Top lawyers are prospering as many businesses – their major clients – are still suffering from the disruption caused by the epidemic. By the time, the courts went online and senior counsels could have gone to four to five cases in different cities as a treaty, their income had already come up. Top Shots have done well, with a variety of customer wishes and their ability to work well at home.
In the pre-Covid era, senior Indian lawyers who charged between 5 lakh and 15 lakh per hearing, were able to attend one or two hearings a day.
“I believe that the biggest change brought about by the virtual hearing is that lawyers can come to terms with the rest of the world, including the comfort of their homes or offices,” said Ashok Paranjpe, managing partner at MDP & Partners. Senior counsel Harish Salve appeared in a highly controversial dispute between Amazon and Future Group before various forums such as the Supreme Court of India and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, where he resides in London.
In the past, senior lawyers often jumped from one city to another in a day, usually by private jets, but they could only be able to go to at least two cases. That changed when the courts became digital. In some cases, top lawyers also added their fees for the virtual experience. “Top advisers have maintained their high payroll. Some of them even charged more fees. As senior counsellors can be seen in many things, they are more demanding and as a result, they can charge higher fees,” said Ashish Kumar Singh, a managing partner at law firm Capstone Legal. Clients are also very happy with the online lawsuit process.
In the days before Covid, companies or other clients had to bear all the costs of top attorneys, including flights and hotel stays, when they would appear in court.
Incorporate cases, companies often tie the knot to the law firm by assisting with the case and the legal counsel to take the matter in court. While senior lawyers are in high demand, some of the junior ones are struggling. Senior counsellors used to rope the local lawyers in small towns to follow up with cases on normal days. That practice is now largely suspended. “Most lawyers in the trial courts and even the high courts in non-metro cities are unfamiliar with the technology that plays a major role when you need to argue. This serves as a barrier to easy litigation to the courts,” said Singh of Capstone Legal.
