The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) elected Lalit Bhasin as its president for the third-consecutive time, in an uncontested election on Saturday.

Bhasin will preside over the 15 year old society for another three-year term. Kochhar & Co founder Rohit Kochhar was elected the general secretary and Phoenix Legal co-founder Manjula Chawla was elected the treasurer.

Bhasin commented in the press release: “It’s an honour and privilege to be re-elected to the position of the President. It has always been my endeavour to work towards the progress and development of the legal fraternity. SILF will continue to contribute to the strengthening and evolution of our country’s legal system, supporting it in all its efforts. I look forward to working with the new office bearers and making it a landmark year with all of them.”

Luthra & Luthra founding partner Rajiv Luthra and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas founding partner Shardul Shroff, Rajinder Narain & Co founding partner Ravi Nath and Dua Associates founding partner CR Dua are the new senior vice presidents.

Khaitan & Co Kolkata partner RN Jhunjhunwala, DSK Legal co-founding partner Anand Desai, Trilegal co-founding partner Anand Prasad, Nishith Desai Associates founder Nishith Desai, Hemant Sahai & Associates founder Hemant Sahari and Titus & Co founder Diljeet Titus are the new vice presidents.

Correction: The earlier version of this story erroneously stated that Rabindra Jhunjhunwala – RN Jhunjhunwala’s son – had become vice president. The error is regretted.

SILF which dedicatedly opposes the entry of foreign law firms in India recently served a notice on the Big Four accountancy firms for unauthorised practice of law in India. The government meanwhile is reportedly planning to allow the entry of foreign law firms in India.

An email sent by Bhasin to SILF’s members stated:

I am pleased to inform you that the election process for the office bearers of SILF has been successfully completed - thanks to the efforts and monitoring of the process by Mr. Vijay Sondhi, member Bar Council of Delhi, and the Returning Officer for the elections.

The following have been declared elected:

President Mr. Lalit Bhasin - Bhasin & Co.

Associate President Mr. Jyoti Sagar – J. Sagar Associates

Senior Vice Presidents Mr. Rajiv Kishan Luthra – Luthra & Luthra, Law Offices Mr. Shardul Shroff – Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. Mr. Ravi Nath – Rajinder Narain & Co. Mr. C.R. Dua – Dua Associates

Vice Presidents Mr. R. N. Jhunjhunwala – Khaitan & Co. Mr. Anand Desai – DSK Legal Mr. Anand Prasad – Trilegal Mr. Nishith Desai – Nishith Desai Associates Mr. Hemant Sahai – Hemant Sahai & Associates Mr. Diljeet Titus – Titus & Co.

General Secretary Mr. Rohit Kochhar - Kochhar & Co.

Treasurer Ms Manjula Chawla – Phoenix Legal

Joint General Secretaries Mr. Aseem Chawla – MPC Legal Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh – Singh & Associates Mr. Manoj Kumar – Hammurabi & Solomon Mr. Darshananand Gour – Gaur & Co. Law Firm

Assistant Secretary Mr. Sudhir Kumar – India International Jurists

Associate Secretaries Mr. Anshuman Sood – Virender Sood & Co. Mr. Vipul Maheshwari – Maheshwari & Co.

I offer my heartiest congratulations to the successful candidates.

I hope and wish that the said office bearers as also the members would take SILF to still greater heights than what has been achieved during the last 15 years of its existence.