With effect from 1 January, corporate senior associates Vaishakh Kapadia and Kruti Desai in Mumbai, and Junia Sebastian and Rajat Bopaiah in Bangalore were promoted to the firm’s partnership.

Mumbai-based senior partner Aliff Fazelbhoy said: “We put it [the promotions] on hold when we were with Clyde & Co because we needed clearance from them etc. It was always on the cards. They were ready for it and they deserved it.”

Kapadia and Desai are both alumni of GLC Mumbai, and Kapadia is also dual qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and by the Bombay Incorporated Law Society. Kapadia works mainly on acquisitions, joint ventures (JVs) and private equity law, with Kruti being an M&A specialist.

Sebastian studied law at Dr Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai, after which she completed an LLM in international and constitutional laws. She focuses on corporate, compliance and regulatory work at ALMT.

Bopaiah is a pass-out of ILS Law College Pune and specialises in securities law.

Bopaiah said that a partner’s role was particularly challenging because it also included managing the professional environment. “Considering the ethos of the firm, I look forward to the greater responsibility.

“The key for me, is managing expectations. With this tool I am sure I would be able to build on the good work of my colleagues and help carry the firm to greater heights.”

Following the April 2011 break-up with Clyde & Co, which created spin-off law firm Clasis Law that remained best friends with Clydes, Fazelbhoy said that the ALMT core team was still intact and all the Mumbai and Bangalore partners were still there. “Our expectations have been met. This is good.”

Bangalore-based senior partner SR Arun said that the promotions were also a part of the firm’s plans to diversify into other areas such as sports law and project finance.

Arun said: “They were already very good at their existing portfolios. Now we want them to take up newer roles in newer areas. We are grooming them in this regard.”

Arun said that plans were underway to hire an entire team headed by two senior partners in the Delhi office that was restarted in August of last year. At the moment Arun said he was looking after corporate clients in Delhi and would do so until the team was ready and in place.

Senior associate promotions would be announced in April of this year, said Fazelbhoy.