Law firms

Amarchand Mangaldas has hired dual-qualified chartered accountant and lawyer DD Nageswar Rao as a partner in Delhi. Rao’s was formerly the India country head of tax at Siemens, with his over 20-year career also including similar roles at the Coca Cola India and Colgate.

Private equity giant Blackstone has widened its circle of standing Indian advisers to include Desai & Diwanji on its latest investments in the power sector, having used Khaitan & Co on its previous two major deals. Luthra & Luthra advised its long-standing clients Moser Baer Projects in the $300m stake buy, and Clarus Law led for Monnet Power Company on Blackstone's $70m investment.

The law ministry is considering setting up a law firm regulator with a code of conduct to govern law firms in order to end the “free environment without any regulations”, reported the Hindustan Times.

Luthra & Luthra has hired DSK Legal associate partner Deepak THM as a private equity and M&A partner in its growing Mumbai office, taking the total headcount to five partners.

AZB & Partners and Khaitan & Co have assisted in Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Rs 1020 crore ($217m) buy today of a 14.12 per cent stake in the Oberoi hotel and resort chain owners.

Khaitan & Co and Majmudar & Co have advised French IT services group Atos Origin in its 100 per cent acquisition of Indian e-payments processing unit Venture Infotek Global for around $99m in order to set-up an integrated Hi-Tech Transactional Services (HTTS) company Atos Wordline in India.

LexCounsel has advised longstanding clients Educomp Solutions on its 67 per cent acquisition of engineering coaching institute Vidya Mandir for Rs 34 crore and venture capital (VC) fund Leapstart Trust on its second portfolio investment into hospitality service provider Bliss Inns.

Khaitan & Co along with London-based marine insurance and admiralty specialist Walton & Morse LLP have settled $ 2.9 m dispute between Sesa Goa and a German Shipping conglomerate following an international maritime arbitration.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) Mumbai office has formalised its policies of long-term interships for students and articled clerks by making these subject to regular reviews in an attempt to put shorter internship programmes on an equal footing and attract a greater variety of law students.

Krishnamurthy and Co, which is branded as K Law, has opened up a new Delhi office and moved into a larger Mumbai office, as well as setting up an expansion path in Chennai and commencing construction on a larger Bangalore office.

Amarchand Mangaldas and Dorsey & Whitney have won the government's mandate on the $1.8bn follow-on public offer (FPO) by Power Grid Corporation of India.

Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) and J Sagar Associates (JSA) have inked a joint venture (JV) between Reliance Broadcast Network and US TV giant CBS Studios International respectively to pave the way for the creation of three new television channels and Reliance group’s foray into the television broadcasting industry.

Senior advocate and parliamentarian Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the Dua Associates-led group of US firms in the Chennai writ petition against 31 foreign law firms today, asking the court to adjourn until after the Bar Council of India (BCI) would take a decisive stance this weekend.

S&R Associates has landed the $9.6bn corporate takeover of long-groomed client Cairns India by UK mining giant Vedanta Resources, which was advised by AZB & Partners as Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn and US firm Latham & Watkins stepped up internationally.