Gurgaon-based law firm Kaden Boriss Legal LLP has promoted four of its senior associates to partner in its new limited liability partnership (LLP) structure, under which it has been running now for more than half a year.

The firm has made up senior associates Preet Sethi, Manila Munjal Sarkaria, Harsh Sinha and Amiya Ranjan Nayak to the partnership in its corporate division.

Sarkaria joined Kaden Boriss in 2004 as an associate straight after finishing law and Harsh Sinha joined in April 2006 from M V Kini, where he spent two years after completing his law degree.

Kaden Boriss founding partner Hemant K Batra (pictured) said: "A captain always derives strength from a good team; I am happy that we are building up a team which will enable Kaden Boriss Legal to grow and expand on the basis of its deliverables."

Kaden Boriss was the second law firm and sixth Indian entity to apply for LLP conversion on 2 April 2009 under the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2009, said Batra. The Act was only notified on 31 March 2009.

Batra explained that there were several reasons the partnership decided to depart from its old structure. "We wanted to convert to LLP for greater transparency - when you constitute a LLP, you're more like a company although your compliances are not as many.

"Your entire structure becomes open to the public at large, which helps prospective clients to understand what your strengths are and brings in credibility that is most important."

"Perpetual succession is another factor which will attract lawyers joining me today, because they know their future is secured," he added.

The limited liability of partners is a further advantage, according to Batra. "The new concept of limiting liability and fixing the onus only on partners privy to a contentious agreement is a great benefit; defining and limiting duties, rights and obligation of partners helps in better management of business."

"We're marching towards accountability," he said. "We lawyers can't consider ourselves demigods."

However, Batra does not accord much importance to the raised membership limit, and said that the legal society had not matured enough to have more than 20 equity partners.

"Partnership is something like marriage, based on trust and comity of thoughts," he mused. "Law firm partnership abroad are different - there partners walk in and walk out every two months."

After notification of the LLP Act in March, however, the tax treatment of an LLP was still unclear.

July's Union Budget clarified the LLP tax positions, placing general partnerships and LLPs on the same footing in respect of taxation except for recovery purposes under the Indian Income Tax Act.

Batra said: "We applied for LLP registration even before the clarification of the tax implication as we were following the press reports and debate in the parliament that India is moving towards a uniform tax structure [although] individuals may be given some exemptions.

"Nowadays, we realise that running a law firm is like running a normal business – you need elbow space, structure, good showcasing and good visibility – LLP provides all of these."

Kaden Boriss Legal LLP has two equity partners, five salaried partners taking profit shares and 15 associates.

Kaden Boriss Legal was earlier known as Kaden Borris Partners, which was restructured in 2005 out of the corporate office of Kesar Dass B & Associates that was first founded in 1993.

As of today, 426 LLPs are registered in India. Conversion of companies and firms was notified on 22 May 2009 with was to take effect from 31 May 2009.

Khaitan & Co and Trilegal have both registered their potential LLP trading names with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.