Waseem Pangarkar, Senior Partner
What has been your greatest achievement, in a professional and personal capability?
My greatest achievement in a professional capability has been the progress and growth of MZM Legal in reaching greater heights each passing year, and my involvement as a key contributor to the same.
I distinctly recall that when I joined MZM Legal in the year 2010 as an “intern”, it was a boutique law firm having just three (3) lawyers with its main focus on White Collar Crime Litigation. However, over the years MZM Legal has only made its way up on the graph in the legal industry and I can say with utmost pride that we have not only grown in numbers but also in our approach, and today we stand as one of the leading Full-Service Law Firms in India with over 50 lawyers. We have our offices in Mumbai and Delhi, and one of the biggest Associate Lawyer Network throughout India and across other continents.
In relation to my greatest achievement in a personal capability, I believe the recognition and appreciation that I have received from my peers, legal fraternity and international legal ranking bodies and most importantly from my clients over a decade of my career has been overwhelming. We regularly hear about the debates on nepotism and the biasedness that surrounds most industries, however, being a first-generation lawyer, I feel that everyone gets an opportunity to excel and grow, contingent only upon how an individual deals with the same and makes the best out of it.
Which practices do you see growing in the next 12 months? What are the drivers behind that?
According to me, International Arbitration is a realm we need to watch out for in the next twelve (12) months. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India through its recent judgements on Enforcement of Foreign Awards has set a stage for India to be recognized as an International Arbitration hub and therefore, I believe it will only encourage foreign parties to choose India as an apt jurisdiction for enforcing foreign awards leading to a resultant boost in dispute resolution, and more specifically the International Arbitration practice. Over the years MZM Legal has also seen immense growth in its International Arbitration practice and today we handle multiple International Commercial Arbitrations in European and South American countries such as Switzerland, France, London, Chile, and Uruguay.
I also strongly believe that Mediation is one of the most effective forms of Dispute Resolution with the Indian Statutes bringing in Mediation as a mandatory step in commercial matters. Especially during the pandemic, mediation has stood out as one of the most preferred modes of dispute resolution. From my experience I can say that on an average, five out of ten clients have preferred to adopt the Mediation route due to the uncertainty that was introduced by the pandemic and the anticipated delays in the redressal of disputes through Arbitration or the customary litigation route.
Another area of practice that has seen significant growth in last few years is White-Collar Crime Disputes and Litigation. MZM Legal are the pioneers of White-Collar Crime Litigation in the country. As a Senior Partner at MZM Legal routinely handling White Collar Crime Litigation, I can say that this practice has tremendous potential considering the steep rise of White-Collar Crimes globally. Some of the biggest driving factors for the growth of this practice is the change in the approach of the Enforcement and Investigating Agencies, the enactment of stringent laws, and subversive amendments to the existing laws.
What's the main change you've made in the firm that will benefit clients?
I believe that one of the most important elements missing in today’s time is providing a sense of ownership to each member of the team towards the Client and the matter at hand. At MZM Legal the scenario is completely different. I may not call it a change but a culture which we have developed at MZM Legal since inception that enables even the junior most member working with us to take ownership towards the Client and his matter.
It is important to understand that the Client benefits only when he has ample trust in the team he is working with, and we ensure that our team members are not just on the matter but actively involved and interacting with the Client for a holistic indulgence, participation, and perspective on the table.
What do you see as the main points that differentiate MZM Legal from your competitors?
Our guiding light is maintaining our core generalist strength, while advising on disputes and transactions, covering almost the entire gamut of Laws e.g., from complex Commercial Disputes to multifaceted White Collar Crime Litigations, from High Profile Matrimonial case to highly technical electricity and construction matters.
At MZM Legal, all our team members are capable of successfully advising, handling and representing Clients, irrespective of the nature of the legal query or dispute involved. This conscious decision to go the extra mile, learn and practice a wide variety of laws, has time and again served our Clients immensely well, as today’s interconnected world means that the solution of a matrimonial problem often lies in a commercial transaction and so on.
Indeed, in terms of differentiating us from other firms, this core strength prevents the siloed approach found in conventional law firms, where internal teams operate as mini-firms, hindering an integrated and comprehensive solution to the Client’s predicaments. By contrast, our generalist approach coupled with a flat and open organizational structure ensures clear communications, honest debate while bringing all possible veins of law to address the Client’s complications, ensuing a time and cost-effective solution for the Client, while also benefitting the firm.
In addition to this, MZM Legal provides a platform for each member to explore their entrepreneurial dreams in collaboration with the firm. One of the best examples is the formation of MZM Analytics Pvt. Ltd, a Forensic Investigation Firm incorporated by Zulfiquar Memon, Managing Partner of MZM Legal and myself. The idea is to strengthen the sense of ownership in every team member and also provide an additional option to the Client to get all services under one roof.
Is technology changing the way you interact with your clients, and the services you can provide them?
Certainly, technology had started to influence attorney-client interactions even before the pandemic began and lockdowns prevented the classic face to face meetings. MZM Legal has been impacted by the same significantly, but in a positive way. The reliance on technology has ever increased with the year-long lockdown, the technological evolution accelerated, pervading our attorney client interactions with unprecedented speed. It has made us realize that we could have constructive and effective meetings with Clients, situated anywhere in the world, without the necessity of in-person meetings. These realizations have truly revolutionized the way we approach our Clients and literally opened the world – especially for advisory and transactional work at MZM Legal. Today, our team members are well equipped to provide legal solutions on multi-jurisdictional issues concerning Indian or foreign Clients. Additionally, we have started looking at technology as an enabler, which has resulted in radically new service delivery models, in which Attorney and Clients do not have to ever meet, and the entirely solutioning is done remotely with the help of advanced computing software including representing your Clients before different courts in different jurisdiction without travelling to those locations.
Are clients looking for stability and strategic direction from their law firms - where do you see the firm in three years’ time?
The Clients are indeed looking for stability and strategic direction from law firms, especially in view of ever-evolving regulatory landscape – which is still reverberating from the aftershocks of the pandemic. Therefore, I strongly believe that constant legal guidance is an acute need for Clients, especially in relation to commercial ventures.
As such, Companies of all shapes and sizes are increasingly turning to formal and reliable legal resources for regulatory guidance to ensure that they remain compliant with all relevant laws. In view of such developments, the firm is actively seeking to increase its national and international footprint over the next three years. The idea is to develop and become a one-stop solution provider for all kinds of legal support be it litigation, transactional, or advisory services.
What advice would you give to your younger self and others young lawyers?
Success comes to those who are invested in their goals no matter what the challenge is. I would advise young lawyers to keep abreast of the latest legal and commercial developments at all times. There is no substitute for knowledge, both for the Client’s benefit and for one’s own career progress. Also, choosing a specialisation early on, in my view, curbs growth, if not fatal in the long run. So young lawyers should learn as much as possible about different areas of law for the first five to ten years of their practice, and if necessary, then decided on a specialisation. After all, there is no harm in being a Jack of all and master of some.