27 May 2004
Ramblings of a former Amarchand Associate
Introduction – A little bit about myself!
Hi! Many of you may know me as a madman who came to NLS for a week in
May, as one who was rude to Professor Visalakshi in the first-year
class, as a person some of the LL.M students believe “threatened to
thrash” Bishwarup, as one who walked around campus with a menacing
grimace and a not-so-pleasant disposition! Some of you may remember me
as a pleasant bloke with a lot of angst – Aditya Jha, Shinoj Koshy,
Manu and a few others. At the outset, let me apologize to all those who
felt threatened, scared and got upset by my behaviour. My intentions
were noble, my method a little harsh.
No, I did not threaten to thrash Bishwarup, and yes, I was rude to
Professor Visalakshi but the reason was the complete degradation of
contract law (which I believe to be the foundation of commercial law).
Who am I? My name is Ashwin Mathew. I studied at what I believe is one
of the finest institutions in this country, NLS, from 1993 to 1998. I
did well and was recruited on campus by Amarchand & Mangaldas &
Suresh A. Shroff & Co. I worked at Amarchand for 6 years. I left at
the end of January 2004.
Objective
What struck me when I visited NLS recently, was the unidirectional
focus on a career at Amarchand. Students of NLS often asked me about
myself. What seemed to impress them was not that I was a former student
but that I worked at Amarchand for 6 years. I was saddened by such
reactions. I hope what I write down in this essay makes you guys think
about your futures and your goals. As Pablo Picasso said “If you know
what you are doing and why you are doing it, don’t do it. Try something
else!”
Let me also clarify (for the “cynics”, “unbelievers”, die-hard fans of
Amarchand) that this essay is not a critique of Amarchand or an attempt
at venting my angst against a venerable institution. I merely provide a
perspective from someone who’s been there and done that! Advice, they
say, is easy to give, it costs nothing. To which I add, advice is easy
to dismiss, it too costs nothing! The choice is yours…
What does NLS give you?
Have any of you wondered what expertise NLS gives you?
At the end of my 5th year, I too believed I had the world at my feet,
that I had tremendous legal acumen and that my breadth of legal
knowledge was incapable of challenge. After a couple of months at
Amarchand, I realized a bitter truth – I was a seedling in the vast
legal field filled with the garbage of deceit, incestuous back-rubs and
wily litigators on the one hand and banyan trees of knowledge,
understanding and compassion on the other! I had no experience in
practical application of legal theory. I was dismissed as verbose and
pedantic. I was crushed. My confidence hit a low.
It was time to think, to ponder…NLS gave me the gift of articulation,
the ability to research a legal issue thoroughly and (for those who
were diligent) the basics of law.
Law to me is about people and their relationships. Law balances
conflict since every human relationship is founded on the propensity
towards conflict. Therefore, law is vital to human harmony and
discipline. Corporate law is no different.
Amarchand – A counter
Amarchand – the name sends shivers down your spine, makes you imagine
the pinnacle of achievement, makes you strive towards an elusive
partnership at this august institution. Your eyes light up – aah, yes,
Cyril has done his job well. He has made believers out of most of you.
He attracts the finest NLS has to offer…
But stop, Do any of you know the pain that Piyush Joshi, Cyrus
Bharucha, Aazmeen Kasad, Tushna Thapliyal and myriad others faced as a
result of this great organization. Have any of you thought about why
Vinati Kastia left the organization after making partner? Have any of
you wondered why Rajesh Marralla, Sandeep Farias, P. Sunil, Kajal
Bhardwaj left Amarchand?
How many people make partner at Amarchand? How many people are Senior
Associates? How many are from NLS? Do the math, the numbers will
startle. They are but a miniscule drop in the ocean of talent that
Amarchand receives from NLS every year. Probably, a little more than 5%.
The mantras
Mantra 1 – Negative Oppression – Amarchand thrives on negative
oppression. Take a brilliant mind, oppress it with negativity, constant
criticism, uncertainty and transform such brilliance into craven
commercial greed.
Mantra 2 – Create commitments – Cyril’s favourite associates are all
married to one another – Ashwath & Nimisha, Rahul & Runa…They
may love one another but an invisible hand did push them together!
Cyril’s economic largesse ensures loans to Amarchand associates to
chain them to him till they are economically capable of repaying him. A
loyalty bonus is payable for those who have spent 8 years in the
organization. To alleviate the cost of living in Mumbai, Cyril
re-imburses each Amarchand associate a fraction of the actual cost. To
live in a 1BHK house in a decent part of Mumbai with a car costs a
minimum of Rs. 25,000 a month. Otherwise, settle for a PG and suffer!
