Law firms

Kochhar & Co has hired two K Law Delhi partners - Pradeep Ratnam, who effectively headed its office in the city, and Parul Verma; both specialise in banking and finance.

Just before 3pm yesterday (Thursday, 24 September), all staff and fee-earners at L&L Partners received an email from managing partner Rajiv Luthra, announcing a virtual townhall for 5pm that day.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has promoted 84 associates to senior or principal associate level, with the majority of these - 58% - being based in the Delhi region, closely followed by Mumbai.

Former AZB & Partners partner Anu Tiwari has joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas today in Mumbai.

A fundamental rift has opened up at L&L Partners over how its long-held promoter equity should be opened up and distributed to other partners in the firm.

S&R Associates has elected arbitration and litigation counsel Shahezad Kazi into its partnership.

Facing heavy internal resistance after suggesting that staff should return from their hometowns where many had sheltered during the Covid-19 lockdowns, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) has changed course and scrapped the policy tonight, announcing it would continue working from home indefinitely.

L&L Partners corporate transactional advisory partnership has paid out bonuses to fee-earners just a little behind schedule last week, though it notified its 44 fresh campus recruits that they would not be able to join the firm before 2021 as opposed to around this month (though a few of these have since joined - see update below).

Economic Laws Practice (ELP) has expanded its direct tax practice, hiring chartered accountant and Dhruva Advisors partner Saumil Shah as a director in Mumbai.

AZB & Partners Mumbai-based financial services partner Anu Tiwari is leaving the firm.

Khaitan & Co environment law practice partner Nawneet Vibhaw has joined Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) in Delhi as a partner.

Until-now pureplay corporate and private equity / venture capital boutique Algo Legal has expanded its service lines into litigation with the hire of Namitha Mathews as a partner in Delhi.

Khaitan & Co has moved into a managed offices in Bengaluru operated by its client WeWork, with a seating capacity of 150, which is nearly double its current local headcount; in the National Capital Region (NCR) it has relocated to a state-of-the-art but more traditional office space in Noida from Delhi.