Indian law firms are setting up distressed assets, bad loans and restructuring departments to deal with an expected increase in such work in an expected economic downturn, reported Mint today.

Firms such as J Sagar Associates (JSA), Nishith Desai Associates, Wakhariya and Wakhariya, and FoxMandal would set up departments to deal with non-performing assets (NPAs), according to Mint, while Majmudar & Co, Economic Laws Practice (ELP) and ARA Law would beef up existing practice areas.

Mumbai-based JSA partner Dina Wadia told Mint: “With the economy slowing and key sectors taking a hit, we are expecting bad assets in the system to rise considerably… We have a strong presence in banking- and finance-related law mandates, and have now created a cell within the organization to handle these cases.”

An analysis done by the Mint in November of last year found that bad loans have risen fastest, quarter-on-quarter, in at least the past five years.

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