Mantra 3 – Ease out ineptitude – All those considered inept are not
shown the door immediately. They are eased out. Take Ranbir Singh,
Tushna, Aazmeen.
Mantra 4 – If you are not from NLS, make sure you are connected – Most
non-NLS recruits in Amarchand are well connected. Be it a judge’s son
or a top Chartered Accountant’s, be it the daughter of ICICI Bank’s
Executive Director or the daughter of a top executive at the Aditya
Birla Group. Another thing, know this, all non-NLSites at Amarchand
generally dislike NLS students. Amarchand ensures that they must do
much more to succeed. A classic example is Shaneen Dastur, partner of
Amarchand. It took her 9-10 years to make salaried partner after being
a qualified solicitor. Understandably, she dislikes NLS students who
can make equity partner in 7 years.
Envy…
The Positives
Positive 1 – Brilliant Partners – Amarchand is blessed with some of the
finest partners in India. Cyril is the foremost commercial lawyer in
the country with good reason. M. P. Bharucha is the foremost litigating
solicitor in the country and has a decent non-litigation practice. Alka
Bharucha’s articulation and people skills are tremendous. Shardul &
Pallavi are brilliant legal minds. Umakanth and Vishwanath are leaders
in their respective fields and wonderful human beings.
Positive 2 – Great Work – The work in Amarchand is superb. You would
feel pride when you pick up an economic daily every day and find one
your deals mentioned as a headline. Invariably, Amarchand advises the
top dealmakers.
The Negatives
Negative 1 – Vitiated Working Environment – The famous adage, “protect
me, not from my enemies of whom I know of, but from my friends of whom
I know not” applies to the Amarchand environment. The work-stations are
arranged like an assembly line in a car workshop or a seamstress
factory. The noise levels are terrible. The A/C is switched off at 7 PM
(there is no cross-ventilation). Better off working in a sweat-shop in
Thailand!
Negative 2 – Vandana Shroff – Spend a week in the Amarchand dining
room! Also, note the names given to each loo – Raja & Rani, Romeo
and Juliet, Mardana & Zardana. Also, note the reserved parking
spots. Also, note Valencia, Sripat and Ramesh (the informers!). Also
note, the allocation of work. Also note, Deepak Jobanputra (fondly
called D Jo), the IT expert! “Res Ipsa Loquitur”!
Negative 3 – Horrible IT resources – Amarchand does not have a
database. The IT support is pathetic. A lot of time is wasted in
re-inventing the wheel.
Negative 4 – Big Ideas, No Implementation – Cyril has vision but does
not have the administrative capabilities to implement them. M. P.
Bharucha has the administrative capabilities but cannot work with Cyril
since their working styles are totally different.
Negative 5 – The Evaluation System and Bonus – There is no transparency
in evaluations and very often evaluations are done by a partner who has
not seen a single day’s work by the Junior Associate being evaluated.
And, please consider your first evaluation as a good indicator of where
you will be slotted. Also, as far as the Bharucha’s go there is no
co-relationship between the evaluations and the level of bonus. While
your entitlement may be large, know this, what you finally get is a
fraction of your entitlement. Sometimes as low as 55% of your bonus
entitlement.
Negative 6 – Delhi and Mumbai follow different policies – If you work
in Delhi chances are you will go up the Amarchand ladder quicker than
Mumbai. Double promotions happen in Delhi, not in Mumbai (except
Nimisha). The policies are completely different and so is the work
culture. Promotions in Delhi are also based on the level of billings.
In Mumbai, that is “irrelevant”.
A Final Word
Join Amarchand for experience. But prepare yourself for 16-hour days,
no food, no life outside Amarchand and a constant sense that you will
never be good enough. Ask yourself this, what makes you happy? The
desire to get up early and enjoy the day or the dread of what the day
may bring you? In Amarchand, most likely, the latter will apply.
Those of you who want to experience the angst I went through after
Amarchand, please read my play “The Soul of Law”. Some people in NLS
have a copy.
For those who still dream of being an Amarchand partner, I wish you
luck…Just a caution, when you feel used and exploited, get out.
I end with a few lines from my favourite verses:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of
distance well run…
How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?
How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?
How may associates will it take to be known that too many NLSites have
died!
The answer is in you…
Best wishes and Good Luck,
Ashwin Mathew
NLS Batch of 1998.