As had long been an open secret in-and-outside of the firm, Trilegal co-founding partner Akshay Jaitly is retiring from the partnership and moving to Paris, as first reported by Bar & Bench today.

He will remain a consultant to the firm but will resign from the partnership.

We have reached out to him and Trilegal management for comment.

His move had been planned and in the offing for more than a year, with it having firmed up in the past few months as a commenter on Legally India had presciently pointed out in February:

Jaitly’s successor to head energy and infrastructure, partner Neeraj Menon (who has been a partner in the firm since 2014), had been lined up in March, shortly after the firm had elected two new managing partners, (next-gen partner) Nishant Parikh and (co-founding partner) Sridhar Gorthi, taking over from co-founding partners Rahul Matthan and Karan Singh.

Update 21:09: Jaitly said in a statement:

For personal reasons, my family and I are moving to France shortly and I will be stepping down from the Trilegal partnership. It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since we set up the firm at the turn of the millennium and no one could have asked for a more exciting and fulfilling career journey than I have been privileged to have had over the past two decades. I could not be leaving the firm in better shape than it is at the moment and will look forward to seeing it grow to new heights. I have a variety plans for the future and also will remain associated with Trilegal in a new capacity while in Europe.

Stepping down from the partnership is a deeply emotional event for me. It is impossible to express the gratitude, respect and affection I have for my partners, colleagues and staff in just a few words, but the relationships we have developed will endure. I would also like to thank my clients for the support they have given and the trust they have reposed in myself and the firm over all these years. They continue to be in excellent hands.

Parikh commented: “Akshay is relocating with his family to France and is retiring from our partnership.

“The firm has benefitted tremendously from Akshay’s leadership and guidance over the years. He has been instrumental in setting up and then growing our Energy and Infrastructure practice into a top tier practice.

“We will miss him. He is now going to take a well deserved break to set up home in France. After that, he will continue to be associated with the firm in a different capacity, the details of which will be worked out in due course.”

Jaitly is the second Trilegal partner to leave the firm, following Anand Prasad's departure in 2016.

On the one hand, that could be a boon for and a signal to the younger generation of partners that a generational handover truly is happening as promised.

It will also clear up some top-of-lockstep equity points to share amongst the rest of the partnership.

That said, Jaitly is one of the most well-known names in Trilegal and particularly in the projects space.