It is understood that DSK Delhi partners Gopika Pant and Piyoosh Gupta, who had joined the firm in 2004, will demerge from DSK with five associates to re-start their legacy firm Indian Law Partners that they had set up after leaving Amarchand Mangaldas in 1999.

Pant and Gupta were not available for comment.

DSK managing partner Anand Desai (pictured) said that the split was amicable and their relationship continued to be good: “Our paths were slightly different because we were keen to grow and the two of them were keen to stay a boutique.”

Meanwhile, Agarwal Law Associates corporate lawyer Niraj Kumar will be joining DSK Legal as a partner from 1 April with two associates, said Desai and DSK Delhi partner Balbir Singh. Agarwal Law Associates was unavailable for comment.

Singh added: “What we are trying to do is where we can be the same brand name and acceptance that DSK has in Bombay.”

The firm would look to take on new lateral partners and expand rapidly, he said, having just moved into a new 5,000-square-foot Delhi office next to the Hindustan Times building. The previous office was roughly 3,000 square feet in size.

Only late last month DSK took on Paras Kuhad Associates litigation partner Ravi Prakash with his 14-lawyer team and earlier this month DSK opened a Bangalore office by local merger with Ajesh Kumar’s practice.

29 May 2013 Editor's note: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated the firm's name is India Law Partners instead of Indian Law Partners.