Exclusive: DSK Legal will split across North and South Mumbai and move out of Nariman Point’s Express Towers after securing office space in the Lower Parel Indiabulls Centre, which also houses three other law firms.

AZB & Partners has acted for private equity (PE) firm Matrix Partners India in its Rs 50 crore investment in New Delhi based eye-care hospital chain Centre for Sight (CFS) which was advised by SRGR Law Offices.

Exclusive: Amarchand Mangaldas has reclaimed the top rank in Legally India’s 2010-11 first-half-year initial public offering (IPO) league table ahead of Luthra & Luthra, with AZB & Partners winning third place after doubling its IPO mandates compared to the same period last year as Khaitan & Co dropped four ranks.

Five law firms including Amarchand & Mangaldas, Luthra & Luthra, S & R Associates, Crawford Bayley & Co and Fox Mandal have been selected to pitch for the SAIL (Steel Authority of India) first phase 10 per cent share disinvestment, expecting to enrich the Exchequer by Rs 8,000 crores, reported the Economic Times.

Exclusive: Entrepreneurial ambitions have encouraged three partners from Universal Legal, Dua Associates and Paras Kuhad Associates to start a new law firm in Chennai under the banner Vichar, which in Sanskrit means idea, thought or opinion.

Attorney General of India Goolam Vahanvati was conflicted out of providing the government with a legal opinion on the Vedanta-Cairns deal because his son AZB & Partners Mumbai partner Essaji Vahanvati had worked on the deal, according to a report in the Daily Pioneer today.

Exclusive: AZB & Partners corporate and private equity partner Vaishali Sharma has joined Khaitan & Co’s Mumbai office, as AZB has stemmed a string of associate departures over recent months.

Naik Paranjpe & Co has yesterday secured the scheduled release of Sanjay Dutt-starring Hindi film Knock Out for its Indian producer clients by getting a stay on the movie vacated after initial allegations of copyright violation by Twentieth Century Fox were heard in the Bombay High Court on Monday.

Exclusive: ALMT Legal has hired Paras Kuhad Associates partner Gautam Bhatikar to beef up its shipping practice, which is one of the specialist areas of ALMT’s UK best-friend firm Clyde & Co.

Nishith Desai Associates managing partner Nishith Desai was turned away by US immigration last week in Canada and had his business visa cancelled, because he would require an employment visa when meeting clients in the US.

Luthra & Luthra has built on its lead in the Dealogic Indian project finance league table of the first three quarters of 2010, as Amarchand Mangaldas completed four project financings in the last quarter and caught up into second place ahead of newcomers such as Axon Partners LLP and R&A Legal Advocates. Globally the top two firms are also in the top 10 of project finance legal advisers by value.

AZB & Partners has topped the mergermarket league table for the first three quarters of 2010 in a record year of M&A activity so far. The firm is followed in the rankings by Desai & Diwanji, Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co and newcomer Tatva Legal according to the total number of mandates.

Thakker & Thakker will cease operations by the end of this year, following founding partner Bijesh Thakker’s surprise decision to retire form law and work on philanthropic projects. The firm’s lawyers are understood to be in the process of seeking opportunities elsewhere.

The Chennai writ petition against 31 foreign law firms has yet again been adjourned for two months following the Government’s and Bar Council of India’s (BCI) pleas for enabling them time to formulate regulatory guidelines in the BCI’s bid to invite consultation from all stakeholders.

Argus Partners, which broke away from Amarchand Mangaldas Kolkata last year, has set up a Mumbai office relocating partner Ramya Hariharan to the city full-time while partner Krishnava Dutt will also spend half his time in the financial hub.

FoxMandal Delhi acted as the lender’s sole legal counsel for state power sector unit Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and others in the development of a 1,320MW thermal power project in Andhra Pradesh.

Former Luthra & Luthra and FoxMandal Little partner Vineet Aneja has now joined ALMT Legal to start up the firm’s office in Delhi.

Luthra & Luthra has kickstarted its intellectual property (IP) enforcement practice with the hire of senior lawyers J Kumar Bhardwaj, Munish Mehra, Amit Upadhyay and their team from Anand & Anand.

Khaitan & Co has hired its second full-time banking partner, with former Clifford Chance London and Singapore senior associate Devidas Banerji joining in Mumbai.

Amarchand Mangaldas Bangalore and Indus Law Advocates advised on private equity funds Sandstone Capital and Sequoia Capital’s Rs 200 crore minority stake investment in India’s largest domestic handset maker Micromax.