Law firms

J Sagar Associates (JSA) has engaged former Income Tax Commissioner and the first Director General Competition Commission of India (CCI) Amitabh Kumar as a senior advisor to augment its competition and direct tax law practices in Delhi office.

Seth Dua & Associates litigation partner Neeraj Chaudhry has joined Kochhar & Co as a partner in the litigation department, which now consists of 15 lawyers inclusive of four partners in Delhi.

Vaish Associates (VA) has promoted nine associates to salaried partnership levels in its Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon offices as part of a comprehensive restructuring programme that includes introduction of hierarchy based designations.

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) company Pangea3 has hired 18 students through campus placements this year with a majority 12 coming from non-national law schools, as the company has moved into larger Delhi office and plans to grow the location with significant investment.

Amarchand Mangaldas has replenished its Kolkata office with a partner, hiring Khaitan & Partners office head Niloy Pyne, who will also relinquish in the legal process outsourcing (LPO) company he has been helping set up in the city.

DLA Piper has launched a continental European India practice by hiring Benjamin Parameswaran and Daniel Sharma from German independents Hengeler Mueller and Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek respectively.

Amarchand Mangaldas' Delhi office has promoted principal associates Prashant Gupta and Tejas Karia to its partnership, with Gupta being the firm's first full-time capital markets partner outside of Mumbai and Bangalore, while Mumbai has made up principal associate Vandana Pai Bharucha.

Amarchand Mangaldas was the busiest IPO law firm in Legally India's 2009-10 financial year (FY) league table by far but the newer practices Luthra & Luthra, S&R Associates, AZB & Partners and Khaitan & Co have managed to keep pace in bank advisory work bagging nearly as many instructions.

The general counsel (GC) of Mumbai International Airport and counsel of infrastructure company GVK Group has started up his own law firm by the name Advaya Legal, hoping to capture corporate, projects and litigation work.

Khaitan & Co has advised India's largest utility vehicle maker in acquiring Bangalore electric car manufacturer REVA Electric Car Company, which was advised by Trilegal.

Sandeep Parekh, current IIM Ahmedabad visiting associate faculty and former Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) executive director in enforcement and legal affairs, is setting up a Mumbai financial law boutique Finsec Law Advisors with a three-stage growth plan.

Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe and a UK firm are representing Air India's insurance underwriters in compensating victims of the Air India air disaster, potentially handling claims running to Rs 400 crore ($85m).