Law Firms in Delhi

 

Law Firms in Delhi

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals and corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to present clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and in other matters in which legal advice and other assistance are sought. There are a number of law firms in Delhi and Counsel Quest ranks as one of the top most law firms among them.

Arrangements

Law firms are organized in a variety of ways, depending on the jurisdiction in which the firm practices. Common arrangements include:

Sole proprietorship, in which the attorney is the law firm and is responsible for all profit, loss and liability;

General partnership, in which all the attorneys who are members of the firm share ownership, profits and liabilities;

Professional corporations, which issue stock to the attorneys in a fashion similar to that of a business corporation;

Limited liability company, in which the attorney-owners are called "members" but are not directly liable to third party creditors of the law firm (prohibited as against public policy in many jurisdictions but allowed in others in the form of a "Professional Limited Liability Company" or "PLLC");

Professional association, which operates similarly to a professional corporation or a limited liability company;

Limited liability partnership (LLP), in which the attorney-owners are partners with one another, but no partner is liable to any creditor of the law firm nor is any partner liable for any negligence on the part of any other partner. The LLP is taxed as a partnership while enjoying the liability protection of a corporation.

 

Multinational law firms

Law firms operating in multiple countries often have complex structures involving multiple partnerships, particularly in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Japan which restrict partnerships between local and foreign lawyers. One structure largely unique to large multinational law firms is the Swiss Verein, pioneered by Baker & McKenzie in 2004 or as GRATA International, in which multiple national or regional partnerships form an association in which they share branding, administrative functions and various operating costs, but maintain separate revenue pools and often separate partner compensation structures. Other multinational law firms operate as single worldwide partnerships, such as British or American limited liability partnerships, in which partners also participate in local operating entities in various countries as required by local regulations.

 

Financial indicators

Three financial statistics are typically used to measure and rank law firms' performance:

Profits per equity partner (PPEP or PPP): Net operating income divided by number of equity partners. High PPP is often correlated with prestige of a firm and its attractiveness to potential equity partners. However, the indicator is prone to manipulation by re-classifying less profitable partners as non-equity partners.

Revenue per lawyer (RPL): Gross revenue divided by number of lawyers. This statistic shows the revenue-generating ability of the firm's lawyers in general, but does not factor in the firm's expenses such as associate compensation and office overhead.

Average compensation of partners (ACP): Total amount paid to equity and non-equity partners (i.e., net operating income plus non-equity partner compensation) divided by the total number of equity and non-equity partners. This results in a more inclusive statistic than PPP, but remains prone to manipulation by changing expense policies and re-classifying less profitable partners as associates.

Size

Law firms can vary widely in size. The smallest law firms are lawyers practicing alone, who form the vast majority of lawyers in nearly all countries.

Smaller firms tend to focus on particular specialties of the law (e.g. patent law, labor law, tax law, criminal defense, personal injury); larger firms may be composed of several specialized practice groups, allowing the firm to diversify its client base and market, and to offer a variety of services to their clients.

Large law firms usually have separate litigation and transactional departments. The transactional department advises clients and handles transactional legal work, such as drafting contracts, handling necessary legal applications and filings, and evaluating and ensuring compliance with relevant law; while the litigation department represents clients in court and handles necessary matters (such as discovery and motions filed with the court) throughout the process of litigation.