2010 The Year of the Entrepreneurial Lawyer

There could be several reasons compelling individuals or groups of lawyers to start their own firm, but it would be foolish to discount the most important factor – the entrepreneurial streak. De Facto feels that their risk-taking nature makes it easier for them to break away from the existing structure and start their own firm..When Rajiv Luthra, Managing Partner of Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, started his own law firm in 1989, he didn’t know that eventually his firm would be ranked as one of the best law firms in Asia. He had the option of working with some of the top law firms in India at that point, but chose to go it alone, and the rest, as they say, is history!.We often hear about individuals breaking away from law firms and setting up shop on their own. It has been a common phenomenon for decades in the West, and has recently spread into Asia. Many in India argue that breakaway firms are an effort to make oneself attractive bait for foreign law firms when the Bar Council of India (finally) decides to unlock its chastity belt. There could be several reasons compelling individuals or groups of lawyers to start their own firm, but it would be foolish to discount the most important factor – the entrepreneurial streak. Yes, the opportunities for growth in the Indian market today are tremendous. Yes, the risks of failure are lower than they used to be in the 80s and 90s. And yes, we have seen several success stories and people dream of replicating those successes. There are a hundred reasons why an individual makes the jump away from that secure, sweet spot in law firms clocking hours drafting documents; but never forge.t the fact that there are thousands of others who decided not to give up that cushy, secure, I-am-happy-with-what-I-have job..This brings me back to my original point on why some lawyers have corner offices with their names in the arc lights and why some land up just next to those offices, or waiting outside for a few precious moments of those dealmakers’ time. The ability to sell yourself and your work may the greatest virtue of a rainmaker, but it is also the defining trait of an entrepreneur. Their risk-taking nature makes it easier for them to break away from the existing structure and start their own firm. When David Boies left Cravath, Swaine and Moore- one of the top law firms in the US- in 1997, to start his own firm, Boies Schiller, because of a client conflict, some thought he was making a big mistake – leaving Cravath, the pinnacle of BigLaw? David Boies started his career at Cravath in 1966 and made Partner in 1973. He worked at Cravath for more than two decades before being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. In less than a decade, Boies Schiller & Flexner ranked amongst the top 50 law firms in the U.S..Few people know that Sir William Slaughter and Willam May trained at Ashurst (then Ashurst, Morris & Crisp). Slaughter & May, the elite ‘Magic Circle’ firm, was the result of their initiative and entrepreneurial spirit..Take a good look at the Indian market: S&R Associates, Phoenix Legal, Bharucha & Partners, ALMT Legal, Lexygen, Indo Juris Law, Argus Partners, SRGR Law, Ashu Thakur & Associates, ABM Associates, V Law Partners, Narsappa, Doraiswamy and Raja, Fidus Law Chambers… this list does not cover even a third of the law firms that have been started in the last five years..If you have been sitting at your desk, in front of that computer screen, for at least 14 hours a day, and every now and then you wonder – what am I doing? Why am I slaving away for someone else? Why don’t I take a chance, and start my own firm? It is time to take that leap and start talking to others in the same boat. The risk of failure is inherent in setting up your own enterprise. A lot of time, money and effort is necessary, but what is the absolute worst that can happen, after all? – You fail, and come back to square one. The upside, on the other hand, is great; you could be the next Rajiv Luthra or Zia Mody of the legal world, or the Senior/Managing Partner of the Indian operations of a mega international law firm by 2015..There is tremendous space in the Indian legal market for entrepreneurial lawyers, for niche firms, for new firms. There is also no time better than the present to take the plunge. Many of us have it in us to strike out on our own- to the ones who have the courage to do so, I say Bravo! To the ones who did not- you may wonder for the rest of your life: why didn’t I?!.De Facto is currently a lawyer practising in New York.