Not your average Mr. Sharma: A Series
(Calculated Risk No. 2 — Choosing to stay on a sinking ship)
Continued from the previous post
It was July 2006 when I received my LL.M. degree in my hand in the US, far away from my family. My parents could not attend my graduation ceremony as our lives’ balance sheet still showed very less amount credited to us compared to the expenses. Nonetheless, I had another set of parents who put the graduation robe and hat on me before they hugged their own son Gaurav. My respect for Mr MK Miglani and his family grew immensely and it continues to grow to date. I was very emotional as one of my life’s biggest goals was finally achieved. There was a lot that I and my family went through and this degree meant everything to me. However, I realized soon that happiness is generally momentary and the pursuit of happiness is always bigger than the actual happy moment in our lives. Perhaps that's why most of the pleasurable moments in our lives also last for a short period. By the evening of my graduation day, I was already thinking about how to get a job and repay my huge loan.
My job search in the US is an amazingly inspiring story (at least to me), which I will discuss in a separate write-up soon. But what if I told you that only a few months after landing a job in the US with the greatest of difficulty, I got to know that my Silicon-Valley law firm was thinking of shutting down. Just when I thought that my Master's degree will put my life on a successful path, I could not believe my luck of getting a job in a firm that might not exist for long. None of this was known to me when I joined it. It was almost as if I brought bad luck. I joined as a Law Clerk and hence I was not privy to the billings of the Firm, but the client meetings never stopped and hence I thought the Firm was doing very well but little did I know. To his own right, the Managing Partner of our Firm had entrepreneurial start-up ambitions and he decided to spend more time as a CEO of his other Tech-company. When I understood his idea, I was able to appreciate why he was focusing on building this new venture of his but I was still scared of the absence of leadership on a day-to-day basis. The genius in him (and I mean it with great awe and respect) was a rebel of sorts who always saw businesses differently. He was an engineer, a patent attorney and someone who had solid business acumen. However, his decision of focusing on his new venture triggered everyone to leave and every day I could sense that my time here is almost done. Everyone in the Firm knew that I will be most badly hit by the shutting down of the firm, hence every attorney spoke to me separately over lunch and almost paid their condolences. They showed their support, but they ultimately chose to leave. They were ready to write glowing recommendation letters and even promised to keep in touch with a job offer in their future but that would not have helped my present. I was expecting that this Firm will also sponsor my H-1B Visa (USA’s work visa) and here I was seeing it slip out of my hands each hour. It was difficult to even focus on daily tasks but I was taking one day at a time. Most people moved out of the Firm and I was accompanied by just one full-time team member to finish whatever little work we had. I was given the option to leave as well with some monetary compensation to support for some time. It was clear that I had to pack my bags and come to India unless I chose an upstream and vague plan.
One fine morning, I was at Peet’s Coffee, ordering my favourite Cafe Latte and Chocolate Croissant when I was realized how much will I miss my Peet’s Coffee if I moved back to India. But jokes aside, I was ready to consider grabbing the vague plan with an open mind and make the best use of it, if I can. The plan was to try running the Firm with minimal resources, not hire anyone new, build more clients, move to a one-room co-working office at Regus, Palo Alto, not be too hopeful about receiving your salary next month, work extra hours if needed, and HOPE that all this works out for the best. It felt that it was a plan designed to fail us. That day, I took my second calculated risk by deciding to stay with the Firm that is left with 2 team members, including myself. I said YES to the plan, that ‘may’ save the Firm. Being a lawyer, I am trained to see the clear difference between ‘shall’ and ‘may’ and I know this plan shall not work. But I saw the old saying 1+1 = 11 working wonders in real life. We decided to hire Of-Counsels / Consultants to wrap up existing client work and managing them was a pain most of the time. We contacted our own clients for work, which they gave us as if they were waiting for our call to give us more billings. Rather than looking for other jobs (which was impossible as no one would sponsor my H1B) or coming back to India, I chose to stay with the Firm which was more mine now than ever before and rebuild it. The plan was to generate some profits so that we could pay the rent, pay ourselves and hire attorneys/staff full time. We were doing things within the ambit of law but there was a big question mark on what will happen in the long run. I spoke to many and everyone told me to leave. I calculated how much I need to survive and told my roommate that I might have to borrow the next 2 months’ expenses. Those 2 months, I cut down on expense, did not send any money to my family in India, did not pay my bank loan and was ready to receive a letter of default from the bank. I along with my other team member worked tirelessly to save the Firm and get it out of its troubles. I did not choose to quit and leave the sinking ship. I slept on the office floor on at least 3 separate occasions for approx. 4 hours since I had to finish works at all costs. My dedication to generate profits coupled with the loyalty towards the Firm made me stay and ultimately, we survived. We saw positive cash flows, we paid ourselves and even generated some profits. We hired some people and more importantly, it made such an impact that even our Managing Partner decided to dedicate his time back to the Firm full time and rebuild it with us.
This is the part where you will not believe me. It was perhaps that decision of not quitting the Firm when I was needed the most, that I received my Boss’ Toyota Camry as a gift from him. This was unheard of. I never had the money to buy a car in the US but my risks paid off. I was the legal owner of a Toyota Camry and it allowed me to explore the Bay Area a bit more over the weekends.
I continued to work with the Firm for the next 8 years (November 2006 to December 2014, albeit later part in India) and it was the calculated risks of staying with the Firm in its tough times that even put me on a Partner track in that US law firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Ultimately, I became a Partner in the Firm in 2009 and remained so until I left in December 2014. I was shaking hands with inventors and entrepreneurs, taking bigger decisions, hiring and training Team members for India and sometimes the US office and even taking client meetings in the Bay Area (as needed) and in India. I even went to London for business development, attended INTA meetings and spoke at various local events and conferences. I continued to sip my favourite Peet’s Coffee until I was there in the US and continue to do so till date when I visit. I will never be able to repay the opportunities, the respect and the freedom that I got at that Firm, which later moved me back to India to head the operations and manage it end-to-end.
All this was a dream come true for me and I can write hundreds of pages about my time there. But like all good things, my work there came to an end in the most amicable way possible in December 2014. I am still friends with many of my colleagues from back then and I continue to visit many when I travel the US. I was travelling to the US each year to learn US’ best practices and transfer them to India, a model replicated by many law firms after we pioneered. We expanded beyond expectations and I am so glad I chose to stay with the Firm back in time. My risk-taking ability became better and my calculations became stronger. I bettered my management skills and I ended up managing a team of approx. 75 people in India until when I left.
I cannot be happier with the times I spent building teams in India and the US. I continued to travel (pre-Corona), build clients and am committed to making a difference.
Coming Up: Calculated Risk No 3: How I started my law firm Pulastya Legal in 2015 with only risks.
