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.