider. The first gives you a half page of coverage (approx. 500 words) and the second allows you 100 words of editorial coverage. I’m sure you will agree however that the first option gives more value for money, we do however want to ensure that we have a package that caters to all budgets and requirements.

Option 1 - £295.00 (500 word/half page inclusion)
• [Lex Legal & Partners] will be profiled as leading players in India
• 500 words of editorial content
• Inclusion of your logo, photo (if provided) and contact details
• Click-through links to your website and email address on the digital issue
• A complimentary hard copy of the magazine
• High resolution PDFs for your own use
• A 2 year digital subscription to [Global Merger Stars]

Option 2 - £200.00 (100 word inclusion)
• [Lex Legal & Partners] will be profiled as leading players in India
• 100 words of editorial content
• Inclusion of your logo, photo (if provided) and contact details
• Click-through links to your website and email address on the digital issue
• A complimentary hard copy of the magazine
• High resolution PDFs for your own use
• A 2 year digital subscription to [Global Merger Stars]

If you would like to go ahead with inclusion, please reply confirming which option and the applicable cost i.e. "option 1 - agreed at £295”.

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate in contacting me.  I look forward to your reply.

Kind regards

[…] - [Magazine]
TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY AND ARE VIEWABLE VIA OUR WEBSITE

You can view our latest issue [REDACTED]

The magazine’s latest issue, running to more than 100 pages, includes a full-page glossy advert by a virtually unknown Kolkata firm, two suspiciously one-sided reports of M&A deals with two of India’s largest firms (including photo, email and website in one case), while four Indian law firms, including one rather old-school solicitors firm, are cited as ‘contributors’, whatever that means.

For better or worse, advertising is forbidden for Indian law firms, numerous enterprises have been around for years to serve the demand.

Other than Global Merger Stars, which seems to cover every jurisdiction out there, many legal magazines targeted purely at India have similar business models and advertorial policies (e.g., expensive ‘subscriptions’ or advertising get you awards, interviews, coverage, and so on). 

One partner tells me: “We get stuff like this very often. Including from the big guys.”

Having spoken to a few partners about the phenomenon, the perceived value in such thinly veiled advertisement is apparently several fold.

1. Put a copy of the magazine your firm is featured in, into your waiting room for clients to leaf through.
2. Win an award from the same magazine a little while later, which can also be presented in the waiting room.
3. Be seen and increase brand recognition.

And although everyone more or less knows or suspects that much of lawyers’ coverage is paid for, mostly there is a tacit agreement of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’. And some of the more uncritical readers are even wholly unaware, suspects one partner who takes advantage of such ‘advertising’ services.

The US bar has long held that advertising can be beneficial for consumers and in increasing access to justice, if done in an ethical manner (though arguably the US has been somewhat unsuccessful on that front).

But it highlights what is ultimately the biggest problem with paid coverage and other pseudo-advertisements of Indian corporate lawyers: because local bar restrictions do not permit lawyers to advertise openly and in a regulated manner, lawyers who thirst for ways to get their brand out there have to resort to the murky.

And that can’t be good for the branding of India’s noble profession.

Full disclosure: Legally India obviously has a commercial interest in allowing law firms to openly advertise but the opinions expressed by the author, who is Legally India’s publishing editor, are personally and honestly held.

Picture by sludgegulper