How to work with foreign law firms, accountants and corporate secretaries for global business expansion

As an in-house counsel or a lawyer, if you were asked to assist your employer or client to help them with establishing a presence in a new country where would you start? It’s a country whose economy, laws and market you know nothing about. The first step that you will take, like we do for anything from headaches to politics, is to Google search things about the country, maybe go through relevant websites and blogs about the country and go through a few “Doing business in” guides that are available. However, in most cases this will not be comprehensive and reliable information. This is a huge decision for the business and it is going to involve investment. You cannot therefore afford to get it wrong. You have to find a source which you can rely on as being correct and comprehensive. You need a source which can confirm the precise entry methods and procedures to you. This is only one of the reasons why you will need a local foreign law firm or accounting firm to support you. Even if you know exactly what needs to be done, there is going to be physical activity and coordination required where you are looking to establish a local presence. You will need someone on the ground to coordinate and arrange the required approvals. If your employing or client company is going to set up operations in that country, it is possible that the company will hire someone locally or deputise someone from centre or other countries to move there and set up shop. However, those people may be purely operational employees and they may not be actively managing legal / compliance / taxation matters. They may not have the requisite knowledge for this. In most countries, you will be required to file annual accounts either with registration authorities and / or with taxation authorities as the minimum required compliance. If you have no one on the ground who understands and can help with this, it can become very difficult. Hence you definitely need a law firm / accounting firm / business formation consultant to help you with the entry and set up. How do you choose the right firm? When it comes to choosing firms, most companies feel safer with the firms they know and have worked with. Hence, if they have worked with an offshore firm in that country before, that would be the first place to consider. If any of the CXOs have worked with any firm before, that could also be a good point of reference. Alternatively, if a firm they have worked with in their country has an office in the chosen country for expansion, that would be the next best option. The Big 4 accounting firms (KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers) have a clear advantage in this regard. They have offices in a significant number of countries. If a company has hired a Big 4 firm at the centre, they will prefer to have the firm as a consultant at the region level also because of the trust factor. Law firms also have a multinational presence. Some firms like Baker Mckenzie, Allen & Overy etc. have presence in many countries across the globe. If the entity at the centre has received some advice from such firms at the centre, they may prefer these firms also for consulting at the regional level. If you do not have access to any of these options, there will be a good bit of groundwork required before you choose the right firm. You will need to search for the lists of top law firms for the specific sector, bottom line a few firms on the basis of their rankings, clients, track record of the partners, media coverage, blogs etc. Some tips on choosing foreign consultants:   Individual references are not always the best strategy. If an employee knows someone else in that country and that other person is recommending a law firm or a consultant i.e. the route leading to the firm is very indirect, you need to be wary before choosing such firms. There can be personal interests involved and it will become very difficult to affix responsibility if the employee leaves and the local contact is also nowhere to be found. Always request detailed proposals / quotes from multiple firms. Do not proceed without this unless you have a strong reason. Most proposals will inform you about the entry options. The local firm needs to understand that since you are not a resident of the firm, you may need some information before you can hire them to undertake specific assignments. Request the fees to be included in the proposal clearly. Sometimes, the firms may just indicate the options and the work they have to perform and state that the fees will depend upon the route you choose. In that case, ask them to place an indicative amount. Do not choose firms which are too big to bother about you as a client. You may get the right kind of guidance, but you will be far from getting any personalised service.   How can good foreign consultants help? Smart firms can help you choose the best and the fastest method of entry and speed up your commencement of operations in that country. If they are really good, they will chase you for your compliance and even keep you updated of developments in that country. Having a reliable local support can free up the management from having to worry about the compliance and focus on the business instead. Some Dos and Don’ts while working with overseas firms   Do:   Consider it as your job to provide them complete information relating to an assignment. Don’t wait for them to ask. Define the boundaries of their work very clearly. Discuss and agree with them what they are and are not supposed to do. Agree the scope and fees in advance of their commencing the work. Agree with them that if they need to do something more, they need to check with you and get you to agree to additional work and fees beforehand. Give them a specific form or document where they can request this. Make it clear that work beyond the agreed scope will not be paid for unless specifically approved. However, really urgent and ‘no-alternative’ circumstances will be excluded from this requirement. It is intended to be an internal control, but is not intended to be a showstopper. Develop sources to keep updated about the requirements yourself.   Don’t:   ignore and unreasonably delay their requests for information, expecting them to ‘manage’ situations. They need information to complete their work. You may be extremely busy, but they will not be able to proceed without your providing the required information. Take time off, gather the information and provide it. try to bargain. Simply communicate that the fees are beyond your approved budget spend. If they want the work, they will come back. argue with them on the basis of a google search. If you find something which you believe they need to address, forward it to them and inquire on how they will proceed with it. However alleging that they haven’t done their work on the basis of a google search will only spoil things for you. ever ask for advice without a quote. You will get an unexpected hourly bill.   