Law firms must move beyond personality-driven practices, build institutions: SILF President Lalit Bhasin

The future of the legal profession lies in institution-building rather than personality-driven practices, Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and Managing Partner of Bhasin & Co Dr Lalit Bhasin said at Legal League Consulting’s conclave on future-ready law firms and legal departments..“The future of the legal profession lies in institutional building rather than personality-driven practices....sustainable success today depends on governance structures, leadership continuity, professional management, and scalable systems across both law firms and legal departments. The focus is on long-term architecture, converting management models, accountability, succession and technology adoption,” he said..Bhasin was delivering the keynote address as Chair of Future-Ready Law Firms and Legal Departments: A Conclave on Rewriting the New Architecture of Legal Services, held on May 29..Bhasin also said that it was time for Indian law firms and lawyers to think beyond India and look at expanding overseas. He added that Indian law firms need not be anxious about foreign law firms entering India, since Indian lawyers can compete globally..The inaugural session was chaired by Legal League Consulting Founder and Managing Director Bithika Anand. She said that the relationship between law firms and corporate legal departments is no longer sustained by individual relationships alone.“It depends on how well the institution on each side is structured, led, and managed,” Anand said.The Conclave was hosted by Legal League Consulting’s CEO, Nipun K Bhatiaa. .The inaugural session featured DSK Legal Managing Partner Anand Desai; HSA Advocates Founder and Managing Partner Hemant Sahai; Head of Legal at Amway India Meera Singh; and RK Dewan & Co Principal Mohan Dewan..Desai said that culture is central to building a future-ready law firm. He added that law firm success is often measured by size and profitability, but the human and cultural side of the institution is equally important.“The mix of people you pull together is not based only on their ability to earn money or their professional qualifications or their experience or expertise in a certain area. But the feeling of being comfortable with each other, I think is pretty good," Desai said..Sahai said that the simplest way to define a future-ready firm is through resilience.“To be able to be resilient and future ready, I think one of the first tasks or qualities required for connectivity as well as leadership is the ability to predict or see future risks.".Dewan said that lawyers must be future-ready from the beginning of their careers. He added that good lawyers do not automatically become good managers.“You can be good at lawyering, you can be excellent in court, but you cannot become good managers.".Singh said that Indian legal departments have also evolved significantly and are no longer mere intermediaries between business teams and law firms.“Indian legal departments are no more postal offices."She added that legal departments now function like full-fledged law firms within organisations and outsource matters mainly when the risk is high or when specialised external experience is required..The theme of institution-building continued in Session II, titled Leadership, Ownership and Succession: Building Enduring Legal Institutions.The session was chaired by Inttl Advocare Co-Managing Partner Mamta Rani Jha. The panellists were Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico Limited; Prabhav Bahuguna, Partner at Bahuguna Law Associates; Rakesh Prusti, Group General Counsel at OYO; and Yogesh Wadhwa, General Counsel at Hyundai Motor India Limited..The session dealt with ownership, governance and generational transition in law firms, as well as leadership continuity and succession planning within legal departments.It also examined the impact of leadership transitions on client confidence and institutional credibility, and the need to develop the next generation of leaders on both sides..Session III, titled Emerging Law Firms – Building the Next Generation of Legal Institutions, extended the conversation to younger and smaller firms.The session was chaired by Sujoy Bhatia, Managing Partner at Chandhiok & Mahajan. The panellists were Prabhakar Kumar Tiwari, Associate Partner at KNM Partners; Ruhi Goswami, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Brookfield Properties; Sambit Swain, General Counsel at Vishal Mega Mart Limited ; Sameer Chugh, Chief Legal Officer at Games24x7; and Suhani Singh, General Counsel at Delhivery Limited..They discussed how emerging firms can differentiate themselves through depth, responsiveness and innovation rather than size alone. The discussion also spanned whether emerging firms score higher on responsiveness and partner involvement, and how general counsel assess whether a smaller firm can handle complexity, urgency and scale.