CMS IndusLaw is the first arrangement between a foreign law firm and an Indian law firm following the opening up of India's legal market.."This is an exclusive arrangement between CMS and IndusLaw and all CMS work will go to IndusLaw," said IndusLaw co-founder Gaurav Dani.In this short interview with Bar & Bench's Pallavi Saluja, Dani talks about the new arrangement with CMS, the factors that drove this tie-up, how it gives them an early bird advantage in the market, and more. .Pallavi Saluja (PS): IndusLaw is joining CMS. What prompted this development? Did the firm already have an existing relationship with CMS?.Gaurav Dani (GD): We were working closely with CMS for the last few years. The economy is growing fast, Indian clients need that depth outside India. CMS’ international clients need more depth here as well. CMS has a big team of 8,500 lawyers and 1,400 partners across 70-80 cities - that global footprint was a big factor for us to join CMS. Every CMS member firm in every jurisdiction is well known for its services. Another very important factor for us is culture. We wanted a good culture fit as an organisation. .PS: Did the recent exit of multiple Partners from IndusLaw speed up the process?.GD: No. The conversations have been going on for a while. It’s been a two-year process. The Partner exits have nothing to do with this development..PS: Why did you decide to go with CMS, specifically?.GD: We were keen on joining CMS because of their Swiss verein model, since we don’t have to compromise on our independence. Our remaining independent as a law firm is very important to us. We also went with CMS because of the culture; they have a very big footprint in Europe. .PS: What are the synergies you see with CMS?.GD: Synergies are across practices. As I mentioned, CMS has a big footprint in Europe. With the economy growing, clients are looking at that geography. We can offer seamless services for that, particularly on Indian laws. Any work CMS does in India has to go through IndusLaw. It’s an exclusive arrangement..PS: What changes will we see at IndusLaw?.GD: The firm will continue to grow independently. We are already a full-service firm, but we need to deepen the capabilities across practices. With increased demand from CMS, we will need to improve our capabilities and add more people across practices and geographies, because we are catering to a very large client base now..PS: With the new BCI Rules, how do you see IndusLaw competing with international firms coming to India?.GD: We are very happy with this arrangement. With the new BCI Rules, more foreign firms will be coming to India, which will be good for competition. It will open up the legal market. We are poised to be the third largest economy in the world, so the legal industry has to grow and has to keep pace with the growth of the economy. Our arrangement with CMS is independent of the BCI Rules. This timing is what we thought was right for us, and the BCI Rules have further opened up the market. Our timing gives us an edge. At this size and scale, we are the first firm from India to do this. Even from a foreign firm perspective, CMS also got a large Indian firm. It definitely gives us an early bird advantage in the market. .PS: Do you see more Indian firms taking this route of collaborating with foreign firms?.GD: Yes. Now that the BCI Rules have also opened the window, it definitely paves the way for more such arrangements. .PS: Your thoughts on the BCI Rules?.GD: It’s a welcome change. There needs to be some more clarity in the way they want to operationalise it, but definitely, a lot more foreign firms will be looking at entering India in some form.
