Senior Indian law firm partners’ billing rates have increased by around 17% over two years to an average of $335 an hour (Rs 21,580 at current exchange rates) from $292 in 2015 (Rs 18,500 at exchange rates at that time), according to consultancy RSG India’s latest research and its figures from 2015.

In the latest bi-annual rankings compiled by consultancy RSG India, AZB & Partners has topped the table ahead of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM), which had topped the table in 2015 when still united in one firm as Amarchand Mangaldas before their break-up (see full table below).

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has appointed another high-profile name to its internal “strategic advisory board”, with the part-time hire of former magic circle firm Allen & Overy’s senior partner David Morley.

Link Legal India Law Services has promoted associate partner Shashwat Kumar to partner.

Pamasis merges with SanAd Legal to form PSLPamasis Law Chambers and SanAd Legal have merged to form the 5-partner, 20-lawyer Delhi and Mumbai based law firm PSL.

On Saturday, 11 November, the Indian National Bar Association (INBA) had held the “Bar Leadership Summit on Reforms in the Indian Legal Sector” conference to discuss the future and liberalisation of the legal profession, and to bring together leaders of the bar and the government.

UK firm Penningtons Manches LLP India group co-head Ajit Mishra, has joined London-based Rosenblatt Solicitors as the head of its India group.

T&T Law founder Rohit Tandon lost his appeal for bail in the Supreme Court on Friday, and continues to be in jail for almost a year now for alleged money laundering.

Former Nexus Venture Partners vice president legal Harshita Srivastava has joined Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) in Mumbai to head its venture capital (VC) practice.

Luthra & Luthra senior partner Mohit Saraf, who was one of the Indian law firm promoters requesting the commerce ministry in liberalisation negotiations to prevent foreign firms from hiring Indian lawyers, said in an interview with Asia Legal Business that if foreign firms open in India, they would only be with a “very small office”.

NCR-based IP boutique firm, Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys, has promoted senior associate VC Mathews to associate partner.”>

HSA Advocates partner Ajoy Halder has left the firm last month to set up start-up law firm Halder & Associates in Delhi.

The April 2016 merger between Alliance Corporate Lawyers and Dhaval Vussonji & Associates has fallen apart, with the former operating as Alliance Law from 31 October.

Link Legal India Law Services has hired the co-founders of RM Partners, Nikhil Rodrigues and Jyoti Maheshwari, as partners in its Mumbai office.

Fox & Mandal Kolkata - the Kolkata partnership of the Fox Mandal group of three firms - has hired Khaitan & Co Kolkata senior associate Atreyee Sen as a principal associate in its corporate practice.

Luthra & Luthra partner, Pranjal Bora, homegrown at the firm for 15 years, has left the firm, we have learned.

Ashok Kumar Mishra, former Kolkata debt recovery tribunal (DRT) presiding officer and former general manager legal of IDBI Bank, has joined Mumbai-based MDP & Partners (formerly M Dhruva & Partners) as a senior partner to head its banking practice.

T&T Law founding partner Rohit Tandon, now in jail for nearly a year in one of the most high-profile arrests carried out in the wake of the government’s demonetisation drive in 2015, is now awaiting a final order of the Supreme Court over his bail plea in the money laundering case against him.

Michelle Solomon Le Page has been promoted to equity partner on 1 October at Mumbai-headquartered firm Solomon & Co, which had been founded by her great-grandfather in 1909.

US-international firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has promoted three to partner this year, including London-based M&A lawyer Nallini Puri, reported The Lawyer and others.