Law firms

A Supreme Court judge on the Ambani brothers' gas supply dispute has stepped down, fearing a conflict of interest because of his daughter recently joining AZB & Partners in Bangalore as a partner.

Luthra & Luthra has leased a new floor in its existing Delhi building, moving its corporate team of 60 heads into the 7,000 square-foot-area last week.

Desai & Diwanji, DSK Legal and Wadia Ghandy have triple-teamed on the $100m private equity investment into Hyderabad power company Ind-Barath Power Infra.

Luthra & Luthra, AZB & Partners and S&R Associates have pushed up the IPO league tables this October, as J Sagar Associates (JSA) and capital markets specialist firm JurisPrudent Consulting Partners make their entry into the rankings.

FoxMandal Little Delhi partner K.A. Najmi has joined project finance specialist firm India Law Services as a partner to head its Delhi office.

SN Gupta & Co and one-year-old start-up India Legal have advised on Duet India Hotels' Rs 120 crore ($26m) fund investment in a Hyderabad hotel project with L&T Phoenix Infoparks.

Thakker & Thakker and venture capital (VC) boutique law firms Sand Hill Counsel and Menon Associates have advised on the series A investment into a Hyderabad mobile TV start-up, giving several angel investors a partial exit.

Vaish Associates has recruited two indirect tax law practitioners from Lakshmi Kumaran & Sridharan in a bid to expand its indirect tax law practice.

Trilegal will be the second law firm to move into Lower Parel's One Indiabulls Centre in November, joining Khaitan & Co in the same Mumbai office block. Trilegal is also moving into its long-planned new office in Delhi this month and preparing for its move in Bangalore.

Hemant Sahai Associates has recruited an AZB senior associate as a partner in Mumbai, after recently merging with Paras Kuhad & Associates to create a national firm called PHA Advocates.

Delhi firm LexCounsel has advised the LeapStart Trust in setting up a Rs 50 crore ($11m) close-ended venture capital fund, that aims to capitalise on the resurgent market opportunities in India in various sectors.

Khaitan & Co's Mumbai office is moving from the Ballard Estate area to Lower Parel, where it has taken a lease of a large space allowing it to double in size in future.

Former Khaitan & Co partner Gauri Rasgotra has rejoined the firm's Delhi office after working for two years in the US as the head of the George Washington University Law School's India Studies Center.

Luthra & Luthra has closed two project finance deals out of Delhi and Mumbai this week, acting on the Rs 1,497 crores ($325m) Gujarat road development project and the Rs 4,000 crore ($850m) syndicated term loan for Cairn India to develop oil fields.