International firms are not blind to new business opportunities and have been quick to jump on the spike in IPO deals that has occurred over the past year, despite Indian firms being in the thick of the recent IPO action on the sub-continent.

Almost all the major US and UK law firms are now interested in the Indian capital markets growth story, leading to intense competition for new business.

John Chrisman, head of the Indian capital markets practice at Dorsey & Whitney, says firms will swarm over the market trying to capture business while the market is hot. "Most international law firms have only been focusing on China, but India now offers a chance for diversification," Chrisman says.

Jones Day's Geoff Maddox agrees, and says that until recently it was a market that only a few firms were interested in getting involved in. "It takes a lot of local market expertise," Maddox says.

However, with the internationals just starting to set their eyes on the Indian IPO pie, it is the firms that have been active in India for some time that are winning business.

Chrisman's practice has to date been perhaps the most successful in India, a direct result of his history working on these deals from the early '90s. He worked on his first Indian offering in 1993 as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell and has since worked on over 100 securities offerings and corporate transactions by Indian companies while a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Jones Day and Coudert Brothers.

Chrisman formed Dorsey's capital markets practice in October 2005 with two associates he brought with him after the collapse of Coudert Brothers, and has managed to put together a substantitive deal list over the past eight months.

Maddox is another international success story in the Indian market, having this year advised the underwriter on three IPOs and the company on one. "We have been active in India for about 10 years," Maddox says. "We have managed to win business through a combination of working with investment banks across the region and working with Indian law firms."

Jones Day is currently in the throes of working on six more IPOs in India. "It's a case of the more you do, the more you are asked to do," he says.

Chrisman says a long-term commitment to India and strong relationships are the recipe for a successful practice  and he has no doubt India will continue to grow.

"The Indian miracle will continue  in my lifetime, I look forward to seeing the world's largest democracy become a major economic power, and the capital markets will help fund this growth," Chrisman says.

In recent weeks, the Indian stock market has taken a beating from investors. Though the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex index reached historical highs of well over 12,000 in mid-May, it has since plummeted dramatically back to under 10,000.

With the IPO market having ridden high on the back of rising stock valuations and investor sentiment, law firms key to the IPO market in India are all expecting a slowdown in the amount of IPO business coming their way over the next three months.

However, with these firms having built up increased experience and know-how in the market during recent boom years, all are expecting the wave of IPO business to continue coming their way when this short market-driven hiatus comes to an end.

First among these is Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co, the firm most involved in the market this year until the end of May according to figures sourced from prospectuses available on the BSE.

Of the transactions listed in the table compiled by ALB, Amarchand has taken a 20% slice of the pie in terms of acting as adviser to companies on their IPO issues.

Other key players that have been able to scoop up business advising for the company were Crawford Bayley & Co and J Sagar Associates, who each advised five companies on their issues during the period, followed by Rajani Associates.

S&R Associates has also managed to score a high percentage of business in acting for the underwriter on issues, when compared to the competition.

Though it might seem a law firm's size would be a deciding factor in its ability to source more of this growing market, the spread of business proves this not necessarily true.

Rajani & Associates only have 16 lawyers and two partners, compared with Amarchand's 31 partners from 188 lawyers, but still managed to advise four companies this year.

So what do the leading firms say are the factors enabling them to succeed in the market?

The consensus seems to be solid client relationships and trust, developed over many years rather than just during recent years as IPOs have grown spectacularly in size, complexity and numbers. The length of involvement in capital markets is also playing a role, as is the amount of experience firm's have attained in the sector.

Amarchand & Mangaldas managing partner Shardul Shroff says the firm has built good relationships with clients over a period of 1520 years due to quality of service. He says the capital markets practice area started back with his father and has evolved since then.

"It is not only these working relationships, but also the fact we have been involved in some of the most complicated, cutting-edge deals in the market," Shroff says.

One of the most complex, according to Shroff, was advising ICICI Bank on an issue that saw simultaneous offerings in the US, Japan and domestically to the value of US$1.75bn.

Amarchand & Mangaldas has also played a part in capital markets reform over the years. The firm was involved in drafting the code of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and more recently wrote a chapter in a revised version of the code.

Shroff says the firm will endeavour to keep a hold on this market, but will not necessarily put a large amount of resources into growing the business too much further. "I think we are already doing quite a lot. We have fairly large teams. If the market grows and needs more resources, then we will respond to that, but if the market is turning down, we will divert our resources to something else," Shroff says.

Prem Rajani, from Rajani & Associates, says word of mouth has been the key to growing his firm's IPO business, despite its smaller size compared with larger competition.

While the firm is not often on the panels of the lead managers of transactions, Rajani says ultimately delivering successful IPOs has helped the firm to gain more business.

Rajani says the firm has six people in the capital markets area, and they are never short of manpower, choosing to undertake a maximum of three issues at any one point in time.

J Sagar & Associates partner Somasekhar Sundaresan says being involved in IPOs means being perceived as having a full perspective on the entire securities market. "Most bankers are comfortable working with us because we work with them on securities market related transactions," Sundaresan says. "You can't just say you are an IPO lawyer  you have to get into all ends of the securities market," he says.

To this end, J Sagar & Associates holds seminars on new and evolving regulations in the securities arena to demonstrate its competence in the area.

But Sundaresan also agrees relationships are crucial. "This market runs on relationships," he says. "When I have finished a deal, I don't measure it on the deal being completed, but on how many relationships I was able to build during the deal," he says.

With the stock market now under pressure, the firms will have to use these relationships to beat off competition as the market tightens over the next few months.

At present, some stocks are trading at a discount of between 20% and 50%, virtually killing the enthusiasm for IPOs that gripped the market only two months ago. "The capital market is so big, so there is work for everyone, but because of the drop in the market there will be a shake-out - everyone is feeling that big or small," Sundaresan says.

However, players in the market are optimistic it will rebound, with the fundamental growth in the Indian economy leading to the increased need of companies for funds.

And lawyers are well positioned to capitalise. While in the past bankers used to write most of the documents for IPOs, law firms are now inseparable from the market.

There is even talk the regulator SEBI could in the future choose to register firms that it could recommend as counsel on IPO transactions.

So, it seems key law firms are coming to dominate the Indian IPO market. "In India, there are a number of firms in this space, but the number of firms you can count on your hands," Sundaresan says.

With the existing reputations and experience they have built it is unlikely this will change much when the market returns.