For the past 11 days Mumbai has been celebrating Lord Ganesh’s birthday in the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi. Environmental concerns aside, Ganapati unites Mumbaikars and largely manages to bridge religious affiliations, castes and professions.

Legally India takes a peek at some Mumbai law firm Ganeshas and a very special legal collection.

The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) is hoping to widen its appeal outside of its traditional centre Delhi by strengthening local metro chapters and inducting new committee members.

SILF’s Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other regional chapters will be headed by prominent local lawyers.

Kochhar & Co is embarking on a mission to make a best friend in the Middle East.

Wadia Ghandy & Co has opened its Chennai office with its local managing partner reporting a buoyant and untapped market.

FoxMandal Little’s Delhi office has paid its fee-earners the salaries it owed them, after the firm was unable to pay for two months due to cash flow difficulties.

Bharucha & Partners has taken over a Mumbai niche corporate practice, gaining the first new equity partner since setting up.

The Income Tax Department raided the Mumbai offices of ALMT Legal and AZB & Partners late last week looking for information related to clients and offshore transactions. The raids were not related to either of the law firms’ own tax positions.

Suman Khaitan & Co’s Kolkata alliance firm Khaitan & Partners has moved into a new office space in the city’s business district, having doubled in size since starting up less than a year ago.

Luthra & Luthra has hired an Amarchand Mangaldas senior associate, as targeting expansion in Bangalore. The firm also paid out bonuses last week and increased base salaries earlier this year but it has delayed its announced lockstep conversion process until the end of the year.

Amarchand Mangaldas Delhi’s joint chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO) Bithika Anand has resigned after almost 11 years with the firm, as Amarchand Delhi’s auditors have temporarily stepped in until a replacement can be found.

AZB & Partners has merged with Anup Shah’s Bangalore law firm, doubling AZB’s size in the city, giving it two new bases in Chennai and Hyderabad and winning a new office managing partner.

Two staff were murdered in FoxMandal Little’s Bangalore office early on Sunday morning. The firm has closed its office there for the day as a mark of respect.

Khaitan & Co will take a lawyer from UK international firm Eversheds on a three-month secondment in September, reported The Lawyer.

FoxMandal Little has not been able to pay fee-earners in Delhi their salaries as the office faces a liquidity crisis.

Lawyers have threatened legal action over the Government’s new service tax as Delhi litigators are going on strike over the issue today.

This year’s Union Budget has paved the way for law firm partnerships to convert to limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

The 2009-10 Union Budget has extended service tax to lawyers, which could directly increase legal bills to clients and result in downward pressure on fees.

Amarchand Mangaldas is planning to convert to a limited liability partnership (LLP) once the structure is finalised and has been sanctioned by the Bar Council of India.

Phoenix Legal has denied that it has a best friends tie-up with UK international firm Lovells, after a press report linked the two today.

Thakker & Thakker has made up its first female partner, growing its partnership to a total of five.