AZB boosts Bangalore VC practice from Themis with ex-Facebook counsel Chetan Nagendra

Nagendra: AZB delights
Nagendra: AZB delights

Themis Associates partner Chetan Nagendra, who specialises in corporate and venture capital (VC) work, will join AZB & Partners in Bangalore.

AZB Mumbai managing partner Zia Mody commented: “We are delighted to have Chetan join our Bangalore office. He brings with him a wealth of experience which will further add to our capability in the venture capital space.”

The 2000 NLSIU Bangalore graduate is a qualified lawyer in India, England & Wales, the Eastern Carribean Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands and of New York State.

He was London-based head of offshore firm Harney Westwood & Riegels between 2008 and 2011, associate general counsel for Asia Pacific of Facebook between 2012 and 2013, and a partner at Themis Associates in 2014 after merging his practice – the Law Offices of Chetan Nagendra – with the VC, tax, compliance and finance boutique that is part of the Themis Group.

We have reached out to Nagendra and Themis for comment.

Comments

Interesting. 3 Aug 2015, 05:40
+4 -0
Has he merged Themis with AZB or only he is only joining as a partner?
Booking agent! 3 Aug 2015, 07:14
+4 -0
Size of book?
Itchy Feet 3 Aug 2015, 08:34
+3 -2
That's quite a lot of moves in the last 5 years but the man knows how to negotiate good positions for himself. Wishing him all the very best.
Sugreve 4 Aug 2015, 10:38
+1 -0
This is the thing with NLSUI grades which I like most!
Curious 3 Aug 2015, 10:26
+3 -0
Who's partner at Themis now? I thought the BMR split happened quite recently. Is the firm functional?
kianganz 4 Aug 2015, 07:07
+0 -0
Dazed & Confused, your comment is very funny and witty, but we have pretty much a blanket policy on that front I'm afraid...
Another Dazed 4 Aug 2015, 07:29
+1 -0
Kian, do publish the comments at least and let readers "not like' it, and you can remove after that.. interesting development though.
Dazed and Confused 4 Aug 2015, 11:12
+3 -0
Kian is pretty fair handed, and frankly it's helpful to have someone save you from saying gratuitously stupid or nasty things that you might regret the moment you hit send. Every writer benefits from a good editor. So, the only time I ever seriously disagreed with him was when he did not note the similarity between the new SAM logo, the Ebola virus and an areloa. That was both fact-based and funny. But otherwise, I imagine writers kept occasionally offline would, like me, thank Kian at some point for saving them from themselves.
kianganz 4 Aug 2015, 11:19
+4 -0
Why thank you Dazed. You and I don't always see eye to virtual eye on all things, but you are always entertaining, usually provocative and sometimes also enlightening.

And you got to slip in your SAM logo joke after all, better late than never. :)
AMSS as well 4 Aug 2015, 08:29
+0 -0
Hasn't he worked at Amarchand for a while in between?
Dazed and Confused 4 Aug 2015, 09:28
+5 -1
It's OK. We know the state of humor in India. One can belittle the physically challenged freely in popular media (check out the typical treatment of speech impediments, for example), or watch a convicted murderer who is considered a big wit and sports expert (he did beat his victim to death, which is sort of like boxing) but commenting on sartorial choices ist verboten. Jawohl! Get me Pinky Anand and a set of handcuffs and we'll shut this affront down.

Since Gawker is becoming a nicer Gawker, you should consider making LI a little more Gawker. The folks with marginal English won't get the snark, and even if they do their protest posts will be very funny. Given the level of animosity directed at you by the BCI you're going to end up blocked or deported eventually, so you might as well spark up while you have the chance.
Book size 4 Aug 2015, 10:07
+0 -0
Any idea on the team moving with him??
Sugreve 4 Aug 2015, 11:08
+0 -0
Helloooooo ebhoribadies! please see the news link below and let me know the meaning if you can make any sense out of it....
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/legal-sector-to-be-opened-for-fdi-via-proprietary-cos/
Dazed and Confused 4 Aug 2015, 13:14
+2 -0
This is in line with current Delhi chatter on the issue. A number of "name" Indian law firms are DESPERATE for this kind of intervention, and engaging in the usual magical thinking that foreigners are going to invest a lot of money in them or "buy them out." Rubbish! The fact is business conditions suck badly right now, with branches of "major" Indian firms undercutting mid-level firm pricing just to get deal flow. (I'll not use any acronyms, but any Doctor Seuss fans will know who to eat green eggs and ham with).

With rates super low, little outbound investment that can't be well handled from Battery Road or some Dubai office, and a huge mismatch in domestic skills and foreign performance standards, slapping a "Baker & McKenzie" on a desi shop won't be the earth shattering moment that anyone hoped for or feared. Frankly, this is like a 67-year old virgin saying, "Yes, I'm ready." An important event, no doubt, but the market has moved on.
Sugreve 5 Aug 2015, 06:16
+0 -1
I don't know why but I have noticed that your writing style often matches with my one dear friend whose name starts with 'R'!
Ex AMSS 6 Aug 2015, 18:47
+0 -0
Chetan spent a year at AMSS before Facebook. Isn't that relevant?
Sugreve 7 Aug 2015, 07:27
+0 -0
No, becasue AMSS now does not exist - it is either SAM or CAM now!