George will head the four-associate strong Chennai office alongside its existing head, co-founding partner Sidhharth Raja, and will also head the firm’s IP practice across all its offices, stated the firm’s press release.

After graduating from Nalsar Hyderabad in 2004, George was in Amarchand Mangaldas’s patent law team until 2006, a research consultant with the Centre for Trade and Development (CENTAD) between 2007 and 2008, an IP associate with litigating firm Ali Associates from late 2009 until January 2012, and was practicing independently in Chennai courts since then.

He obtained an LLM degree from the US’s Columbia University in 2009.

George also had a brief journalistic stint at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) between March and September 2007.

The firm launched its Chennai office on 1 May last year, with Raja shuttling between Bangalore and Chennai to take charge of the region.

Former co-founding partner Rupa Doraswamy, who left the firm in December 2011, was the sole partner specialising in IP law at the firm.

Raja said: “Our strongest focus continues to be M&A and corporate. We are principally a corporate commercial firm. We’ve also been doing various types of IP [matters] since a long time, and [George will help] enhance the firm’s practice, and to speed things up.”

NDR had also opened an office in Delhi more than a year ago. Ashwini Vittalachar, a senior associate with the firm, heads the Delhi office.

Poornima Hatti specialising in dispute resolution and co-founding partner Harish B Narasappa in Bangalore are also currently in the firm’s partnership.