Slightly unrelated question, but as a to be A0 placed at a T1 disputes team in one of these firms not known for Mumbai disputes presence, will it hurt my ability to shift to a better team (team and firm, ig) in some time? ._. Was banking on the tag and learning enough to be able to make reasonably good applications elsewhere.
While it's true that the Bombay litigation scene is dominated by small firms, the ranking among Tier 1s would be: 1. AZB - It has a vvv shit work culture apparently though 2. SAM/Khaitan - They both have decent litigation practices (A partner from Dhruve Liladhar just joined SAM this year so I'm expecting their litigation practice to grow a bit) 3. CAM - Decent practice again but I'd say SAM and KCo are better 4. Tri - shit practice, just do thoda regulatory work
CAM and KCO have some specialists and some established players in Mumbai lit scene with sr. Partners. SAM and Trilegal are younger practices and have limited court exposure.
I know for a fact that KCO has a partner specialising in securities and another in White Collar crime who are quiet good to work with.
CAM has the biggest practice among the tier 1 firms. AZB has excellent work (probably the best), but the volume isn't as much as CAM and will never be. But the work distribution and work culture in AZB are appalling [...] which is why most leave after a couple of years. There is no proper team structure so it's all very haphazard. CAM has a better team structure and is more organized. The balance is also better. But if you want to do a little bit of everything, learn quickly and can discard your dignity, AZB is your place.
SAM and Trilegal are still upcoming in lit and the teams aren't very stable. But they do get great work.
The real picture is that a lot of importance to face value, so Mumbai Lit is dominated by independent counsels, litigators and the smaller firms dominate because of cost factor.None of the big T1s like CAM, SAM etc have a great practice or name to boast of in Mum lit scene.
AZB is definitely much ahead than other T1 law firms. AZB Mumbai does matters all over India - Mumbai, Chennai, Allahabad, Delhi etc. Rajendra Barot is Senior Partner. Ofc there are typical A-holes in the team who know nothing but to scream, that shouldn't be taken as a negative since A-holes can land up anywhere and can also leave (or be asked to leave) at any point in time.
The Mumbai market seems to be dominated by small firms, for some reason.
1. AZB - It has a vvv shit work culture apparently though
2. SAM/Khaitan - They both have decent litigation practices (A partner from Dhruve Liladhar just joined SAM this year so I'm expecting their litigation practice to grow a bit)
3. CAM - Decent practice again but I'd say SAM and KCo are better
4. Tri - shit practice, just do thoda regulatory work
I know for a fact that KCO has a partner specialising in securities and another in White Collar crime who are quiet good to work with.
SAM and Trilegal are still upcoming in lit and the teams aren't very stable. But they do get great work.