partner hires

Former Khaitan & Co Bangalore partner Abhilekh Verma, whom we had reported as leaving in July, is joining Kochhar & Co as a senior partner according to a press release from the firm.

Former Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas banking partner Niloufer Lam, who had left the firm amicably in April 2017, has joined the law firm ZBA as a partner.

Rajaram Legal advised and acted for Lenskart Solutions and was led by Mumbai-based founding partner Archana Rajaram and senior associate Prasad Subramanyan.

Nihar Mody, the co-founding partner of Platinum Partners and head of the Mumbai office, has retired at age 51 last week.

K Law partner Abhishek Shinde has joined AZB & Partners as a corporate partner in Delhi, reported Bar & Bench.

Former Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas partner Nikhil Naredi, who resigned around April 2017, will join Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas soon, according to several authoritative sources, although nothing has been signed yet pending expiry of Naredi’s near-six months of gardening leave from his former firm to date.

Ratnadeep Roychowdhury, who had been promoted to partner at AZB & Partners Mumbai in 2015 after joining from erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas in 2011, is set to join Actis Capital in-house in a senior role - possibly India general counsel (GC) - reported Bar & Bench.

Juris Corp has hired J Sagar Associates (JSA) principal associate Pratish Kumar as a partner in its finance practice in Mumbai.

Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) equity partner of 17 years S Seetharaman left the firm today to pursue other interests while continuing to practise independently.

Advaita Legal, the best friend law firm of Big Four consultancy KPMG, has hired Atul Dua, the erstwhile co-founding partner of Seth Dua & Associates.

Desai & Diwanji partner Shyam Pandya has joined as an associate partner of Economic Laws Practice (ELP) in its corporate, commercial, private equity and venture capital team in Mumbai, according to a press release from the firm.

One of Link Legal India Law Services’ most senior partners, Anand Srivastava, has been sponsored by the firm to take a sabbatical for a year from partnership duties to pursue an LLM in the US, in a bid to specialise in disputes.

Link Legal India Law Services corporate partner Harish Kumar - who had joined in July 2016 - has left the firm and is in the process of setting up new law firm HSK Legal, according to his Linked-in profile.

Aparna Mittal, who had joined AZB & Partners in Delhi from Luthra & Luthra around 18 months ago, has left the firm, as first reported Bar & Bench.

HSA Advocates^ partner Megha Arora has moved back to J Sagar Associates (JSA), as partner, as first reported by Bar & Bench.

Phoenix Legal has hired Vasanth Rajasekaran as its 16th partner from Seth Dua & Associates in Delhi, where he had worked with co-founder Sunil Seth before his death in February 2017.

Former Khaitan & Co projects partner Upendra Joshi has joined Legasis Partners as a partner in Mumbai.

Trilegal Delhi-based counsel Abhimanyu Ghosh will be joining Khaitan & Co in its energy, infrastructure and resources practice as an associate partner next week.

DMD Advocates added S&R Associates counsel Jeremy Lynn Chagas Pereira as a partner in its litigation practice, and promoted Amity Delhi 2007 alumnus Sachit Jolly to partner in its direct tax practice.

Tatva Legal Delhi-based former managing partner Shishir Sharma and two non-equity partners - Seher Ali and Natasha Tuli - are rejoining Dua Associates, the firm Sharma had left seven years ago with 50 other lawyers from Dua in one of the largest-ever breakaways in the Indian legal market.