NLU Jodhpur 2008 alumnus Anand Varma and his father Tarun Varma’s Delhi-based litigation start-up APT Legal has now opened offices in Mumbai, Allahabad and Jaipur, with more office openings in the offing.

APT managing partner Anand Varma will head the firm’s Delhi office, founder and senior partner Tarun Varma will head the office at Allahabad, while August lateral partner hires Yakshay Chheda will head the firms’s Mumbai office and Sandeep Singh Shekhawat will head the firm’s Jaipur office.

Anand Varma commented: “The transition from chambers to law firm practice was a natural course for us.

“We felt that there is an unaddressed market for legal services in Tier 2 cities, besides the potential for strengthening our litigation, banking, real estate, general corporate and arbitration practice. Apart from that, we had been getting work from these cities... Hence, the decision was largely influenced by our clients.”

Anand Varma, who set up his counsel practice in 2012 after four years in the chambers of senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, started up APT in June 2016 on becoming an Advocate on Record (AOR) in February 2016.

The firm’s core practice is based in the Supreme Court, high courts and appellate tribunals with a focus on mining and metal law, arbitration law, civil, corporate and commercial laws, while it also takes on mandates to advise on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, white collar crime, competition law, energy law, telecom regulation, environment and forest law, it said in its press release.

Tarun Varma has over 38 years of experience practising civil litigation and arbitration with a special focus on banking and finance and advising and acting for public sector banks.

Before joining APT in August, Chheda was an independent counsel before the Bombay high court and lower courts and tribunals with a focus on arbitration, company law, succession law, rent laws, property law and commercial disputes including appearing in the National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai.

Shekhawat too joined in August, and specialises in litigation, arbitration and mediation focussing on debt recovery, stamp duty, real estate, property (builders and developers), construction, employment, licensing, commercial, civil and criminal matters.

APT Legal currently has 28 lawyers including the 4 partners. 10 associates work from the firm’s Delhi office and 3 associates will each work from the four new offices.