L&L Partners

Senior partner Mohit Saraf, who holds a 33.4% equity stake in L&L Partners, has internally announced that managing partner Rajiv Luthra has effectively “retired” and “withdrawn” from L&L Partners and that Saraf would “reconstitute” the firm without him. This latest shot in the war of words follows managing partner Rajiv Luthra’s previously telegraphed announcement that he had L&L Partners senior partner Mohit Saraf has accused managing partner Rajiv Luthra of “misconduct and subterfuge”, “malafide actions” and breaching “fiduciary duties”, in his response to a public 24 hour deadline sent by Luthra in an email on Sunday evening.

The managing partner and 66.6% majority equity holder at L&L Partners, Rajiv Luthra, has made an offer to the firm that he would be willing to dilute his equity unilaterally and without the agreement or dilution of 33.4% co-partner Mohit Saraf under a 1999 deed, if the latter does not respond by 6pm today.

Just before 3pm yesterday (Thursday, 24 September), all staff and fee-earners at L&L Partners received an email from managing partner Rajiv Luthra, announcing a virtual townhall for 5pm that day.

A fundamental rift has opened up at L&L Partners over how its long-held promoter equity should be opened up and distributed to other partners in the firm.

L&L Partners corporate transactional advisory partnership has paid out bonuses to fee-earners just a little behind schedule last week, though it notified its 44 fresh campus recruits that they would not be able to join the firm before 2021 as opposed to around this month (though a few of these have since joined - see update below).

L&L Partners’ litigation partnership, which is one of four separate partnerships that the firm operates under one brand name, has effectively cut fee-earner salaries by at least 15% and 35% via deferrals of retainers, which would operate retrospectively from 1 April, according to two sources with knowledge of the measures.

Singh & Associates has hired L&L Partners litigation managing associate Apoorve Vashistha as a partner designate in its Gurgaon office’s dispute resolution practice.

Alina Arora, who had resigned from L&L Partners in late November 2019, has now joined Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Bar & Bench has first reported.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has paid out bonuses to fee-earners yesterday, this year around a week earlier than usual, due to the national COVID-19 lockdown.