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Get out from the corporate world and come see how people throw money when humungous claims are at stake.
A not so known lawyer with decent Electricity Disputes practice easily earns more than majority of T1 EPs.
100 crore a year? No matter how high stakes are in the cases he is arguing. This is a lotttt.
Just take their per-hearing fee, look at the number of cases they appear in, adjust for pro bono cases, and add outstation fee (pre-covid) and conference charges, legal opinion charges, etc. You'll soon realise that even the senior advocates who are not as big as Salve are also making a crore a month, easily.
Even assuming other firms like CAM/SAM/AZB/Khaitan are bigger in size and revenue, the managing partner (who hold between 20-70%) just be making 30 crores max. This is after running a firm with 500-100 employees.
Some litigating lawyers in the country make that much alone - Harish Salve makes almost 3-5 times that amount with hardly ten underpaid juniors under him.
Isn't that interesting?
In Asst year 2011-12, his returned income was Rs. 28.84 crores. See https://indiankanoon.org/doc/120373345/
That’s a jump of 4 crores in a couple of years. In the 6 years thereafter, I would expect the jump to be quite a bit more.
Very interesting to note that in AY 1996-97 (when he would have been on the cyst of senior designation), his returned income was around Rs. 1.26 crores. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/168478889/
Applying the indexation index that is around the following amounts in today’s terms:
1996-97: Rs. 3.75 crores odd.
2014-15: Rs. 44.94 crores odd.
Note: this is returned income - professional receipts could be close to 1.5 to 2x that (because this is the post expense, post tax deduction claims amounts).
How much will they be making?
Below are some figures I know off, take with a pinch of salt as they are hearsay but from people working in CA firms who handle their filings:
At the best transactional firm the leading lady is at 60C+, the other founding partner is at 12C+ and the young gun at 14C+.
In Seniors the two leading commercial and one leading criminal counsel are all 50C+.
On the tax side (this really burns us as we are in same practice) the MPs of the two leading tax firm are 25C+ as is the ex MP of the third leading tax firm.
Unfortunately no stats on Delhi seniors but have heard numbers of ~3x of the leading Bombay seniors for the 3-4 leading Delhi names mentioned by other comments.
ND - is he a Bombay guy? Thought he is not.
The guy who shared these tidbits - some more.
RS the number was as of 1 years ago that I know. Also his work is still advisory and court practice lots of opinion work.
NDs tax practice is largely Bombay based.
LKS’ income is even more sizeable than the other two.
A criminal lawyer in Mumbai making 50 crore seems impossible for me. Have heard of many top trial lawyers making upto 2 crore. But a criminal lawyer making 50 crore seems impossible.
Also the transactional law firm lady making 60 crore should be a Tier 1 firm like AZB or Trilegal. Even in Tier 1 firms, making 60 crores seem impossible.
I work at one of the Amarchands (not being specific to disclose identity) because my father thinks exposure to law firm will give me an idea about organizational structures and to help me think larger than chambers. But yes, once you make it big as a law, the managing partners who hold most of the equity like a Cyril, Shardul or Zia do make in the vicinity of 50 crores per annum.
Though compared to what a good litigator with experience can make, it is honestly lesser. Especially given the fact that you're building upon a 500 people organization who are working day and night.
How can a civil Litigation lawyer ever make that. No matter how rich clients are.
Also this salary might be true in Mumbai/Delhi. But nowhere else.
PS: I haven't written 7.1
Also law firm revenue growth (for firms of this size) isn’t anywhere close to 32% per annum as you’ve implied using Khaitans 600Cr FY19 as base. It’s closer to 8-10% per annum on average.
Avg non-equity partner comp for Tier 1 Partners is 1.5C.
Re-do the math and you’ll get number much close to what the CA poster has suggested.
We are commercial lawyers, thoda commerce bhi sumjho ✌️
Something to put this in further context. AMS is an MP so he declares his assets.
https://myneta.info/interestbyrajyasabhamember/candidate.php?candidate_id=731
Please note that his TAXABLE income for 2016-17 was around 130 crores, which means his revenue for that year is easily 200+.
So all those who can’t believe the 100-200 crore figures, hope this gives you something to think about.
All these BVI entities were set up much before he bacame Queen's Counsel and it will not surprise me if many of the payments for the services provided to Indian clients are made through offshore accounts.
Harish Salve's name has also appeared in the Desai Papers:
https://www.legallyindia.com/convos/topic/179364-nishith-desai-associates-caught-in-india-s-panama-papers-dubbed-desai-papers
Quote:
Ashwath has tax issues. His old income is pretty public. Nowhere near 25 crores. Viswanathan makes about 20 crores, Akshay Chudasama 14 crores while Raghbir Menon is 10 crores.
AZB also gets Amazon pay:)
Harish salve 300 crores 40 lakhs per appearance
AM Singhvi 200 crores 20 lakhs per appearance
Zia / Cyril / Shardul not exactly sure but around 100 crores 10% of 1000 crores firm revenue
A M Singhvi is a MP u can check his ITR from public portal it was around 100-130cr half a decade back. He has heavy investments in multiple asset class, Recent ITR says earning is around 300cr 2024 but most of that is form return form Bond, debentures, Stakes he has taken privately in different companies.
Mukul Rohatgi 22cr a decade back. Not sure if income will become 10 fold in 10years but 50-60cr easily.