GC: What differentiates Royzz & Co from its competitors?
Mahua Roy Chowdhury (MRC): Our firm represents the next generation of technology-oriented law firms, wherein our lawyers are either engineers or scientists. In view of this, our team goes beyond the books and is able to provide advice that is in line with the rapid pace of change in technology.
We have designed and built our own portfolio management and tracking software based on the amalgamation of our technical knowledge and wide industry experience. We provide use of these proprietary systems as a value-added service to our clients.
GC: Which practice areas do you see growing over the next 12 months? What is driving these changes?
MRC: The market dynamics have changed with the advent of technology. Disputes related to ownership of technology, violation of digital licences and infringements in cyberspace are on the rise. We are seeing an array of new legal issues arising that were not foreseen in the past. We are also anticipating a rise in infrastructure-related transactions.
Being at the forefront of innovation, we are helping institutes and scientists to monetise their innovation by introducing another vertical to our practice area, which is the IP valuation and monetisation service.
GC: What is the main change you’ve made in the firm that will benefit clients?
MRC: We have expanded our practice areas to provide a full spectrum of legal services to our clients. We have inducted partners and associates in practice areas such as general corporate, India entry, tax, real estate and litigation.
We have opened offices in Delhi and a second office in Mumbai with complete litigation support, too.
In addition, we have changed our process of billing and now use either lump-sum payments or commit not to exceed fees calculated on the basis of our billable hours as a norm. The exception being only in long-haul contentious disputes, wherein we rely on billable hours. This assists our clients to budget and allocate resources accordingly.
GC: How is technology changing the way that you interact with your clients and the services you can provide them?
MRC: Since inception, our firm has been a technology-oriented law firm. We are striving towards becoming a paperless office, too.
We provide web-based access to our clients to review their portfolio and receive additional notifications for deadlines. We also subscribe to several software solutions that assist us in effectively managing our client database, deadline tracking and monitoring the various portfolios.
GC: Can you provide a practical example of how you have helped a client add value to their business?
MRC: Technology being our forte, we often cross-refer our clients and their products. We also update our clients and introduce them to the latest technology, and advise them on integrating the same to augment their reach or improve their products and services.
GC: Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms, as opposed to purely legal counsel?
MRC: The role of law firms has gone through a metamorphosis. Clients are asking questions that are no longer limited to the legal aspect, but instead have widened to include business decisions as well. Law firms have to don the legal as well as the business hat to provide the kind of advice that clients expect from us.
GC: What is the firm’s primary focus over the next three years?
MRC: In the next three years, we intend to focus and solidify our position in the new practice areas introduced. We are focusing on empowering our team to become holistic lawyers who can provide out-of-the-box advice to complex situations.