Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has hired J Sagar Associates (JSA) Mumbai securities partners Manisha Kumar and Gautam Gandotra, who were part of the team soon-to-leave JSA partner Somasekhar Sundaresan, Bar & Bench first reported and Legally India has confirmed from two sources.

Kumar specialises in corporate commercial law, securities law, private equity, mergers & acquisitions and the financial services sector. The 1996-Delhi University LLB-graduate Kumar had been at JSA since 2008, having joined from Wadia Ghandy & Co in 2002, following a stint at Gagrat & Co.

Gandotra specialises in mergers & acquisitions, private equity corporate work, having been a lawyer since 2004. He completed his LLB from ILS Pune,

JSA joint-managing partner Shivpriya Nanda confirmed them leaving and wished them well.

Cyril Amarchand has been working hard to refill the corporate-sized hole left by corporate partner Ashwath Rau and three partners, who will join AZB

Private equity partner Himanshu Dudeja also left last month to go in-house at Blackstone.

Since then, late last month, Cyril Amarchand hired JP Morgan assistant general counsel Ruetveij Pandya as Mumbai corporate partner.