Kaden Boriss

About the Company

Kaden Boriss a full service law firm was initially established as a niche legal consulting and a high end knowledge processing/services entity. It was founded in 2004 by a renowned corporate, commercial and business lawyer Hemant K Batra and his fiscal laws specialist lawyer wife Preeti Wahi Batra. In 2005, it transformed into a full service law firm by acquiring the non-litigation practice of a known law firm, KesarDass B. & Associates. Today, the firm offers an extensive range of transactional, regulatory, advisory, documentation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation support services. The firm advises a diverse clientele including domestic and international companies, banks and financial institutions, funds, promoter groups and public sector undertakings. The firm’s offices are located in Gurgaon (National Capital Region Delhi), New Delhi, Dubai, Sharjah, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Singapore. Its first overseas office was set-up in Sydney by a top Indian Origin Australian lawyer Sunil Lal, who now also chairs the international Partners Board of Kaden Boriss. Brisbane office led byDamien van Brunschot and Jamie McPherson has also shown remarkably extraordinary growth. The firm has a noteworthy presence in the middle-east through a multi-national lawyers’ team led by another Indian Origin infrastructure lawyer SR Ambalavelil.Recently the firm has also opened an office in Singapore headed by a prominent lawyer Richard Tan. Kaden Boriss has definitely created a big buzz in the legal market with its unique business model of networks and collaborations. By 2018, Kaden Boriss may have 33 offices in 24 countries.As of now, the firm has 9 offices.

Current Market Landscape

Thetechnological alterationshave vitally and widely changedmarket trends of legal practice. Everyone needs to accept that Law is today both a business and a profession; this is a reality, which no one can escape. The good news is that the legal profession is adapting quickly and innovatively, creating new patterns of practice, developing detours around regulatory rules that might stifle growth and competition, finding resourceful methods of handling the increasing costs of practice and overheads, and adopting new tools of management as competition from professional service firms increases. The legal industry is undergoing rapid change. Increasingly, law firms are merging into large global enterprises that often also provide ancillary services such as investment advice, consulting services, and venture capital. Simultaneously, other professional service firms - including accounting firms, investment banks and consulting firms - have begun to offer services that overlap with those offered by lawyers, and in some parts of the world, legal services themselves.

Legal practice is being transformed every day by economic realities in today's global marketplace. There is already a clear trend towards an increase in specialization, as the volume and complexity of law, created by central and local government as well as the international community, multiplies. Another trend is that clients are becoming more demanding. The move towards solicitors providing greater and higher standards of service at less cost will continue. Another issue is the delivery of basic legal advice and services via IT. Some commentators are of the view that lawyers will become legal information engineers, providing legal information via computers, and that only a few select lawyers will provide specialist legal advice on complex matters.

Addressing the Challenges

In today’s context from legal consulting perspective, it is seen that factors discussed in the preceding query are blurring the boundaries that previously separated several related professions. These are posing new challenges for the professionals who must now manage these diverse global enterprises. The law firms have to compete not only amongst themselves but also against management consultancies, strategic business consultancies, accounting firms etc. Further, in the recent past, it has been noticed that too much of a chaos in the legal or lawyers’ recruitment market is triggered due to oversupply of law graduates. In last one decade, hundreds of law schools have come up. Hundreds of thousands graduate from these schools each year. At any given point in time, Kaden Boriss has 10 – 15 interns working with it. The firm gets more than 2000 applications for internships, annually. Equal numbers of applications are received for recruitment.

Advocate, today, are expected to provide excellent client service as well as a market to new clients, manage their staff and their finances to be successful. To do so they require not only excellent legal knowledge and legal skills, but also good interpersonal and management skills. Hence, Kaden Boriss regularly engages HR consultants to carryout orientation and training programs for its advocates. The firm is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of learning, developing and enhancing these skills.

The legal profession has undergone a sea change over the last decade what with existing businesses growing in size and with a large number of new business enterprises opening shop each year. Due to this new trend, corporate lawyers are on a growth flight which in turn has led to an increase in Law Firms in India.Globalization brought about a revolution in international trade with increasing participation and contribution of countries and greater access to domestic economies. The repercussion of the same on the legal service sector has been both qualitative and quantitative. The past decade has been a mini revolution in the legal service sector with the greatest legal impact on the corporate legal arena. Activities in project finance in intellectual property protection, environmental protection, competition law, corporate taxation, infrastructure contracts, corporate governance and investment law were almost unknown before 90’s. The number of law firms in India capable of dealing with such works was very few. Kaden Boriss has pioneered along with few other law firms and continued as specialists rather than generalists.

