India’s IPO boom in 2024-2025 has not just been a story of companies raising record money, but also brought hefty payments for law firms. According to a Bar and Bench report, legal advisors pocketed crores in fees, cashing in on the frenzy.

The fiscal year was the biggest ever for India’s primary markets, with IPOs collectively raising more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The standout deal was for food-delivery giant Swiggy’s Rs 11,327 crore IPO, which alone generated Rs 20.7 crore in legal fees for Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal, who advised on the issue.

This made it the single biggest fee payout to lawyers among all IPOs in 2024-25, higher than even larger issues like Hyundai India and HDB Financial.

Hyundai’s Rs 27,858 crore IPO paid around Rs 6.4 crore in fees to Khaitan and Co and JSA, who acted as advisors. HDB Financial’s Rs 12,500 crore issue spent about Rs 15 crore, handled by Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.

Vishal Megamart, with an Rs 8,000 crore IPO, paid Rs 12.1 crore, where Trilegal was among the lead advisors. Swiggy, despite being smaller than Hyundai by issue size, topped the chart on absolute fee payout.

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The report also shows that large IPOs above Rs 5,000 crore attracted legal fees in the range of Rs 6–20 crore, depending on complexity. For mid-sized issues between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore, lawyers billed in the range of Rs 3–8 crore per deal.

It should be noted that IPO fees aren’t always in line with the size of the issue. They depend on factors like regulatory complexity, structuring of fresh issues versus offer-for-sale, the number of selling shareholders, and coordination with overseas investors. Swiggy’s IPO involved a mix of these, making it more legally intensive.

The IPO market is dominated by a handful of law firms. Trilegal, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co and JSA collectively handled around 56% of all IPO mandates during FY25.

Within this group, Trilegal, CAM and SAM alone accounted for about 44% of the total mandates.

Why are there high legal costs for IPOs

Legal advisory fees are also a significant part of the overall cost of IPOs, which are complex, involve global participation, and are time-sensitive. All these factors push up legal costs.

Sebi’s tighter disclosure regime and the growing preference for pre-IPO rounds also add layers of vetting, which lawyers are equipped to handle.

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