L&L Partners corporate partner Damini Bhalla has resigned from the firm.
She is a 2005 Nalsar Hyderabad graduate who had begun her career in the Mumbai office of Luthra & Luthra, as it then was. After a stint at Clifford Chance in London, she returned to Luthra’s in Delhi.
She commented: “L&L has been home for well over a decade and I remain grateful for the professional growth opportunities it has always offered me, and thereby, a rewarding career.
“Personally speaking, I thank all my colleagues (seniors & juniors) for their constant support and encouragement and many for the lifelong friendships made.
“My non-counsel colleagues will, of course, always have my gratitude for their courtesies and kindness.
“Will miss the firm!!!"
We have not yet authoritatively confirmed where she is joining.
Bhalla specialises in M&A, private equity and cross-border funds work.
We have reached out to managing partner Rajiv Luthra and senior partner Mohit Saraf for comment.
Luthra commented in a message: “A home grown lawyer since 2005...
“NALSAR’s Damini has, of course been an asset to the Firm and we are, of course, sorry to see her go!! We wish her well in all her future endeavours...”
Saraf, who recently won his reinstatement and access to his email in the Delhi high court in January, said: “I am really pained to see her go. She stood solidly behind the changes which were being contemplated to institutionalise the firm.
“Unfortunately she decided to move on. It is a big personal loss to me. I wish her all the best and hope to see her back soon once we are able to move things forward in the firm.”
Arbitration between Saraf and Luthra are ongoing.
L&L has also today announced the hire of two litigation partners and one banking and finance partner.
Incidentally, as pointed out by readers, L&L had published a celebration of its female leaders for International Women’s Day on its Linked-in page today.
Bhalla’s picture was not included in the graphic due to her leaving (see below).
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AJSGJS - seekho kuch. Setting should be on both sides of the aisle.
"She stood solidly behind the changes which were being contemplated to institutionalise the firm." MS not being very subtle.
These are the people you can bank on a rainy day that they will stand beside you no matter what. Her exit just highlights the frustration among people like her. It’s no secret that a large number of CVs of the my fellow partners are floating around.
This problem isn’t new and has been around for a while and started with Madhurima and Shishir leaving in 2014. One thing Luthra got right was their recruitment process. All those recruits were hard hitters and even after their continue to be highly regarded / notable practitioners in their practice areas.
People who have been in this industry, must be remembering those golden days when Luthra was a clear second after AMSS (or in some practice areas would even challenge them). If you had to ask a fresh graduate about his choice, it was pretty objective and binary.
Things have changed substantially now. To put things into perspective, Luthra was world number 1 in deal logic project finance tables 12/13 years back. Now look what’s happened to it. Egos of two senior partners have taken the firm down.
Unity is everything — compare the corporate team with the litigation team. Because of the unity of the three senior partners and strong leadership, that vertical remains unaffected. Walk into that floor of the office and you would still see partners who have been around for more than 12 years. Same organisation but different leadership has made such a big difference!
Unfortunately, nothing will change as the two megalomaniacs continue with their pissing contest. On the other hand, a member like me after having been around for almost a decade, wake up everyday with anxiety hoping that they will not destroy my career in that process and show some consideration towards my blood and sweat and the almost 20,000 hours I have dedicated towards this organisation. May be it’s time for me to move on - after all loyalty isn’t a one way street.
havent seen her name in any deals in few years other than one recent bakermac one.
In contrast:
CAM operates on royal whims and fancies. You could be Charles, William, Harry, Kate or Meghan everytime the wind blows. Raja Rani are not just names of the toilets here.
SAM more professional than CAM superficially but the bacha log make every list not on merit but on dynasty. Kiss the ring here too.
AZB split house. Hugely profitable. Some rumbles between the queen and her successor. God save the Queen.
Trilegal superficial camaraderie. Ripe for a raid given the dissent and discontentment.
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