Chicago based LPO, Mindcrest Inc., is now stepping foot into the real estate sector. The new practice group is expected to handle legal services for all types of real estate transactions. A Mindcrest release claims that ‘the real estate due diligence group will offer legal expertise in a consulting firm environment at competitive prices’.

Ganesh Natarajan, President and CEO of Mindcrest said, “The completion of large real estate transactions often is contingent upon quick completion of due diligence and the ultimate success of the deal often rests upon the quality of that work, with each transaction comes the burden of endless paperwork, short turn-around times, and stressful deadlines, sometimes in a distant geographic environment. Our teams of legal professionals are built to alleviate these burdens and get deals closed." Christine Brown and Blake Johnson, both formerly of the Clutch Group head the real estate practice at Mindcrest.

The outsourcing sector has off late seen an exponential growth, evidenced by the increasing number of law graduates that are turning towards them. Added bonus is the attractive salary and regulated working hours. Major players in the sector like CPA Global and Panega3, are looking to increase the sizes of their operations and have adopted aggressive strategies aimed at expansion and cementing their base in India.

Sanjay Kamlani, the co- CEO of Pangea3 told Bar & Bench, “This year, we plan to double our headcount from 350 to 600 or 700 and double that, in the next year. We are looking at a 100 percent year on year growth.” “Also looking at the current trend, we are seeing an increase in work from both the US and UK. Due to this, we are seeing an increase in our day to day corporate handling in terms of contracts, M&A, litigation etc.,” he added.

Recently, Integreon saw investment from Actis and last year, Pangea3 inducted two new honchos on to its board, while shareholders of CPA Global were planning to sell 25 percent of the company to raise funds. This increase in private equity activity within the sector and an expanding team size only indicates an aggressive growth strategy employed by the players in the segment.