After a three-and-a-half month wait, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) Delhi-based corporate equity partner Akila Agrawal has now joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) as the head of its M&A practice, according to its press release.

Law firms J Sagar Associates (JSA), Khaitan & Co, Trilegal, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) and AZB & Partners (roughly in that order) were consistently ranked as the top 5 of big law firms in terms of “culture”, “leadership” and “rewards & recognition”, “satisfaction” and “pride”, according to a survey by legal recruitment and management consultant Vahura.

Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, as its full official name has been, is now called L&L Partners Law Offices, we have learned from sources and Bar & Bench has reported.

S&R Associates has appointed two lawyers as counsel and Simran Dhir as the head of its competition practice, according to a press release by the firm.

Many Indian firms have been looking to do more of knowledge management (KM) for many years, with an eye on their foreign counterparts, but the immediate pressures of earning revenues and servicing clients often get in the way. At AZB & Partners, Bhavi Sanghvi, has now transitioned from corporate, M&A and private equity partner to full-time knowledge management, heading up its KM function for the past month-and-a-half.

Aquilaw has opened two offices in Mumbai today after absorbing JKB Legal and adding its managing attorney Jay Bhatia as partner in the firm.

Ex-Amarchand Mangaldas lawyer and NUJS Kolkata 2006 graduate Abhishek Kolay has joined Kirkland & Ellis in New York as a partner, making him one of the first (if not the first) alumnus from NUJS to make it to partnership at a top international law firm.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has promoted six to its equity partnership, reported Bar & Bench.

Wadia Ghandy litigation head and partner Farid Karachiwala is joining J Sagar Associates (JSA) as equity partner in Mumbai with his team of five lawyers.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas corporate and M&A salaried partner Sourav Kanti De Biswas has resigned, according to authoritative sources. It is understood from sources that he will be taking some time off.

Link Legal India Law Services has hired Apurbalal Mallik as associate partner for its Hyderabad office from Fox Mandal & Associates.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) has hired Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas principal associate Mukul Sharma as a corporate partner in its Delhi office, according to CAM’s press release.

Himanshu Goswami, the former senior vice president legal at India’s largest commercial real estate developer DLF Commercial Developers, has started up litigation and transaction law firm Treya Legal in Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Bangalore.

Tatva Legal has promoted Bangalore of counsel Nanjappa Ganapathy to its partnership, in a bid to ramp up its litigation presence in the city.

Veritas Legal has promoted 2015-lateral hire Vineet Nalawalla to partner, growing the firm to tp;;7 partners.

Further to our report last week, Trilegal has today voted to admit former partners of AZB & Partners, Ganesh Rao and Aditya Jha, as partners in its asset management and funds practice in Mumbai, growing its partnership to 44.

Sujit Ghosh, the co-founding partner of two best friends of Big 4 consultancies - BMR Legal and most recently Advaita Legal - is set to leave the firm soon, we have learned.

Law firm P&A Law Offices has hired SREI Infrastructure Finance senior vice president Ketan Mukhija as corporate partner in Delhi.

Funds partners Ganesh Rao and Aditya Jha from AZB & Partners are understood to be heading to Trilegal, though we understand that the partnership vote to admit them into Trilegal has not yet completed.

IDFC Alternatives vice president legal Vedant Shukla, has joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai as a partner.