Most lawyers were hoping for things to slow down by year-end but for many it’s been more a case of pre-year closings and petitions.

Little over one-year old firm Vidhii Partners spread out “horizontally” with a second Vidhii Mumbai office in trendy Bandra, headed by an ex-movie studio legal head. It will focus on media law and clients, an area that only a small handful of firms are effectively targeting.

Courts seem to function somewhat efficiently before holidays trying to wrap up their own affairs.

In the latest of the long-running saga over whether immovable property rentals are subject to service tax, the Delhi High Court has pushed the question back to the Supreme Court after agreeing with its own earlier judgment but ignoring the P&H High Court’s on the same matter.

It also turns out to have been a little too early to congratulate the Competition Commission of India (CCI) when it slapped Kingfisher airlines with a Rs 1 crore fine for not co-operating. The CCI appellate body Compat has now stayed the fine pending further investigations in 2011.

Meanwhile all sides in the bar exam writ petitions have seemingly lost all urgency. Although the apex court has now finally agreed to hear the transfer petition, with most grads now practising at least until March momentum, inertia and incentive have all largely disappeared.

Read the boxes below for more of this week’s cutting-edge litigation, complex deals and more on Raja, 2G and Vodafone.

In the Mooting Premier League - the ultimate test of Indian mooting mettle – the field is now seriously tight and competitive after NUJS bested NLSIU at the first Oxford University media moot in India. Seven national law schools are in the top spots of MPL 2, with SOEL Chennai in eighth.

If you would like to support mooting in Indian law schools please let us know – we are still looking for a generous sponsor to endow the prize-fund.

Delhi law firms have a full-on weekend of T20 cricket ahead – or at least the eight that prevailed in the pool stages and made it to the knock-out rounds. Rivalries are strong, as are batting orders.

The Legally India newsletter, however, will take a break for this year to return in 2011.

So, the Legally India team wishes you, your family and all lawyers in India and abroad a very peaceful festive season and a successful start to 2011.