The Great Legal Minds Show – Sherbir Panag
In this episode of The Great Legal Minds Show (Season 2), host Kaustubh sits down with Sherbir Panag, founder and managing partner of Panag, Babu and Sarangi (PBS), for a wide-ranging conversation on building a specialist law firm from scratch.
Sherbir opens up about:
🎯 His unconventional journey into law – from a military family and competitive shooting to three colleges before law school
🧑⚖️ The mentors who shaped him, from his first boss in the UK to colleagues in Germany and the US
🏛️ Why he chose to build PBS as a deep specialist firm in white-collar defense, complex disputes, and tech law – instead of chasing scale
⚖️ What actually separates companies that survive a crisis from those that don’t (“90% is leadership, 10% is everything else”)
💰 PBS’s contrarian approach to compensation, merit-based promotions, and a no-cap bonus policy for its “superstars”
🤖 How AI is reshaping the practice of law – and why it’s a gift for specialist firms
🌍 His unequivocal support for opening up India’s legal market to foreign law firms
📚 The books every young lawyer should read, and how he unwinds with motorcycling, music, and travel
A candid, insightful conversation on leadership, meritocracy, and building a modern legal practice in India.
