A new era law firm, LawQuest is dedicated to provide pioneering solutions to its clients. In Candid Conversation with TBF, Poorvi Chothani, the Founder and Managing Partner of LawQuest, have shared some insightful views and highlighted the firm’s achievements making it the most recommended immigration law solution provider.
Q. Briefly describe the Partners/Founder of the Law firm.
Poorvi Chothani is the Founder and Managing Partner of LawQuest, an immigration and employment law firm, headquartered in Mumbai, India. She is also the Managing Partner of The Law Office of Poorvi Chothani, PLLC, Florida.
Poorvi is a seasoned veteran who advises companies through every major immigration policy change and spearheads LawQuest’s leading global immigration practice, which addresses Indian, U.S. and global immigration compliance, HR functions and mobility services. LawQuest offers its services to multinational clients in a variety of sectors, including financial services, consulting, IT, defense, consumer goods, telecommunications and multimedia. It offers a comprehensive compliance and management program driven by technology and in-depth knowledge, to help clients manage their mobile workforce.
Poorvi is a Vice Chair of the India and Immigration committees at the American Bar Association (ABA) and is an Executive Member and Secretary in the Immigration committee at the International Bar Association (IBA), a global organization.
Poorvi, a founding member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Bangkok District Chapter (BDC) has served on its steering group and committees several times and organized BDC’s unique Annual Conference in Chennai as Conference Chair. She currently serves on AILA’S DOS Liaison Committee and continues to be an active member of the BDC and AILA’s South Florida Chapters. She is a founding member and past Chair of the AILA Global Migration Section (GMS).
Q. Kindly brief us about the initial journey and your contribution towards the upliftment of the Law firm?
Poorvi Chothani, began her legal career in 1984 as a Counsel at the Bombay High Court. Through the years her career took different turns, working with prominent lawyers and law firms, adding to her knowledge and experience in litigation, corporate law, business practices, intellectual property law, employment law to name a few. In 2003, after pursuing an LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business, Poorvi began LawQuest as a boutique firm focussed on immigration and employment law. Early in 2004, Poorvi was admitted to the New York Bar and then as a registered and practicing Solicitor of England and Wales. Being licensed in multiple jurisdictions proved to be a great advantage in the field of global immigration. The firm has only grown from strength to strength and there has been no looking back.
LawQuest has grown to be a dynamic global immigration and Indian employment law firm with a cumulative experience of over 70 years. We have over 90 global network partners who enable us to provide a holistic range of services across the globe to our clients. LawQuest ensures that it clearly understands client needs and take an organized and comprehensive approach to all its legal work. LawQuest also assists companies with setting up operations in India guiding them through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and state regulations to ensure a high level of compliance.
Q. What are the distinct areas of practice of the Law firm and what makes it unique?
LawQuest provides essential Indian employment law and global immigration services, both integral and crucial components of any global business.
The firm’s domestic and international clients benefit from its full range of Indian employment law services – from recruitment to termination and all matters in between. LawQuest’s offices are conveniently located in Mumbai, New York City and Miami.
The firm’s practice areas, in addition to U.S., global and Indian immigration law, include Indian employment and labor law, advisory and assistance with alternate or permanent residence and citizenship planning and acquisition as well as document and legalization services.
LawQuest is a regulated entity; answerable to the regulators in India, USA, and England and Wales. This requires the firm to adhere to high standards of ethics and professional responsibility. Members of the firm hold senior leadership positions in international bodies including the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and Indian Merchants Chamber. Aside from the jurisdictions the firm is licensed in, it also has a vetted network of partners in over 90 countries, many of whom have been met in person and/or the firm works with regularly.
The firm’s team prolifically publishes articles and blogs on immigration matters. Members of LawQuest are often quoted in and contribute to leading publications. The media frequently interviews Poorvi on complex immigration issues.
LawQuest members are very well connected with the consular communities at diplomatic posts in India of many countries. They are included in the list of attorneys/ solicitors published by the U.S. and British Consulates. Poorvi and the LawQuest team frequently work with high-net-worth individuals on EB-5 green cards as well as other global residence and citizenship options.
Though LawQuest works for clients for a fee, at any given point of time the firm is involved in at least one pro bono legal project in association with TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation initiative, which provides a platform for law firms to assist NGOs and social enterprises which are in need of legal assistance. LawQuest is the recipient of several awards for its pro bono work and continues to contribute to society with ongoing projects.
Areas of Practice
Indian Immigration | U.S. Immigration | Global Immigration, Citizenship and Residence Programs| Indian Employment Law | Business Start Up Services
Q. What are the challenges faced by the Law firm?
In 2003, when LawQuest was launched as an immigration law firm it was a very rare practice in India. It took a lot of perseverance and tenacity to establish the firm.
Key milestones in the firm’s growth included the acquisition of clients like global leaders in the aerospace and defence sectors, both large American conglomerates. The firm’s reputation has gained global recognition and it has been described as ‘the best of the best in India’, by leading global law firms, an accolade that it is proud of.
The firm has worked with multiple A-list, Bollywood celebrities to help them navigate the uncertain Indian immigration procedures and systems, resolving complex issues so that they can achieve their career and travel goals. For a long time, the firm was an ‘all women’ law firm and this was not by design but by pure chance. A large part of this was because the firm offers its staff flexibility, and it provides a work environment which allows parent teacher meetings to trump client meetings. This ethos resulted in the Vahura Award for ‘Best Law Firm in Work-Life Balance’.
Q. What lies ahead of the Law firm in the future?
As the economies across the world get more global there will be a continuous and increased movement of people to meet the needs of specific skills and address demographic challenges where there are aging populations. This harbors well for global immigration and LawQuest is on an upward trajectory and the sky’s the limit! The firm is expected to induct on equity partners over the next couple of years.
