 "Want to protect company from family issues: Shardul Shroff & Pallavi Shroff")
It took six months of mediation and a legal battle before the country's largest legal firm, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co, split last week. In the first day at the new firm, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, executive chairman Shardul Shroff and managing partner Pallavi Shroff talk to Sudipto Dey. Excerpts:
Could you have avoided the mental anguish?
Shardul: When you have personal differences, these have to be flushed out. We have resolved the problems and structured ourselves for the future. The focus is back on quality. That is something I will be personally driving.
Shardul: It is through the structure of governance that you should look at the framework of a law firm. We have now created a new management board. Former Securities and Exchange Board of India head M Damodaran will participate in the board as an independent member, along with some other independent members. Pallavi and I will be the only two Shroffs on the management board, along with four other members (including two equity partners).
Then we have set up an operational committee at a level below. The management board is the policy board of the firm, while the operational committee will be headed by the chief operating officer (COO), who is a specialist in law firm management. The chief financial officer (CFO) and three regional managing partners will be part of the committee.
How different are you now from the old Amarchand & Mangaldas?
Shardul: We have decentralised. Also, there are many lessons in this. We have always been a gender justice firm, with 50 per cent women practitioners. As part of that recognition, Pallavi is stepping into the shoes of a managing partner. There has been a constant emphasis that we are a family firm. We do not believe we are, because we (the Shroffs) are only five people in a firm of, maybe, 400 people.
I am stepping away from day-to-day management and looking at the culture of the firm, aspects of relationship building, and issues around how we connect with the legal world. Below that, we will have three regional managing partners from Delhi-Gurgaon, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, and Kolkata-Bangalore. Each of the regional heads will be empowered. So, we are putting the succession plan in practice.
Besides this, to tackle paucity of time faced by practicing partners, we are bringing businesses managers into decision-making roles. This includes the CFO, COO, the regional group heads and managing partners. This will decentralise operations. Policy thinking has been segregated from performance-evaluating measures.
Pallavi: It is like having a corporate structure where there is a board and then another level of specialists managing day-to-day operations. The regional managing partners and practice heads will know what they need for training, development, and hiring.
Earlier all these issues went up to regional managing partners, but in a way power was centred around one person. With a committee looking at things, there is more interaction of ideas and dealing with issues on a real-time basis.
Is this structure based on any global model?
Shardul: We evolved it based on what we felt were our shortcomings. This is a blend of our own ideas and what we have seen in successful organisations. We need to have an agile board.
How important was it to move away from the perception of a family-run firm?
Shardul: We want to immunise the firm from any family issues. We are putting in a lot more effort into institutionalising the firm. We want to be an independent institution.
We want to play by an institutional framework, and not a family framework.
What is the size of the new firm in terms of the number of lawyers?
Shardul: We are 60 partners now with 350 lawyers. The talent game is on, and will go on for at least another six months. We will continue to hire depending on the cultural fit.
Pallavi: They should share the vision for the firm and approach to governance we have.
In 2017, the group's centenary year, where do you see the firm?
Shardul: I think the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole. We had contemplated this as a joint firm. What is likely to happen when you combine both Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is they will exceed 1,000 lawyers.
So where do you see your firm in 2017?
Shardul: I think by then we should be over 100 partners and at least 600 people. Instead of the one person-one crore doctrine, I want to follow the one person-one-and-a-half crore doctrine. I want to do more qualitative work, which is more paying, with less people.
What is your footprint across cities?
Shardul: We will have nine offices in six cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Bangalore.
Are you open to an inorganic route for expansion?
Shardul: We will look at all routes for expansion, be it individuals, groups of people, or a firm, as long as quality and the culture fit are there.
Would you look at having offices outside India?
Shardul: I do not want to look at offices outside India till the centenary year, that is 2017.
Pallavi: We will evaluate that when the time comes.
Could you have avoided the mental anguish?
Shardul: When you have personal differences, these have to be flushed out. We have resolved the problems and structured ourselves for the future. The focus is back on quality. That is something I will be personally driving.
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What are the lessons learnt?
Shardul: It is through the structure of governance that you should look at the framework of a law firm. We have now created a new management board. Former Securities and Exchange Board of India head M Damodaran will participate in the board as an independent member, along with some other independent members. Pallavi and I will be the only two Shroffs on the management board, along with four other members (including two equity partners).
Then we have set up an operational committee at a level below. The management board is the policy board of the firm, while the operational committee will be headed by the chief operating officer (COO), who is a specialist in law firm management. The chief financial officer (CFO) and three regional managing partners will be part of the committee.
How different are you now from the old Amarchand & Mangaldas?
Shardul: We have decentralised. Also, there are many lessons in this. We have always been a gender justice firm, with 50 per cent women practitioners. As part of that recognition, Pallavi is stepping into the shoes of a managing partner. There has been a constant emphasis that we are a family firm. We do not believe we are, because we (the Shroffs) are only five people in a firm of, maybe, 400 people.
I am stepping away from day-to-day management and looking at the culture of the firm, aspects of relationship building, and issues around how we connect with the legal world. Below that, we will have three regional managing partners from Delhi-Gurgaon, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, and Kolkata-Bangalore. Each of the regional heads will be empowered. So, we are putting the succession plan in practice.
Besides this, to tackle paucity of time faced by practicing partners, we are bringing businesses managers into decision-making roles. This includes the CFO, COO, the regional group heads and managing partners. This will decentralise operations. Policy thinking has been segregated from performance-evaluating measures.
Pallavi: It is like having a corporate structure where there is a board and then another level of specialists managing day-to-day operations. The regional managing partners and practice heads will know what they need for training, development, and hiring.
Earlier all these issues went up to regional managing partners, but in a way power was centred around one person. With a committee looking at things, there is more interaction of ideas and dealing with issues on a real-time basis.
Is this structure based on any global model?
Shardul: We evolved it based on what we felt were our shortcomings. This is a blend of our own ideas and what we have seen in successful organisations. We need to have an agile board.
How important was it to move away from the perception of a family-run firm?
Shardul: We want to immunise the firm from any family issues. We are putting in a lot more effort into institutionalising the firm. We want to be an independent institution.
We want to play by an institutional framework, and not a family framework.
What is the size of the new firm in terms of the number of lawyers?
Shardul: We are 60 partners now with 350 lawyers. The talent game is on, and will go on for at least another six months. We will continue to hire depending on the cultural fit.
Pallavi: They should share the vision for the firm and approach to governance we have.
In 2017, the group's centenary year, where do you see the firm?
Shardul: I think the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole. We had contemplated this as a joint firm. What is likely to happen when you combine both Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is they will exceed 1,000 lawyers.
So where do you see your firm in 2017?
Shardul: I think by then we should be over 100 partners and at least 600 people. Instead of the one person-one crore doctrine, I want to follow the one person-one-and-a-half crore doctrine. I want to do more qualitative work, which is more paying, with less people.
What is your footprint across cities?
Shardul: We will have nine offices in six cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and Bangalore.
Are you open to an inorganic route for expansion?
Shardul: We will look at all routes for expansion, be it individuals, groups of people, or a firm, as long as quality and the culture fit are there.
Would you look at having offices outside India?
Shardul: I do not want to look at offices outside India till the centenary year, that is 2017.
Pallavi: We will evaluate that when the time comes.