AZB & Partners Mumbai senior associate Monika Bhonsale has been promoted to the firm’s partnership, according to a press release from the firm.

Start-up law firm MNSA Legal - founded in May 2015 - has tied up with a global law firm network younger than itself - Cathay Associates - in an exclusive referral arrangement in a bid to attract more Chinese and European work.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) has opened an office in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) special economic zone (SEZ), after SEZ rules had recently seen a liberalisation that allows legal services providers to operate from there.

Desai & Diwanji partner Shyam Pandya has joined as an associate partner of Economic Laws Practice (ELP) in its corporate, commercial, private equity and venture capital team in Mumbai, according to a press release from the firm.

RDA Legal has shut down and its founder, NUJS 2006 alumnus Rohit Das, is now focusing solely on counsel practice.

At a smaller meeting called by the commerce ministry on 1 September with legal industry stakeholders, including Society of Indian Law Firms (Silf), the Indian National Bar Association (INBA) and Bar Association of India (BAOI), the three Silf members present reiterated their position that foreign law firms, if they were to enter India, shouldn’t be allowed to hire Indian lawyers.

One of Link Legal India Law Services’ most senior partners, Anand Srivastava, has been sponsored by the firm to take a sabbatical for a year from partnership duties to pursue an LLM in the US, in a bid to specialise in disputes.

Bangalore-headquartered law firm Universal Legal and Mumbai firm IC Legal have merged into IC Universal Legal Advocates & Solicitors, to become a seven-office firm of more than 100 fee-earners, including 15 partners.

“Edtech platform Unacademy has raised series-B funding of $11.5 million (approximately Rs 73.6 crore) led by Sequoia India and SAIF Partners. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures also participated in the round,” reported the Economic Times.

T&T Law managing partner Rohit Tandon is back in jail, having surrendered to the authorities on 6 September after his short interim bail on compassionate grounds was not extended by the Supreme Court.

IndusLaw added former K Law associate partner M Arun Kumar as a partner in its Hyderabad office, to bolster the firm’s local real estate and infrastructure practice.

Link Legal India Law Services corporate partner Harish Kumar - who had joined in July 2016 - has left the firm and is in the process of setting up new law firm HSK Legal, according to his Linked-in profile.

Luthra & Luthra made 11 new partners having promoted six partner designates and five managing associates, and elevated partner Bikash Jhawar to the firm’s executive committee, according to Bar & Bench.

Aparna Mittal, who had joined AZB & Partners in Delhi from Luthra & Luthra around 18 months ago, has left the firm, as first reported Bar & Bench.

HSA Advocates^ partner Megha Arora has moved back to J Sagar Associates (JSA), as partner, as first reported by Bar & Bench.

Phoenix Legal has hired Vasanth Rajasekaran as its 16th partner from Seth Dua & Associates in Delhi, where he had worked with co-founder Sunil Seth before his death in February 2017.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) newly promoted partner Sumit Sinha left the firm to join DMD Advocates as a partner in its corporate team in Delhi.

Former Khaitan & Co projects partner Upendra Joshi has joined Legasis Partners as a partner in Mumbai.

Trilegal Delhi-based counsel Abhimanyu Ghosh will be joining Khaitan & Co in its energy, infrastructure and resources practice as an associate partner next week.

Link Legal India Law Services has hired the former senior partner and chairman of UK-headquartered firm Pinsent Masons, Martin Harman, as its “chair - international business”, according to a press release from the firm.