On the flip side, the Indian Advocates Act, which deals with the professional conduct of lawyers, does not overwhelmingly and wholly support liberalization in the legal profession. Solo, small, mid-size and large firms all are transforming themselves through technology. Small firms are using technology to become more flexible and to compete on an even playing field. More practice is being conducted at home or at remote locations. Solo practitioners may be admitted and maintain virtual offices in multiple jurisdictions, both domestic and international. The firm is investing substantially in the technology because it is already proven thattechnology has opened up the latent legal market. The Internet and digital platforms are very vital to reach the large group of lowand middle-income consumers.

Gradually, members of the public and prospective clients are requesting unbundled services – limited services from lawyers for discrete single tasks, such as assistance in drafting a complaint or a contract or assistance in preparing a memorandum of law, instead of complete legal representation from the beginning to the end of a case. Kaden Boriss has established, for instance, a ‘Start-up’ practice group in the firm to help young entrepreneurs keeping up with prevalent policy of the Government. It is also doing initial advisory in many cases under the pro-bono regime.

Services

Kaden Boriss is a full service law firm. It provides services pertaining to a wide array of corporate, transactional and commercial issues. Kaden Boriss specializes in strategy evolution to carry out mergers, acquisitions and takeovers based on an assessment of clients’ business and the various internal and external factors affecting it. The firm advises on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including public takeovers, de-mergers, corporate restructurings, joint ventures, strategic alliances and auction sales.  Its niche also includes legal advisory about foreign investment laws and policies, as well as formulating strategic advice for foreign as well as Indian clients desirous of establishing business in India and across the globe. It has been a pioneer in undertaking legal auditing &legal compliances for clients from both private as well as government sectors. The firm has a Partner in charge responsible for corporate documentation and management services. The firm claims to be a specialist I commercial &transactional documentation. Kaden Boriss has recently ventured into intellectual property rights, media, sports &entertainment law practice. Apart for the above, the firm does lot of other usual legal work such as banking &financial documentation &advisory services, real estate acquisition &disposal documentation, due diligence &liaising, legal advice &opinions, estate & succession planning etc. Its litigation office is a dedicated office headed by a litigation partner – Aditya Shankar. Litigation was not our forte until, they inducted new litigation partner. The litigation office is doing quite well.

Differentiating Factors

Each lawyer and law firm comes with its own respective strength and niche. Kaden Boriss is committed to developing strong client relationships engaging capable and dedicated professionals and investing in technology. Enthusiasm, energy and drive for excellence influence the way the firm works. The constituents of the firm invest time in understanding client’s business, which enables them to provide commercially oriented and innovative legal solutions to achieve the clients ’goals. The firm believes that its lawyers are the greatest resource and its philosophy is to attract and retain quality professionals. It encourages entrepreneurship to enable its people to fully realize their potential. The principal belief of the firm is that the clients will benefit with the success of its people. A few unique characteristics which Kaden Boriss practices are: a high degree of partner involvement and availability; top quality commercially oriented legal advice; attention to detail; enhanced responsiveness levels and research and analysis based legal advisory on complex and diverse assignments.

Organizational Culture

Essentially, the firm does not follow conventional rigid and graded organizational structure. Each professional is treated at par. The motto is to operate like a happy and efficient joint (undivided) family. There is internship and lawyers exchange program inter-se all offices including overseas.

Harboring Innovation

The firm harbors innovation predominantly by engaging them in actual assignments and client dealing directly; though under the supervision of the Partner in-charge.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Kaden Boriss has recently opened office in Singapore. Seoul office in South Korea will also be opening, shortly. Immediately in the row is USA, Philippines, Hong Kong, Melbourne (Australia) and perhaps Iran. The road map is to have 33 offices in 24 countries.

Quick Facts

1) Year of founding: 2004

2) Funding information:Confidential and Privy

3) Original Founding members: Hemant K Batra and Preeti Wahi Batra

4) Office locations:Gurgaon (National Capital Region Delhi), New Delhi, Dubai, Sharjah, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Singapore

5) Company strength: Worldwide – 150+ lawyers at 9 locations

6) International Board: Sunil Lal, Executive Chairman and Hemant Batra, Managing Director

7) Website: Global offices – www.kadenboriss.com