Known to his clients as the “big picture guy” Raian Karanjawala is the co-founder and managing partner of Karanjwala & Co, which he started with his wife Manik.

Read his amazing journey from a barsati (a one-room apartment on the terrace with a verandah outside) in Maharani Bagh, New Delhi, with two desks, to one of India’s most influential law firms, serving everyone from governments and companies in trouble to celebrities and street vendors in distress.

ON BUILDING TRUST & CLIENTS

It is important to note that in our profession one’s practice grows only by way of word of mouth. 

It is your client who introduces you to another one, who in turn introduces you to two more.

Early in my career as an independent practitioner, Indian Express had come to me somewhere in the year 1985-86.  Arun and I used to work together in their matters. 

It was through Ramnath Goenka and  Arun Shourie that I met Nusli Wadia somewhere in the year 1986, and later on V.P. Singh, former Prime Minister in the year 1987. 

Nusli in turn introduced me to the Tatas for the first time in 1996 when we appeared for RK Krishna Kumar in what was known as the ULFA funding case.

It was our interaction in that particular case with Ratan Tata that in turn years later prompted him to ensure that our Firm was used by the group companies on many of their other matters, until they started coming to us in a regular and large scale way from 2004 onwards.

So, the thing to remember is, no client is going to suggest your name to another person unless you give him the following levels of comfort:

i)                    he must feel that the advice that you give is frank yet sound; and

ii)                   he must feel that you are capable of executing litigation in an efficient way, so that it brings the client’s success.

Next: Why silence is golden
                        

In conversation with Sangeeth Sebastian

Follow sangeeth @sangeethspeak