Conversation with Raj Rani Bhalla Partner at Link Legal

Link Legal merged this year with Zenith India Lawyers to focus on its capital markets practice in its Mumbai office. Former SEBI Legal officer and co-founder of Zenith India Lawyers (ZIL) Raj Rani Bhalla joined as a partner in Mumbai office of Link Legal..You merged Zenith with Link Legal. How has the capital markets practice evolved in the new set up?.Raj Rani Bhalla: We are very happy to have taken the decision to merge. The effect of transition from a boutique firm to a mid size firm has been evident in the first quarter of the present calendar year itself (we merged with effect from 01.01.2011). We have been able to leverage upon the existing capabilities and relationships of Link Legal and utilise our experience in capital markets practice. We have further been able to expand the spectrum of services that we can render and can play a bigger role in our pre-existing assignments. We have also been able to reach out to merchant bankers who are involved in larger transactions..You have experience working with SEBI. How has your journey been on the other side of the fence (from the perspective of running a law firm)?.Raj Rani Bhalla: My experience with SEBI was quite enriching. I had a long inning of ten years with a lot of learning and responsibility at the same time. However, the journey of last four and a half years has been equally challenging & satisfying..Being the Managing Partner of ZIL, I was running the firm single handedly. Apart from the professional work and ensuring quality of service, there was a lot of work of administrative responsibilities. As an employee with SEBI, I did not have to bother about these matters. But as I said before, it has been a fulfilling experience and to be honest, if I did not have that experience, I could have never evolved as a good lawyer and got the recognition which I have been able to get in whatever small measures..Any interesting market trends that you have observed in the last year?.Raj Rani Bhalla: The capital market has been quite volatile. The Financial Year 2010-11 had its share of highs and lows. The BSE Sensex rose more than 17 percent in 2010 to be among the best performing major Asian markets this year. The second quarter of the year was when the market was at its peak, with most of the companies that were contemplating their decision of going public actually gearing up and filing DRHPs with SEBI. However, the last quarter was quite mild as compared to the other quarters. While the outlook is exciting in some ways, current domestic and international developments create a sense of uncertainty and might lead to intermittent impact on the markets. But all in all, the India story could be the driver..Click here to download the 2010-2011 report .Click here to download last years report.Click here for the interview of Sandip Bhagat.Click here for the interview of Madhurima Mukherjee.Click here for the interview of Ajay Vaidya.Click here for the interview of Arun Balasubramanian and Pooja Sinha