1. After nearly three decades at the top of the profession, what made you decide to leave and build something of your own?

Saraf and Partners was not my first institution-building journey. In 1995, I helped start a firm with two lawyers and, over 25 years, helped build it to approximately 350 lawyers while leading its corporate practice. By 2020, I understood both what enables a law firm to grow and what can prevent it from remaining relevant.

When that chapter ended, I chose not to be defined by the circumstances. I saw an opportunity to build again with greater clarity. My conviction rested on two things: talented lawyers will join a platform that trusts them and offers a path to leadership; and clients will follow lawyers who understand their business, remain accessible and consistently add value.

2. When you started Saraf & Partners, what kind of firm did you have in mind, and how close is the firm today to that original vision?

I wanted to create a sophisticated, full-service Indian firm known not merely for size, but for the quality and complexity of its work. Our ambition is to be the firm clients approach for their most important transactions and disputes – matters requiring innovation, commercial judgment and the courage to give clear advice.

The other essential part of the vision was to build a platform where ambitious lawyers could grow. Young associates and partners must receive context, responsibility and a genuine seat at the table. Since 2021, we have grown to nearly 250 across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. We reached our initial five-year aspiration in roughly two years.

3. Saraf & Partners has grown remarkably quickly. How do you scale a firm without losing the culture and independence that made it successful?

Culture is preserved through daily decisions: whom we hire and promote, whether young lawyers receive credit and opportunity, how partners behave under pressure, and whether ethics ever yield to short-term economics. Our non-negotiables are sophisticated work, partner attention, meaningful opportunities for young lawyers and complete independence of professional judgment.

A 250-lawyer institution cannot operate as the chambers of one individual. Partners must be empowered to build practices, mentor teams and take decisions, while remaining accountable for quality, responsiveness and culture. Technology and AI will improve execution, but they cannot replace judgment, empathy, trust or mentorship. Those human qualities will remain the real differentiators of a great law firm.

4. For boutique founders, there often comes a point where growth can come at the cost of independence. How should founders navigate that choice?

A boutique founder should not ask only, ‘Will we become larger?’ The real question is, ‘What becomes possible for our clients and our people that is not possible today?’ A combination works only when two plus two becomes five or more.

Saraf and Partners is open to combining with such firms and teams. We can offer them a sophisticated national platform, leading clients, complementary practices and the opportunity to work on high-value, complex transactions and disputes. This allows them to move up the value chain while retaining the entrepreneurial energy that made them successful.

Independence should not be measured only by whether a founder’s name remains on the door. It lies in professional autonomy, influence within the combined institution, continued care for clients and a credible future for the team. If a larger platform amplifies a boutique’s strengths rather than absorbing its identity, the founder has converted independence into institutional influence.

5. Do you think the Indian legal market is entering a genuine phase of consolidation, and what will that mean for independent firms?

Yes, but it will be selective. Clients increasingly need coordinated advice across M&A, private equity, finance, competition, tax, regulation, data and disputes. Technology, cybersecurity, etc. Highly specialised boutiques will continue to thrive, but generalist firms without scale or a distinctive capability will face increasing pressure.

Saraf and Partners offers a compelling alternative to boutique founders and high-quality teams within larger firms who want to build. They can retain an entrepreneurial role while gaining access to a full-service platform and sophisticated mandates that may previously have been beyond their reach.

We are actively interested in conversations where there is cultural alignment and a genuine strategic fit. We are not seeking size for its own sake. The objective is to create a platform on which exceptional lawyers can grow faster, serve better clients and build enduring practices.

6. For a law student choosing their first firm today, what should matter beyond the brand name and starting salary?

The first few years establish habits of drafting, commercial understanding, responsiveness and judgment. These compound far more powerfully than working with a large law firm.

Look at the quality of work, access to partners, seriousness of mentorship and whether the platform is so crowded that you may become anonymous. First-year associates add tremendous value when they are given context and trust. In an AI-driven profession, technical knowledge will increasingly be the baseline. Curiosity, hunger, empathy, communication and reliability will distinguish the exceptional lawyer. Choose a firm that develops the whole lawyer, not merely one that adds a prestigious line to a curriculum vitae.

7. Having built a successful institution later in your career, what would you tell young lawyers who aspire to build something of their own one day?

First become a lawyer whom clients and colleagues trust. Institutions are not built on ambition alone; they require professional excellence, relationships earned over years, the ability to attract good people and the character to do what is right when the choice is difficult.

I began as a first-generation lawyer, lived in a small barsati in Lajpat Nagar and experienced the same uncertainty that many young lawyers face. Those early years taught me to stay in the game and keep adding value. My life has also taught me the importance of moral courage – the willingness to take difficult positions without fear when principle demands it.

Finally, think differently and take bold but calculated decisions. Do not start a firm merely because entrepreneurship is fashionable. Be clear why clients will choose you, why talented lawyers will join you and what you will build that does not already exist.

I founded Saraf and Partners after three decades in the profession. It proved that it is never too late to build again – and that adversity can become the beginning of one’s most meaningful chapter.

Mohit Saraf is Founder and Managing Partner, Saraf and Partners.