Platinum Partners Mumbai partner Gautam Bhat with associate Abhik Ghosh and associate Ushma Marwah, and Sidley Austin led by partner Manoj Bhargava, of counsel Vivek Baid, and associate Rishabh Gupta, advised Essar on the sale of its BPO subsidiary Aegis to Capital Square partners.

Berjis Desai, the former senior partner of J Sagar Associates (JSA), has, as long-planned, opted to retire at 60 rather than 65 and now gone independent as a so-called “private lawyer”, as his business card now says, styled on US-based individual lawyers specialising in advising mostly private persons rather than corporates.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) has promoted 11 principal associates to retained (salaried) partner level, reported Bar & Bench:

Trilegal has promoted Delhi disputes counsel Jafar Alam and Ashish Bhan into its all-equity partnership, which now numbers 37.

Boutique IP, tech, media and telecommunications firm, TMT Law Practice, and DPSA Legal, a Delhi-based dispute resolution and corporate advisory firm founded by former additional advocate general DP Singh have merged to become Arthe Law.

Phoenix Legal has promoted four of its lawyers to partner.

HSA Advocates has announced its annual promotions across three partnership ranks, and to its principal associate and senior associate designations, writing in its press release:

AZB & Partners has promoted the following six lawyers to partner in its Mumbai partnership:

Nishith Desai Associates Huzefa Tavawalla along with Kartik Maheshwari and Poonam Sharma acted as Indian and transaction counsel for CLIENT:: Zensar ;;.

Khaitan & Co has inducted 11 new equity partners, 9 new associate (salaried) partners and 4 counsels in its annual promotion round, taking it up to a total of 115 partners and directors and 15 counsels.

2001 GLC Mumbai graduate and Clifford Chance London senior associate Amer Siddiqui has joined Simmons & Simmons as a partner in its capital markets team.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted for Avenue Supermarts on one of the largest (Rs 1800 crore) and most oversubscribed (106 times) initial public offerings (IPOs) ever, alongside Luthra & Luthra and Herbert Smith Freehills Singapore for the banks, listing with a valuation of Rs 39,998 crore - the 67th largest Bombay Stock Exchange-listed company.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has promoted 20 lawyers to partner, with the majority in the corporate practice, in addition to formally inducting AZB & Partner partner Rishi Gautam as a partner from 1 April.

Trilegal partner Anand Prasad has four days left until he stops being a Trilegal partner, giving up all his equity, all “financial arrangements”, not even “a consulting arrangement” with the firm he co-founded in 2000.

Samvad Partners acted for Delhivery Private Limited on its Rs 650 crore ($100m) investment by private equity giant Carlyle Group along with Tiger Global.

Internally sometimes called the youngest legal head of India’s largest and oldest biscuit maker, Britannia Industries head of legal Burhan Khalid has litigation on his platter, and a lot of it.

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.