Law firms

Exclusive: The Bombay High Court today ended the mediation between Fox Mandal & Co Delhi and Little & Co, which also lifted the court’s earlier stay order, opening the way for continuing Som Mandal’s criminal complaint in Noida against three Little partners and the pre-existing arbitration between the firms to de-merge.

Read Legally India’s December and late November deals round-up to find out what friends and colleagues have been up to.

Exclusive: Kolkata-headquartered Argus Partners has hired former Amarchand senior associate Soorjya Ganguli as a managing associate with one associate to head up its new litigation practice.

Delhi and Kolkata-headquartered FoxMandal and Bombay solicitors firm Little & Co attempts to rescue their 2006 merger have failed, ending up in the High Courts.

Amarchand Mangaldas Hyderabad head and partner Kartik Mahalingam has resigned to join the “philanthropic investment firm” Omidyar Network as its first India-based legal head in Mumbai.

Amarchand Mangaldas Delhi director Paku Khan, who holds a partner equivalent position in the competition law practice, has resigned to join Khaitan & Co in Delhi as a partner.

Mint exclusive: The Bar Council of Delhi chairman Rakesh Tiku sent a letter to law firms such as Khaitan & Co in Delhi, which have converted into a limited liability partnerships (LLPs), warning them that this could be professional misconduct.

Delhi bar council member and Luthra & Luthra partner Vijay Sondhi responded with a letter of his own, slamming Tiku’s warning as illegal, and one Delhi law firm mothballed its LLP firm to avoid the controversy.

Mint exclusive: Mumbai solicitors’ firm Wadia Ghandy has opened up in Singapore, with three of its partners having secured licences to practise Indian law in the island nation.

Exclusive: Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai partner Ganesh Prasad has resigned to join Khaitan & Co in Bangalore as a partner.

Exclusive: The Andhra Pradesh writ petition filed by the brother of late South Indian actress Silk Smitha against the movie loosely inspired by her life, The Dirty Picture, has been dismissed in favour of the movie’s producer Balaji Motion Pictures, represented by Naik Naik & Co, and the Censor Board, represented by Verus Advocates recently joined Hyderabad partner.

Exclusive: Khaitan & Co has hired Sharad Abhyankar, the co-founder of ANS Law Associates, as a corporate, commercial and M&A partner in Mumbai with his principal associate.

Khaitan & Co has moved into a larger office in Bangalore, vowing to increase head-counts by nearly 50 per cent there within the next six months.

Exclusive: Clasis Law has hired former Parekh & Co lawyer Sumeet Lall as a partner to head up its litigation and disputes team.

A wrap of the past weeks’ major deals and their advisers, featuring all the usual suspects plus Rajani, LexCounsel, Prism, HSB, SJ Law, Travers, Nabarro, DLA and more…

J Sagar Associates (JSA) has hired Herbert Smith senior associate Promod Nair as a salaried partner in Bangalore, specialising in international arbitration.

Exclusive: Amarchand Mangaldas has promoted five new partners into the lockstep equity pool and created 11 practice heads, as part of the 2017 plan for the firm to grow to 1000-lawyers and 100 partners following the proposals from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) review.