Speculation out of Chicago is DLA Piper could be angling for entry into India following the addition of Dipak Jain, the former dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as a consultant.
The Chicago Tribune notes Jain is a native of India who also has relationships in South Korea. While U.S. firms are not allowed to practice law in India, the story notes British firms already have offices there to handle “back-office” functions such as accounting and information technology.
Jain retired last year after eight years as dean of the Kellogg school. His tenure was considered a successful one and he remained on the faculty as a marketing professor.
Jain is the third consultant to join the firm recently. He follows the additions of Norman Bobins, ex-chairman of LaSalle Bank, and Dale Anne Reiss, former real estate executive at Ernst & Young.
DLA Piper, one of the world’s biggest law firms, has been in expansion mode of late. It recently established a presence in Turkey and also entered the Latin America market through a relationship with a Brazilian firm.
DLA Piper has more than 3,500 lawyers with 68 offices in 30 countries.