A pivotal moment

Have the country’s debt woes come home to roost?

Action on the legal front has been fast and furious as companies across the country adjust to the realities of the new insolvency law. While the recently formed company law tribunals find themselves swamped with cases, each day brings new developments in the battles being waged between companies, their creditors and the powerful resolution professionals.

Is this a sign that India is making some headway in acting against errant corporate borrowers, who until now saw little risk in piling debt onto their balance sheets? Or is this merely the prelude to a fresh wave of dispute cases that will struggle through the already clogged higher courts?

Either way, sound legal advice – in this developing area – is in great demand. So, even as law firms rush to put together specialist teams to advise on insolvency and bankruptcy, in-house lawyers find themselves under pressure to weigh in on the complex and fast-moving issues surrounding it. Moments such as this are what make or break credibility, and the opportunities it presents will be valuable for the legal market as a whole.