Introduction -
Part 1: Origins and Context:
1. What Do Law Firms Actually Do? -
2. Law Firms in India: A Brief History -
3. The Founders before We Became Founders -
Part 2:'The Founding Story:
4, Cricket Scores and Châteauneuf-du-Pape -
5. Gathering Everyone In -
6. The "Why' the Founding Values -
7. Trilegal Is Born -
Part 3: The Early Years:
8. One Firm: Testing the Waters -
9. Law Firm Structure: Equity and Compensation Choices -
10. Money Matters and Decision-Making -
11. Delhi: Early Deals and Clients -
12. Mumbai: Early Deals and Clients -
13. Bangalore: Early Deals and Clients -
14. Lessons in Collaboration: Building the Telecoms Practice -
15. How Do You Get Your Work? -
I6. Our Early Offices (and How They Shaped Us) -
17. Opening Up the Partnership -
Part 4: Growing Up:
18. Taking Stock -
19. Allen & Overy: Making Best Friends -
20. Pantone 484 -
21. Crisis in 2008 (No, Not That One) -
22. New Partners and Tweaking Compensation -
23. The Ncemrana Sessions and Other Ways to Learn -
Part 5: Building an Institution:
24. Calling Time on the A&O Relationship -
25. We Get Served Some Brutal Facts -
26. Refresh! Going All Equity -
27. The Amarchand Mangaldas Split and Lateral Movement -
28. The Long Kiss Goodbye -
29. Recognition and Renewal -
30. The Guts of the Trilegal Lockstep: Our Levels-Based System -
31. Crisis and Transition -
Part 6: Moving to Market Leadership:
32. A Short Note on Numbers -
33. The Power of Compounding -
34. Leadership, Scale, Risk and Growth -
35. Becoming a Lateral Magnet -
36. Specialisation: Building Practices from Within -
37. Specialisation: Strategic Practice Development -
38. Support Functions: Getting Out of the Way -
39. The Lawyer-Led Innovation of our Technology Backbone -
40. Impact, and Lessons for Institution Building -
41, 25 Years of Change and What Next? -
A Note on the Regulation of Law Firms -
Notes -
Acknowledgements.

From its beginnings in basements and living rooms 25 years ago to nearly 150 partners and over 1,200 lawyers today, Trilegal’s ascent to the top tier of Indian corporate law makes for a remarkable story. In 2025, it is not just one of India’s largest and most prestigious law firms but also arguably its most meritocratic.
Conceived on a radical partnership model in which all partners own equity in the firm, Trilegal is also the only major Indian law firm operating on this sharing model – a decision that defines its culture and fuels its success.
One of the founders, Akshay Jaitly, tells the tale of Trilegal – the founding story, the startup days, the challenges of growth, the evolution of their groundbreaking ownership structure and why it lies at the heart of their success.
Thoughtful, frank and richly detailed, Jaitly provides insights and data about the business of law rarely shared by firms. Trilegal offers one of the few comprehensive accounts of a major Indian law firm, one that also draws an insightful picture of a little understood dimension of the country’s legal landscape.