ICICI Lombard motor vehicles product manager Keshava Prashanth has joined Khaitan Sud & Partners as the Bangalore office’s partner-in-charge. His hire would take advantage of the “processes … developed with the help of DAC Beachcroft”, a UK insurance specialist firm, said the managing partner U...

Dhir & Dhir Associates has appointed former Singhania & Partners chief executive officer (CEO) Manju Mohotra as its first ever CEO on 1 August, aiming to expand its insolvency and restructuring practice, and to set up in Chandigarh.

Former Indigo Airlines senior legal counsel Piyush Gupta joined Kochhar & Co Gurgaon as competition and aviation partner on 6 August. Gupta will set up the firm’s aviation law practice.

News in brief: Former Luthra & Luthra Delhi indirect tax associate and NLU Jodhpur 2008 grad Sameer Jain starts up a litigation and tax advisory practice Pamasis Law with his brother, former Fox Mandal Bangalore litigation associate and Lucknow university 2006 grad Sidhharth Jain, this August, ...

Exclusive: Infosys legal head Samuel Mani and senior Infosys legal heads Utham Chengappa and Neil Mathur have quit to start a technology-focused law firm together.

Infosys, meanwhile, is understood to be finalising the appointment of new legal heads as former in-houser Gautam Rohidekar has returned to the company.

Former Trilegal senior associate Nitin Banerjee joined J Sagar Associates (JSA) Delhi’s energy practice as retained partner on 3 August, after five years spent with international oil and natural gas (ONG) major BG Group in India and the UK.

Former DSK Legal partner Jagvir Singh will join HSA Advocates as the third partner in the firm’s project finance practice on 16 August, while also focusing on banking and corporate work.

Exclusive: Former SRGR Law Offices senior associate Akshat Pande and Videocon Group company in-houser Ankit Prakash have started up Alpha Partners in Delhi to focus on corporate and intellectual property (IP) law work.

Singh & Associates (S&A) has seconded a partner and a principal associate to Beijing full-time, to strengthen the firm’s China practice with the help of a non-exclusive client referral arrangement with Guangda Law Firm in China.

Anand and Anand doubled its office space in Chennai last month by securing lease to the property adjacent to its previously existing office premises in AR Villa.

Exclusive: J Sagar Associates (JSA) senior associate Srishti Ojha will join Desai & Diwanji as a partner in Mumbai, ramping up the capacity of specialist capital markets partners at the firm to two after Sumes Dewan joined in Delhi earlier this month.

Exclusive: J Sagar Associates (JSA) has increased its basic starting remuneration package to Rs 10.5 lakh per annum for its intake of graduates starting this year.

Luthra & Luthra managing associate Ravisekhar Nair has replenished the ranks of Economic Laws Practice (ELP) competition team as an associate partner, after partner Samir Gandhi left ELP last month.

Exclusive: Talha Salaria, co-founder and partner at Bangalore firm MMB Legal, has set up an independent firm called Lawyers at Work.

Exclusive: Ex-Amarchand Mangaldas tax head Aseem Chawla has started a tax, business and corporate advisory law firm called MPC Legal with two co-founding partners, as the “best friend” firm of chartered accountancy (CA) firm Mohinder Puri & Co.

Private equity boutique Lexygen’s former Singapore partner Yang Yen Thaw, who left in December 2011, has joined Chinese firm Dacheng Wong Alliance LLP as co-head of its India practice from Singapore.

Exclusive: King Stubb & Kasiva (KSK) has launched a full-fledged Bangalore office on 1 July as it is aiming to open in Ahmedabad by this time next year.

Contrary to the approach taken by the Bar Council of India (BCI), foreign lawyers should be allowed to fly into India temporarily to advise clients and assist in arbitrations, decided the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) in its general board meeting on Saturday, while noting that chartered accountants have been flouting the rules.

Exclusive: Fox Mandal partner Sumes Dewan will join Desai & Diwanji as its second Delhi partner on 7 July, after he had resigned last week.

Contrary to media reports, the Supreme Court has reaffirmed the Madras high court judgment on foreign law firms, expressly permitting the “fly-in-fly-out” of foreign lawyers, while reiterating the law laid down in the Bombay high court’s Lawyers Collective judgment preventing foreign lawyers from opening up offices in India.