UK Law Firm's Hyderabad GCC: Incorporated in Under 40 Days, Now 100+ Lawyers

Client Snapshot Origin: UK based law firm establishing a Global Capability Centre (GCC) in India Location: Hyderabad Priority: Fast incorporation with minimal documentation, apostille burden, and setup cost Scale today: 100+ lawyers based at the Hyderabad GCC The Challenge Setting up a GCC is as much a legal-entity problem as it is a real-estate-and-hiring one, and for a UK parent, the entity side usually means every incorporation document board resolutions, filings, declarations gets executed in the UK, then apostilled, then couriered to India before anything can be filed. Each cycle adds time, courier cost, and another opportunity for something to need re-execution. The firm wanted its Hyderabad GCC operational quickly, without the UK board and its signatories carrying that documentation load through every stage of the India setup. A2's Approach Rather than treating apostille reduction as a workaround to apply later, we built it into the incorporation structure from the start. The UK company's board resolution was drafted to include specific authorisation for a locally based representative in India to sign and execute documents on the company's behalf.

That one authorisation set at board-resolution stage, before incorporation began meant the majority of subsequent filings and registrations could be executed locally in India rather than routed back to the UK for signature, apostille, and return courier. Each document that no longer needed to cross borders was one fewer cycle of delay and cost.

Why building it into the board resolution mattered

Retrofitting local signing authority midway through an incorporation is harder than designing it in from the first board resolution by the time delays show up, the documents that caused them have often already been filed the slow way. Authorising a local representative upfront meant the entire remaining incorporation process, not just a portion of it, could run on Indian timelines instead of UK ones.

The Result The India entity was incorporated in under 40 days, letting the firm move quickly from entity formation to operational readiness. The Hyderabad GCC has since scaled to more than 100 lawyers, giving the firm a substantial India-based legal delivery capability supporting its wider global operations.

Key outcomes

• India entity incorporated in under 40 days
• Hyderabad GCC has scaled to 100+ lawyers
• Fewer documents requiring UK-side apostille and execution
• Reduced administrative time and cost
• Local signing authority enabled faster document execution throughout
• Accelerated path from board approval to GCC launch
• Scalable legal delivery capability supporting global operations

Why This Matters Beyond This Case The real differentiator wasn't speed for its own sake it was designing the authorisation structure before incorporation started, so the UK parent wasn't repeatedly executing and apostilling documents at every stage. Any UK (or other foreign) parent setting up a GCC in India faces the same structural choice: build local signing authority into the board resolution upfront, or absorb repeated cross-border document cycles throughout the setup. The first path is what took this firm from UK board approval to a 100-lawyer Hyderabad GCC.