Star lawyers get Rs 5 lakh for 5-minute job

As far as prayers go, this variety is the most rewarding. Indias superstar lawyers make a mini fortune
every time they pray, plead or appeal, and the bar has now gone up by several not!hes thanks to the
ongoing legal tussle between the Ambani brothers.
"he Ambani vs Ambani battle is just the i!ing on the !ake for the handful of Indias elite lawyers who are
probably the !ountrys highest paid professionals. #arish Salve, $ukul Rohatgi, Ashok %esai, &&
'enugopal, and Abhishek Singhvi are the notables in this essentially boys !lub.

Top cos which offer Rs 1 cr plus salaries Top salary earners of India Inc India's top 10 business
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"hese star lawyers !harge around Rs (-5 lakh for a five-minute appearan!e, and !an manage up to )*
su!h appearan!es per day, said a lawyer who did not wish to be named. +or outstation !ases, the rate is
even higher, from Rs )*-(* lakh, plus e-penses.
"he rates for the Relian!e battle !ould be double that rate, said members of the legal fraternity !lose to
the matter.
.ot every !ase !omes with a Relian!e premium, but they said its not unusual for some of Indias top )*-
)5 advo!ates to earn over Rs 5* !rore a year by way of legal fees.
"hat sta!ks up against the Rs 5-)* !rore that /01s of Sense- (* !ompanies make per year as
!ompensation on an average. +or !ash-ri!h !lients the ra!e to po!ket one from this league has be!ome
even more tight as publi! affairs has already weaned away three other stars 2 home minister 3
/hidambaram, #R% minister &apil Sibal and 453 general se!retary Arun 5aitley 2 leaving the rest in
high demand.
"hen there are the veterans like formal soli!itor general Soli Sorabjee, Shanti 4hushan and +ali .ariman
who are said to be in the same in!ome bra!ket. 4ut they, like former law minister Ram 5ethmalani
representing the Anil Ambani group in the Relian!e !ase, take !ases sele!tively. 67ith the opening up of
the e!onomy and more foreign !ompanies !oming in, the lands!ape of !orporate India has !hanged,6
says $r Rohatgi who represents Anil Ambani-promoted R.R8 in the ape- !ourt.
$r Rohatgi refused to !omment on what he !harges, while RI8s fa!e in the Supreme /ourt, #arish
Salve, said dis!losing his fees would be in violation to his !lients right of !onfiden!e.
6I have no !lue as to what RI8 is spending per day 2 nor is it a matter of any interest to me,6 $r Salve
replied to an 0" e-mail.
0mails sent to $r %esai, $r 'enugopal, $r Sundaram and $r Singhvi went unanswered.
"he bla!k gown-brigade has !ome a long way sin!e the days of legal luminary $/ Setalvad who fi-ed a
standard rate of Rs ),*9* for spe!ial leave petitions :S83s; and Rs ),<=* for final hearings three de!ades
ago. 7hen a senior S/ lawyer wanted to !harge Rs >,*** per appearan!e, he had to retreat in the wake
of a fraternity uproar.
+or outstation !ases, the top lawyers are rumoured to !harge around Rs ?*-(* lakh, plus e-penses for
ea!h appearan!e.
Sure, all of them have managed to stay on the right side of the law, and !ount among the top In!ome "a-
payers in the !ountry.
Attorney-general @oolam 0ssaji 'ahanvati and Soli!itor-@eneral @opal Subramaniam are reportedly paid
a fi-ed sum when appearing for the government :a measly Rs 5,5**, reportedly; but !an !harge
!ommer!ial rates for 3SA !ases.
68itigation has undergone a huge !hange and it has be!ome more aggressive in nature,6 says $r
4hushan, another former union law minister.
8awyers say that remuneration often depends on the type and duration of a !ase.
1n $ondays and +ridays, admissionBmis!ellaneous matters are normally listed for whi!h the lawyer
!on!erned is not needed to appear for more than 5 minutesC About 5* to >* matters are listed before all
!ourts for admissionBmis!ellaneous matters, as per industry estimates.
6.ot mu!h preparation is reDuired for admission matters so Rs ?-?.5 lakh per appearan!e is normal,6 said
a senior advo!ate who did not wish to be Duoted.
"uesday, 7ednesday and "hursday are earmarked for matters involving regular hearing for whi!h
advo!ates !an !harge upto even Rs 5-)* lakh, depending on the !ase - with the most !omple- !ases
attra!ting e-!eptional rates.
A !ase would also reDuire a !ouple of rounds of !onferen!ing, whi!h are usually in!luded in the total fees,
though some lawyers !harge hourly rates of around Rs ? lakh.
Says top advo!ate %ushyant %ave who also !harges upwards of Rs ? lakh per appearan!e, 68itigation
over the years has be!ome more !omple- and demanding be!ause of the nature of issues and stakes.
So strategies are more important now.6
+or a top lawyer, business !ould be beyond the !ourt gates too. $any !harge !lients for written and oral
opinions, besides taking on retainerships, a !ru!ial legal ploy that !uts both ways. A retainer is a fi-ed
amount that a !lient pays in advan!e to se!ure the servi!es of the litigator - and in some !ases also to
ensure that he or she does not appear for the other side.
In nearly all the headline-grabbing !ases in India, the names of the lawyers who did not appear are often
more intriguing than those who did, says a senior advo!ate.
$r Sorabjee told 0" that he !harges a normal fee of Rs ).5 lakh for admission in!lusive of one
!onferen!e. #e said that for regular hearing matters, he !harges around Rs ( lakh per appearan!e and
!onferen!e.
$r Sorabjee, $r %ave and $r 4hushan said they !harge mu!h less if the litigant happens to be a
government servant or a s!hool tea!her or any person in that !ategory.
Environment lawyer Ritwick Dutta's moves have
India Inc see red
$A$4AI, +or India In!, (E-year-old environment lawyer Ritwi!k %utta is a perennial nuisan!e, someone who has
been obstru!ting, slowing and litigating against the industrialisation of the !ountry. 4ut for tree huggers, hes /aptain
3lanet trying to save the earth from mindless destru!tion.

%utta, a Supreme /ourt lawyer for more than a de!ade, has blo!ked big proje!ts like bau-ite mining by 'edanta
Resour!es and 3os!os steel proje!t in 1disha. #e fought (5* !ases against behemoths like 3os!o, 'edanta, 5indal
Steel4S0 -).)9 F, and government-ba!ked ."3/4S0 *.55 F in the past )* years, making him unpopular with
/orporate India.


0nvironment lawyer Ritwi!k %utta has blo!ked big proje!ts like bau-ite mining by 'edanta Resour!es and 3os!oGs
steel proje!t in 1disha.

6A substantive amount of our industrialism is happening at the !ost of the livelihoods of people,6 says %utta. 6"he
lo!als are saying that theyll get jobs as wat!hmen, guards, but top jobs will go to engineers from outside. It is a real
issue of livelihood loss.6

#e fought his first !ase at the age of ?= against 'edanta, representing the %ongria &ondh tribals of .iyamgiri, who
wanted to stop the 8ondon-listed giant from mining bau-ite. %utta fought the !ase all the way to the Supreme /ourt,
whi!h then asked 'edanta to get approval from the tribals to start mining.
"he tribals reje!ted the reDuest, and the hills remain untou!hed. 6'irtually ((* a!res of forest land is diverted every
day in India, a!!ording to the ministry of environment,6 says %utt ..