Luthra & Luthra has promoted 2010 Clifford Chance hire and managing associate Indraneel Basu Majumdar to partner in capital markets, swelling the department’s ranks to three non-equity partners and aiming to build up a debt capital markets practice.

Trilegal and Link Legal have advised power producer Caparo Energy’s $ 1.28bn contract for supply of wind power projects equipment with India’s largest turbine manufacturers Suzlon India.

In a letter to BCI chairman Gopal Subramanium, American Bar Association (ABA) president N Zack urged the Bar Council of India (BCI) to maintain “status quo” when discussing the entry of foreign law firms tomorrow (29 January).

Hemant Sahai Associates (HSA) acted as sole legal advisor on a micro finance investment by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in Delhi-based organisation Invest India Micro Pension Services Private Limited (IIMPS) raising roughly $1m for retirement pension plans and other savings.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) acted for private equity firm BTS Investment Advisors on its Rs 36 crore ($7.9m) investment in car rental company Carzonrent which was advised by Amarchand Mangaldas.

Exclusive: Desai & Diwanji has relocated its corporate transactions group to a new 8,500 square foot office in Gurgaon’s DLF Phase III while keeping its earlier central Delhi premises for the litigation team while finalising another Delhi location.

Senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Abhishek Manu Singhvi yesterday argued for an early disposal of the Chennai writ petition against foreign law firms while the matter was once again adjourned after the Bar Council of India (BCI) counsel promised comprehensive guidelines regulating the activities of foreign law firms would be discussed at a meeting before the month-end.

Exclusive: Majmudar & Co and Desai & Diwanji have advised on the 50 per cent stake sale of Rolta India’s shares in joint venture company Shaw Rolta Limited to partner Stone & Webster for an aggregate $35.5m in consideration.

Amarchand Mangaldas has advised data service provider Tulip Telecom on the Rs 230 crore ($50m) acquisition of an entire data centre facility housed in Bangalore’s Sada IT Parks to create India’s largest and third largest eco-friendly data centre in the world. The firm’s Kolkata-based partner Kalpata...

Exclusive: AZB & Partners and Clifford Chance broke off their best friend relationship yesterday night to become “good friends” after both firms saw fewer referrals than expected and legal market liberalisation became more unlikely than when they first entered into the relationship two years ago.

Exclusive: Luthra & Luthra has maintained its lead in the project finance domain as the top Indian and second-ranked law firm globally by deal volumes. Amarchand Mangaldas, S J Law Advocates, India Law Services and AZB & Partners followed up in the domestic rankings, where 163 projects worth $81.4bn were completed in India in 2010, according to data provider Dealogic.

Majmudar & Co, Dua Associates and J Sagar Associates (JSA) have advised on the $12m venture capital investment by Reliance Venture Asset Management and GE Oil and Gas in renewable energy firm AllGreen Energy for its first biomass project in Tamil Nadu.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) and Bird & Bird have advised on the $1m joint venture to bring European online food ordering website Just-Eat with Bangalore-based online food delivery platform Achindra Online Marketing. The Bird & Bird team was led by partner Chris Barrett and assisted by associa...

Khaitan & Co has advised UAE-headquartered Mashreqbank PSC on its contract with business process outsourcing (BPO) provider WNS Global’s India-based operations for outbound calling in banking services for clients in English and Arabic for an undisclosed amount.

Exclusive: Luthra & Luthra will move into new interim offices in Lower Parel this weekend, having finalised office space of 12,000 square foot in the Indiabulls complex enabling a tripling of current headcounts.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) and Wadia Ghandy have advised on the $5m funding of online auto auction portal MotorExchange Solutions (MXC) by venture capitalist firms Epiphany Overseas and Canaan Partners.

Less than three-year-old firm RDA Legal has re-branded to PXV Law Partners and started an office in Mumbai by relocating its newly elected managing partner Rohit Das, while hiring three lateral senior associates from Amarchand, AZB and P&A as lockstep partners.

Exclusive: AZB & Partners has topped Legally India’s 2010-2011 quarterly initial public offering (IPO) league table taking it to second place in the financial year IPO rankings to date behind Amarchand Mangaldas and overtaking Luthra & Luthra, which did not file any IPOs in the last quarter.

Majmudar & Co has hired Bharucha & Partners equity partner Rukshad Davar as a corporate, M&A and tax partner in Mumbai.

Exclusive: Link Legal has absorbed top-ranked mid-market capital markets boutique Zenith India Lawyers, with erstwhile Zenith managing partner Raj Rani Bhalla relocating from Gurgaon to the young Mumbai office to increase growth.