J Sagar Associates (JSA) Mumbai partner Somasekhar Sundaresan, one of the top securities lawyers in India, is currently in advanced discussions to resign and take up independent counsel practice, Legally India understands authoritatively.
Sundaresan had joined JSA with outgoing managing partner Berjis Desai, having been a retained partner at Udwadia, Udeshi and Berjis, and is one of the highest-paid partners at the firm according to JSA’s remuneration system combining a range of contributions.
It is understood that no leaving date has been agreed yet, although he has made some internal announcements about his intentions.
Update 16:44: JSA has released a statement confirming that Sundaresan’s departure would be completed by the end of 2016. “While Som will, of course, become an independent counsel, we, at JSA, will continue to cherish Som’s journey the way we would of anyone who has been an integral part of JSA,” said the statement by Desai and JSA founder and post-retirement chairman Jyoti Sagar.
Update 22 March: Read Berjis Desai interview: JSA, what now, sans Som? Berjis Desai explains why he and Jyoti truly are delighted
Trilegal co-founding partner Anand Prasad recently announced that he would leave the firm to become a counsel.
Sundaresan is the second senior lawyer to be leaving JSA within a year, following the departure of Akshay Chudasama who defected to Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas to become its Mumbai managing partner.
Sundaresan has been unreachable for comment since late last week.
JSA’s outgoing managing partner Berjis Desai also declined to comment when contacted.
JSA’s firm profile on Sundaresan states:
Somasekhar heads the Securities Law and Financial Sector regulatory practice at JSA, a national Indian law firm. He has been in practice for the past 16 years.
While his commercial transactional practice covers M&A of listed businesses and regulatory advisory work for market intermediaries, his contentious practice covers securities regulatory litigation, acting as counsel before the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Securities Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India.
He has also been actively involved in regulatory policy and legislative drafting. He has been:
- Member of the Working Group on Foreign Investment in India under the chairmanship of Mr. UK Sinha, which submitted its report in July 2010.
- Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Takeover Regulations Advisory Committee, and drafted Takeover Regulations, which has been substantially implemented.
- Consultant to the Financial Sector Legislative Reform Commission, which submitted its report in 2013, containing the draft Indian Financial Code, which contains new financial sector legislation for India.
- Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s High-Level Committee to review and draft new regulations governing insider trading in India.
- Member of a committee of the Ministry of Finance to write new policy for issuance of global depository receipts, foreign currency convertible bonds and external commercial borrowings.
- Member of a committee of the Reserve Bank of India to review corporate governance in the Indian banking sector.
He is currently serving on a Task Force of the Ministry of Finance to set up a Financial Sector Appellate Tribunal in India.
Somasekhar is an invitee to FICCI’s Steering Committee and an active member of its Capital Markets Committee. He serves as a director of rights-based NGO Oxfam India.
Somasekhar authors a fortnightly column titled Without Contempt on investment law and policy in the Business Standard, a national business newspaper in India, and a weekly column on mainstream law and justice in the mainstream Mirror newspaper. He is a guest contributor to the Indian Corporate Law Blog.
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And why exactly should there be a WAR amongst all the top law firms just because a SAM CAM non poach agreement is coming to an end?
he is a securities tribunal(sat) guy by not only interest but also core capability.
good that he is now officially focussing on that. too bad his managing partner at jsa run did not win as dina wadia won. good luck he is a sharp guy.
JSA have lost a number of people including Chudasama and Som recently. Does this mean that the partnership is not that "collegial" or that the culture of collegiality isn't that strong at JSA and when one partner starts outperforming he ditches collegiality and looks elsewhere? This is not meant to be a negative comment on JSA, but more a question about whether in the Indian market there can really be a lockstep partnership. Are there any firms that truly operate on that basis in the market?
I think now SAM CAM AZB Khaitan and Luthra will dominate the market with lead individuals especially in Bombay where JSA is now fairly on a decline... JSA Delhi mind you is still long and strong and so is B'lore..
Nothing wrong in that.
Many to name who have left their established positions in law firms to start counsel practice.
Most have had a very curious growth graph.
Its a wholly new ball game being a counsel and being an attorney with a firm.
Several things matter, court craftsmanship, ability to convince clients to not argue a point, ability to convince the judge and thinking on your feet.
As time has shown with other such guys leaving firms to start counsel practice, it wont be easy.
Its not easy for 'som'e.
All the best to him nonetheless.
Plus he only wanted to do an email interview but been trying to convince him to do one by phone, which in my humble opinion will be more to read than what B&B has published :)
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