FoxMandal leaves staff unpaid as clients hold on to their cash

FML managing partner Som Mandal said this was because the firm’s lockup (the time it takes for clients to pay bills after lawyers start work on a project) had increased from around 90 days to up to six months.

“We’re pretty sure of resolving this matter, ­hoping that it should close by this month or at the latest by August. We’re looking at alternatives, how we can secure ourselves in bridging the payment gap,” Mandal revealed.

FML’s Delhi office is understood to be facing delays in payment from around 70 per cent of its clients, notably from those overseas, which account for between 70 and 80 per cent of its billings.

In the firm’s London office, which launched last year, partner-in-charge Ajit Mishra stated: “Everybody’s been paid.”

Last year FML also opened two new offices in India, in Lucknow and an associate office in Allahabad. A major recruitment spree over the year also boosted the firm’s lawyer count by more than 60.