We are going to conduct a workshop on countries which are attractive to Indian companies for expansion. You can register for it here: https://lawsikho.com/countriesforinternationalexpansion If you wish to be kept informed about our international business law webinars and workshops, join the WhatsApp group below: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DizTLcqFeQwCnFpIPWqkzq Break barriers. Cross country borders. Cheers, Komal Shah Co-founder and Content Head, LawSikho Here are the courses that are open for enrollment: DIPLOMA Diploma in Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Laws  | Fee: INR 30,000 | Last date of enrolment: February 14, 2021 | Course Duration: 1 Year | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. 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EXECUTIVE CERTIFICATE COURSES Certificate Course in Advanced Corporate Taxation | Fee: INR 15000 | Last date of enrolment: February 14, 2021 | Course Duration: 3 months | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. Certificate Course in Media and Entertainment Law: Contracts, Licensing and Regulations | Fee: INR 15000 | Last date of enrolment: February 14, 2021 | Course Duration: 3 months | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. Certificate Course in Trademark Licensing, Prosecution and Litigation | Fee: INR 15000 | Last date of enrolment: February 14, 2021 | Course Duration: 3 months | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. Certificate Course in Advanced Civil Litigation: Practice, Procedure and Drafting | Fee: INR 20000 | Last date of enrolment: February 14, 2021 | Course Duration: 6 months | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. 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Certificate Course in Introduction to Legal Drafting: Contracts, Petitions, Opinions & Articles | Fee: INR 9000 | Last date of enrolment: February 28, 2021 | Course Duration: 2 months | Seats: 20 | To enroll: click here. Have you heard about our webinars?     LawSikho offers amazing webinars that you can attend and learn from, with no charges, every day. Now we are even giving certificates to those who attend the full webinar. Check out some of our past webinars here: https://www.youtube.com/c/LawSikho/             While you can see past recordings of webinars on our YouTube channel, to participate in one personally is quite a different experience, as you can ask questions and interact with such amazing speakers and even other attendees. How can you attend these webinars in person? Sign up over here.   Here is the webinar schedule: 1) Live Mock on Jurisprudence with Ankita Srivastava, Advocate & UGC NET (Law) Qualified. Date: 6th February, 2 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/live-mock-on-schools-of-jurisprudence 2) What common mistakes do lawyers make while arguing before the Supreme Court with Sanchita Ain, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India. Date: 6th February, 4:30 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/what-common-mistakes-do-lawyers-make-while-arguing-before-the-supreme-court 3) Career opportunities that will open up if I learn competition law with Sweta Rath, Senior Associate, LawSikho and Abhyuday Agarwal, COO, and Co-Founder, LawSikho. Date: 6th February, 6-9 pm Register here: http://bit.ly/39LXUPz 4) Pros and cons of setting up an offshore company in a tax haven for digital businesses with Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, and Co-Founder, LawSikho. Date: 6th February, 9 pm Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ucumppjouHtC1LDNAJ7SnKFpsA5EGME5h 5) Privity of Contract & Consideration : Doctrines and their exceptions with Deepashree Agnihotri, Independent Practitioner and Judicial Services Aspirant. Date: 7th February, 12 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/privity-of-contract--consideration--doctrines-and-their-exceptions 6) Court craft at the Supreme Court - how to be effective before judges with Sanchita Ain Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India. Date: 7th February, 2 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/court-craft-at-the-supreme-court---how-to-be-effective-before-judges 7) Role of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the drafting of the Indian Constitution with Sanjay Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India. Date: 7th February, 5 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/role-of-dr-br-ambedkar-in-the-drafting-of-the-indian-constitution 8) Which countries are most attractive for Indian companies for international expansion? with Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, and Co-Founder, LawSikho and Yash Vijayvargiya, Senior Associate, LawSikho. Date: 7th February, 6-9 pm Register here: http://bit.ly/2LruzAy 9) Dissecting LLM Entrance Exams - CLAT, AILET with Vishakha Sharma, Advocate at MP High Court, and LLM (Constitution and Criminal laws), NLU Delhi. Date: 8th February, 12 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/dissecting-llm-entrance-exams---clat-ailet 10) 10 companies that paid huge fines to CCI and how companies can avoid this with Sweta Rath, Senior Associate, LawSikho . Date: 8th February, 3 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/10-companies-that-paid-huge-fines-to-cci-and-how-companies-can-avoid-this 11) How to become a renowned senior advocate at Supreme Court and what changes to be prepared for with Sanchita Ain, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India. Date: 8th February, 4:30 pm Register here: https://lawsikho.com/webinars/how-to-become-a-renowned-senior-advocate-at-supreme-court-and-what-changes-to-be-prepared-for 12) Understanding the new Labour Codes for HR managers and employment lawyers with Abhyuday Agarwal, COO, and Co-Founder, LawSikho . Date: 8th February, 6-9 pm Register here: http://bit.ly/2N2nlDe 13) Tax havens for startups: pros and cons with Ramanuj Mukherjee, CEO, and Co-Founder, LawSikho. Date: 8th February, 9 pm Register here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrdO2rqz4jH9ZACbE7Ed5TUFzkqQy8lf79 Do not forget to register. Hope to see you all there!! Here are some Job Opportunities   1. Self Employed Location - Mumbai Position - Legal Counsel PQE - 3-4 years in Civil Litigation If interested, please check the following link - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2409968598   2.Good Worker Location - Bengaluru Position - Legal Counsel PQE - More than 6 Years If interested, please check the following link - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2408733065   3.Kaizan HR Location - Delhi Position - Corporate Transaction Lawyer If interested, please check the following link - https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1248817833   4. Ernst & Young Location - Mumbai, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Bengaluru Position - Associate PQE - 0-6 Years in IDT If interested, please send your CV along with a covering letter to rashi.sureka@in.ey.com   5.Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Location - Mumbai Position - Senior Associate PQE - 2-6 Years preferably in a Law Firm If interested, please check the following link for details-   https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/2386753900   6. Alba Law Offices Location - New Delhi Position - Associate PQE - 0-1 Years If interested, please send your CV along with a covering letter to mitali@albalawoffices.com

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