Read About Our New Eurojuris Member Alpha Partners from Delhi, India
Why did you become a lawyer?
Interestingly, it was by chance, that I am working in this profession right now. You see, when I passed my high school, I planned on having a career in advertising. Back then, I thought I was very creative. Anyhow, I started my career as a company secretary, educated at The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). A great part of the course curriculum was law, which instantly caught my interest. Although nobody in my family or of my friends had become a lawyer, I pursued my new goal. Ultimately, I went to the UK for my postgraduate studies, where I gained valuable insights into the profession. Honestly, it was an eye-opener for me.
How did the legal profession in India change lately?
At the time when I was doing my studies, law firms were limited to large cities. I come from a place, where the scope of legal profession was limited. When compared to other countries, the Indian legal sector is relatively new. It only got to where it is today in the past 15 to 20 years, maximum. This was highly linked to the opening of the industry since the Indian economy was a closed economy until 1991. In the course of liberalisation and reforms, the legal sector grew in proportionally.
You established Alpha Partner in 2012. Was it difficult due to the previous global economic crisis?
The economic crisis of 2009 did not affect India as much as it did affect Europe or the United States. In fact, a number of opportunities arose. For instance: at first, the real estate market was in strong demand, then switched to the health, e-commerce, pharmaceuticals and service oriented sector. Overall, investments moved from one industry to another and kept balanced.
What legal changes are ongoing at the moment?
Right now, the government follows a strong pro-business approach. Since 2014, there have been a number of positive changes: liberalisation, restrictions have been removed, grey areas have been clarified. India is fast moving towards becoming a strong global economic power with robust judicial system and predictable tax and legal systems. As a result, India’s ranking in ‘ease of doing business’ list has jumped up compared to only 2-3 years before. With economic reforms, the legal reform came jointly along. What is more, the government is working faster than ever. This is strongly linked to increased use of technology by the Government. Also, our firm experiences a considerable acceleration of the processing time of public entities.
What do you expect of Eurojuris and the Congress in Brussels?
At the best, I would be able to grow into the group, to meet friends and colleagues there. After all, the network was recommended to me by a friend. “It seems to be an interesting group of people, why don‘t you check it out?”, my colleague said. Also, I rather meet a smaller group and remember all, than meeting a thousand people and not remembering any. That is why I am very much looking forward to the Eurojuris International Congress in Brussels. Since India is a big country, with a lot unknown about it, I hope to be able to convey the right message and impressions.
Quick Facts:
Alpha, with its young yet experienced team, was awarded the best start-up law firm of the year in 2015. Co-founder Mr. Akshat Pande is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer whose practice focuses on private equity, venture capital, M&A, joint ventures, exchange control advisory and debt restructuring.
