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 EARLY SUCCESS

Shortly after becoming independent we got a big case of Swadeshi Polytech in which a whole team of us juniors/advisors namely Arun Jaitley, Pinaki Misra, Bina Gupta and myself along with Gurumurthy  briefed a  team of K.K. Venugopal,  Anil B. Divan and Mr. Ashok Desai. 

This matter went on for months in the Supreme Court, and it was this matter which propelled us to early success. 

The work used to be divided between the two of us, and I recollect, that Manik and I never worked on matters together. 

Manik was, I think and believed by most to be the deeper lawyer and certainly the better draftsman, and so our combination worked well, and God has been very kind.

Next: How to win clients

In conversation with Sangeeth Sebastian

Follow sangeeth @sangeethspeak