Dutt was part of the team of five senior associates who moved with two partners from Khaitan & Co Delhi to LKS in 2011. He joined LKS as joint partner, and was made a partner effective 1 April 2013.

He graduated as a lawyer from Delhi University in 2001 and joined the chambers of then central government standing counsel Jayant Bhushan, eventually taking on independent matters while continuing with Bhushan until 2008. He joined Khaitan in 2009.

LKS has four other joint partners in the litigation practice group, and the designation succeeds that of a principal associate at the firm.

Six-month salary

The firm’s upward revision of base salary from Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per month takes on par with Phoenix Legal on according to Legally India’s 2010 table of 17 law firm starting salaries in India.

LKS joint partner Badri Narayanan told Legally India that the previous revision in base salary was made around three years ago. He said that the new base salary was constant across practices, departments and offices, but after six months with the firm around 10 per cent of that remuneration would only become payable if the firm as a whole performed well. “Every person gets a percentage if the firm does well,” he said. “The variable [is] 10 per cent or upward based on how the firm has performed.”

Last year the firm opened a second office in Delhi and an office in Pune in April, hired former Bharti Enterprises general counsel Vijaya Sampath, and moved to a bigger Bangalore office in June.