Law firms

IP powerhouse Singh & Singh & Lall & Sethi (SS&LS), just over two years after it was created in the merger of IP firms Singh & Singh and Lall & Sethi, will be breaking into two again after SS&LS managing partner Chander Lall is expected to get designated this year as a senior advocate by the Delhi high court.

Linklaters has promoted managing associate and NLSIU Bangalore 2005 graduate Kanyaka Ramamurthi to partner, as reported by The Lawyer.

According to several sources, S&R Associates partner Rajat Sethi and UK firm Slaughter and May partner Susannah Macknay have been advising Vodafone on its long-awaited Rs 80,000 crore ($12.2bn) merger with Idea, which was formally announced today.

Link Legal India Law Services partner Shubha Karra has joined Aditya Birla Management Corporation as general manager in its corporate legal cell.

“Bangalore-based Catbus Infolabs Pvt. Ltd, which operates intra-city logistics startup Blowhorn, has raised Rs 25 crore ($3.65 million) in Series A funding from IDG Ventures India, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and existing investors Draper Associates and Unitus Seed Fund, it said in a statement,” reported Techcircle. “Blowhorn, whose tech-enabled platform connects customers with mini truck owners for intra-city, sub 2-tonne deliveries, will use the funds to expand operations to eight cities over the next two years.”

Juris Corp partner Veena Sivaramakrishnan , senior associate Saurabh Sharma and associate Vedika Lakhotia acted for Standard Chartered in a mixed fund-non-fund $20m loan.

Singhania & Co added four associate partners to its Indore office, which the firm had opened in May 2016 headed by Mumbai managing partner Pradeep Jain.

Dua Associates acted for Canara Bank in the sale of its 13.45% stake in Can Fin Homes, which was bought by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC for Rs 753.77 crore in an off-market deal on 10 March 2017.

Aseem Chawla, who had started his own tax advisory firm after resigning as erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas Delhi tax head in 2012, has joined Phoenix Legal to head its tax practice, according to a press release.

S&R Associates has grown its partnership ranks for the first time by lateral hire, with A&M Law Offices co-founding partners Sanjeev Adlakha and Viral Mehta joining the firm as consultant and partner respectively.

Khaitan & Co’s Bangalore office has hired Nalina Mayegowda as a disputes partner from local Bangalore-headquartered Poovayya & Co, where she was also a partner.

LexOrbis has opened a branch office in Mumbai with three lawyers, in order to assist existing clients in the Maharashtra.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) Delhi regulatory and policy salaried partner Nitin Kala, joined the Dubai headquarters of a subsidiary of Mumbai-founded tech company Directi, as first reported by Bar & Bench.

Bharti Airtel is buying the Indian telecoms assets of Norwegian telecoms major Telenor in a deal that’s estimated at Rs 6,800 to Rs 7,000 crore, including debts of Rs 1,500 crore, according to Moneycontrol.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) is understood to be hiring AZB & Partners corporate partner Rishi Gautam, who had joined the firm in 2014 from Clifford Chance and a short stint at Amazon, as first reported by Bar & Bench.