Former Bennett Coleman chief manager legal and AZB alum Sunny Sablok has started M&A boutique firm Matrix Law in Mumbai.

The firm that he started in January consists of two other fee-earners and has an office in the Bandra Kurla complex.

“When things progress will be getting a few more people on board and looking at potential partnerships,” he said, adding that he had been focusing a lot on business development trips to the US and UK in the early days of the firm to build up relationships with foreign firms.

At Bennett Coleman he had handled M&A and private equity across the entire Times Group, he said. He knew that he always wanted to start on his own but he “didn’t want to push it too early” despite the opportunity to go independent several years ago.

“It is a choice. I’ll maybe not create the next AZB or Amarchand but I’ll be somewhere close to it,” he said about his aspiration for the firm.

The GLC Mumbai 2004 graduated started his career at Vaish Associates, then joined AZB & Partners for a year and spent two years in London as a senior consultant. He returned to Mumbai for one-and-a-half years as a deputy manager in private equity and employment law with Deloitte Haskins & Sells, before joining Bennett Coleman in 2012.

He said he had experience in the M&A, private equity, banking and finance space, and he “understands start-ups and how they work”, which helps him connect with such clients. “I’m currently working on two start-up (deals) and I’ve worked (with start-ups) in multiple transactions.”

“There is a huge legal market for start-ups and small and medium enterprises. This area is untapped. A lot of clients like to work on competitive costs and client satisfaction, where the former is achieved but the latter is proving harder to find. And this is the bridge that I am trying to plug,” he commented.