Bharat Vasani, the former general counsel of Tata Sons, has joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, according to a press release from the firm.

Vasani told us by phone today: “My 39 years of experience can take CAM’s practice to a new level.

“I believe I can add a very significant value and an in-house counsels perspective, which are the principal clients of the firm.”

Regarding his move from a life in-house to private practice, he said: “I supposed it will be a transition. My sense is that I’ve gone through many transitions in the past, and I will handle this successfully.”

He said that he'd earlier successfully moved from a “very American company” (The Dow Chemical International), to a “very Indian group” (the Tatas). He had also worked for 15 years with NOCIL, a joint venture between Shell and Mafatlal.

“I'm reasonably confident that i can handle the transition very well. I was almost running a law firm within the house of Tatas, now I'll run the law firm from outside.”

He will be running a GC-practice, with a strong focus on corporate and M&A. “I bring a lot of diversified experience, so Cyril said he'll use my expertise in various areas, including litigation.”

Regarding his relationship with the Tata Group and whether he would continue working with them, he said: “I have served my innings with Tatas, but I may work with them as a client but not as an in-house-adviser now.

“But if Tatas is seeking my advice, I'll always be available to them, also pro bono.”

As we had first reported, in May 2017 Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas partner Shuva Mandal had joined Tata Sons in the GC role to succeed Vasani.

As we had reported in late January, Vasani had permanently left Tata Sons behind, intending to enter private practice and to spend significant time teaching.

It is understood that he has been considering offers from several law firms.

“His rich and diversified industry experience, with a variety of businesses across sectors, would add immense value to our firm and will further enhance our capabilities to support our clients,“ said Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas managing partner Cyril Shroff in a press release.