PM Devaiah sets up boutique law firm Starlaw Partners in Bengaluru

PM Devaiah sets up boutique law firm Starlaw Partners in Bengaluru

He was previously working as a General Counsel for the Adani Group

PM Devaiah has announced the establishment of a boutique law firm Starlaw Partners with a team of 25 people in Bengaluru.

The firm intends to primarily focus on private equity and general corporate work, including compliance and real estate strategy and support.

Devaiah stated, “It’s a very small but smart outfit, and for the next 1-2 years, we will work with very limited clients. We are in no hurry to make it big and that’s the plan.”

On launching his own firm, he said, “When I quit Everstone during the pandemic, the trigger was a compelling desire for change. Monotony was killing and the desire to break free was intense. In fact, the plan was to turn into an agri-entrepreneur and pursue other interests. Moving to Ahmedabad, to be part of the Adani Group was unplanned. It was an ocean and I just wanted a piece of that experience. I was with the group for a year”.

He added, “I shared a great equation with my erstwhile founders (Everstone founders) and they wanted me to re-join them. But I pleaded my reluctance to do anything that I did during my earlier tenure. But of course, the law still continues to be a passion, which I call the joy of jurisprudence. Starlaw fitted well into the emerging opportunity to create something new. I want to lay the foundation/create a platform for youngsters and my younger colleagues to carry forward the baton. I wish to set the tone, mentor, and after some time, move on to the realms of quiet and serenity of my plantations in Coorg."

Commenting on the Indian legal market, Devaiah said, “Liberalization is the thesis and controls the antithesis. (There’s a need to) synthesize the balanced liberalization in a manner conducive to the growth of the legal practice and protection of the interests of the citizens. While the learnings form the advanced learning curve, best practices and efficiency should outweigh concerns such as price wars, ruthless competition, and over-commercialization of legal services. The guarded liberalization should be of no concern to the industry.”

He furthered, “The Indian legal market is a very unique one. We have affluent end-users as well as not-so-affluent end-users. Some may be cost-conscious and not trigger-happy. So whether that will impact the not-so-affluent client market, needs to be seen. On a positive note, liberalization will spark healthy competition, followed by a quality revolution benefitting all stakeholders."

Devaiah has been an in-house counsel for over three decades. He has worked with ICICI Venture, Carlyle Group, BPL Group, Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Group. For 15 years, he served at Everstone Group. And thereafter, joined the Adani Group.