Mandvi Walla and Zafar Advocates

Section 1: Basic Information

Mandvi Walla and Zafar started its business in the 1990s. It is an all-service firm and has offices in Lahore and Karachi. The primary focus of the Lahore office is on litigation which includes commercial, constitutional and white-collar crimes. Commercial litigation is most common at the Lahore office. The firm has not done any hardcore criminal cases in a long time. Karachi office was initially more geared towards transactional work but now their focus is also shifted towards litigation.

Section 2: Structure of the Firm

Mandvi Walla and Zafar is a large-sized firm with 15 lawyers in Lahore and 6-8 lawyers in the Karachi office. There are four partners in the Lahore office and 3 partners in the Karachi office. The hierarchy among the partners is ‘Senior Partners’ and ‘Junior Partners. There is no formal hierarchy among the associates. There is one accountant in the accounts department and no Human resource department.

Section 3: Hiring Mechanism

Internship:The firm offers internships all year long but generally, interns join during the summers. The internship is two weeks long and interns are assigned work according to their competence. There is no defined stipend for the internship. However, in the past interns have received stipends from 10,000 to 15,000 PKR in cases where the firm benefited from their work.

Associate: The firm hires associates by approaching Law schools and going to career fares. The candidates can also apply through the firm’s website. After clearing the initial interview, a candidate is hired for a 6-month long traineeship program. The duration of the traineeship can extend to even two years depending on the performance of the candidate. A trainee is below ‘Associate’ in the hierarchy but has the same responsibilities as an associate. There is no base salary for a trainee. They are paid a discretionary cut based on their work, performance, and firm billing. This cut system allows a trainee to earn anything between 20,000 – 25,000 PKR to 4 - 5 lacs. When the trainee is promoted to an ‘Associate’ position they receive a base salary of 30,000 PKR every month. This base salary is not the primary source of income for an associate. Similar to the trainees, they also receive discretionary cuts for their work. There are no bonuses or salary increments. According to the firm’s policy, the finder’s fee for an associate is 15% of the new business they bring to the firm but depending on the circumstances the associate can receive a bigger percentage. Currently, there is no partnership track at the firm but the firm intends to formulate one in future.