IC Legal has hired Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) senior associate Sambhav Ranka as an equity partner in its Andheri office.

Ranka, who joined the firm yesterday, was in NDA’s corporate and securities team, specialising in M&A, private equity and funds work.

He said that he hoped to take his expertise from NDA to the next level at IC, with “a major focus on M&A, private equity, investment funds, funds formation and investments”.

The 2005 ILS Pune graduate also holds a 2006-LLM from Queen Mary University of London, beginning his career at Morgan Walker Solicitors in London and joining NDA when he returned to India in 2008.

Ranka will be part of Indrajit Mishra’s and Tejesh Chitlangi’s private equity and funds team, who had joined IC Legal from Finsec Law Advisors in 2013.

We have reached out to Nishith Desai for comment.

Ranka is IC Legal’s seventh partner, joining a firm that is now 27 lawyers across two Mumbai offices in Fort and Andheri. The firm consisted of only 15 lawyers in 2013.

IC Legal would target to grow to 35 lawyers by the end of 2015, having recently recruited two freshers from NLU Jodhpur to start in June of next year, said the firm in an email.

IC Legal had hired J Sagar Associates (JSA) Mumbai partner Shiraj Salelkar in August.