Deepak had been with DSK Legal since 2003, before which he was at Nishith Desai Associates having graduated from NLSIU Bangalore in 1999.

Luthra & Luthra senior partner Mohit Saraf said: “The aim is to make Bombay as a full service firm with multiple partners and bandwidth. Right now we are pretty well positioned on finance side but partners on M&A and PE are pretty overleveraged.”

“Deepak is definitely a senior level hire who can run his own deals.”

Luthra & Luthra has been trying to expand its corporate strength, particularly in Mumbai, following the May 2010 hire of former Clifford Chance senior associate Sudipta Routh as a corporate partner.

In February Delhi finance partner Aniket Sengupta relocated to Mumbai to further shore up the office’s strength.

“There is a requirement today – we are pretty much stretched at the firm,” admitted Saraf, adding: “The next hires will be on tax side and IPR side. Our aim is to significantly grow up in Bombay.”

Deepak said: “I will be working with the private equity relationship and that’s the same kind of work I’ve been doing here at DSK. Luthra has a relatively small PE / M&A team in Mumbai which is expanding and looks like a good opportunity.” He is set to start on 1 October.

DSK Legal managing partner Anand Desai confirmed Deepak’s departure and wished him well.

After Deepak’s departure, DSK Legal has a total of 75 lawyers, of whom 10 are partners and four are associate partners, according to Desai.

On Legallypedia: Luthra & Luthra and DSK Legal.