MV Kini partner Shrikant Kamath, who joined the firm in February 2012 to start its tax practice, left the firm last week but the firm promoted Mumbai-based taxation principal associate Prateush Sharma on 26 November to head the practice.

Kamath, who set up Shrikant Kamath & Associates in 2010, told Legally India that he was currently “exploring options” including either joining a law firm as partner or starting his own tax practice.

He said: “Starting from scratch and completely from zero we developed a very good [tax] practice [at MV Kini]. It had gained a fair amount of critical mass to get noticed in the market.”

Sharma joined MV Kini in December 2012 after over four years at Viraj Profiles where he was heading taxation since 2010.

He worked with the Federal Department of Revenue from 1991 until December 2007, and obtained his LLB degree from Meerut University in 1994. He also had a brief stint at ALMT Legal from January to April 2008.

“There is a lot of untapped growth which I see”, he said, “because my experience has been in the tax department, in the manufacturing sector as well as in a law firm. This is my USP – you understand the business, manage statutory provisions, give them a fool proof list of compliances and help them in litigation. One year down the line we will be a force to reckon with in terms of taxation.”

He said that MV Kini’s tax team currently has eight retainers excluding him and including a principal associate, two senior associates, three associates and two chartered accountants.

The firm made up a partner in its Delhi office in April.