Law firms

Verus advised India-based leading global wind-power company and longstanding client Suzlon Energy (Suzlon) in the Rs 160 crore ($40m) sale of its 58 MW wind-farm Suzlon Engitech to an undisclosed purchaser, which was advised by Desai & Diwanji.

Exclusive: J Sagar Associates (JSA) senior associate Srishti Ojha will join Desai & Diwanji as a partner in Mumbai, ramping up the capacity of specialist capital markets partners at the firm to two after Sumes Dewan joined in Delhi earlier this month.

Exclusive: Link Legal pipped last year’s leader Amarchand Mangaldas at the top of the 2012-half-year Dealogic project finance rankings, reporting seven deals worth Rs 27,106 crore ($4.9bn).

Corporate M&As continued to buttress law firm activity, while one NUJS graduate sweated it out with a high profile Delhi high court case. Khaitan & Co also kept busy in finance and capital markets, and projects and private equity proved solid.

Exclusive: J Sagar Associates (JSA) has increased its basic starting remuneration package to Rs 10.5 lakh per annum for its intake of graduates starting this year.

Luthra & Luthra managing associate Ravisekhar Nair has replenished the ranks of Economic Laws Practice (ELP) competition team as an associate partner, after partner Samir Gandhi left ELP last month.

Exclusive: Talha Salaria, co-founder and partner at Bangalore firm MMB Legal, has set up an independent firm called Lawyers at Work.

Exclusive: PXV Law Partners advised its long standing client, prepaid payments program manager TranServ, in its sale of equity to venture capital (VC) fund Nirvana Venture Advisors, which was advised by Nishith Desai Associates.

Private equity boutique Lexygen’s former Singapore partner Yang Yen Thaw, who left in December 2011, has joined Chinese firm Dacheng Wong Alliance LLP as co-head of its India practice from Singapore.

Exclusive: Ex-Amarchand Mangaldas tax head Aseem Chawla has started a tax, business and corporate advisory law firm called MPC Legal with two co-founding partners, as the “best friend” firm of chartered accountancy (CA) firm Mohinder Puri & Co.

Exclusive: King Stubb & Kasiva (KSK) has launched a full-fledged Bangalore office on 1 July as it is aiming to open in Ahmedabad by this time next year.

Trilegal advised ICICI Bank and a consortium of lending banks in the Rs 8,300 crore ($1.5bn) debt restructuring of Mumbai-based engineering and construction major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) which was advised by Amarchand Mangaldas.

Contrary to the approach taken by the Bar Council of India (BCI), foreign lawyers should be allowed to fly into India temporarily to advise clients and assist in arbitrations, decided the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) in its general board meeting on Saturday, while noting that chartered accountants have been flouting the rules.

Exclusive: Fox Mandal partner Sumes Dewan will join Desai & Diwanji as its second Delhi partner on 7 July, after he had resigned last week.

Contrary to media reports, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the Madras high court judgment on foreign law firms, expressly permitting the “fly-in-fly-out” of foreign lawyers, while reiterating the law laid down in the Bombay high court’s Lawyers Collective judgment preventing foreign lawyers from opening up offices in India.

Breaking: The Supreme Court has given 10 weeks to serve 31 foreign law firms and the respondents in the apex court appeal against the AK Balaji Madras writ petition, with the Bar Council of India (BCI) arguing that the law should prohibit foreign lawyers from even temporarily travelling to India to advise clients.