Luthra & Luthra capital markets head and partner Madhurima Mukherjee has announced her resignation from the firm earlier today.
Mukherjee had joined Luthra in 2006 from Amarchand Mangaldas in Delhi, building up its capital markets practice to become one of India’s busiest.
Mukherjee said: “Mr [Rajiv] Luthra has been a great mentor. After seven great years I’ve decided to move on.”
“I have no immediate plans, will take a break for the next couple of months and then decide what to do going forward,” she said.
The Luthra capital markets practice remains with partner Manan Lahoty in Mumbai, who joined from Shearman & Sterling in 2009.
Indraneel Basu Majumdar, who joined in 2010 from Clifford Chance as a capital markets senior associate on a partnership track, joined JP Morgan in London around last year after a sabbatical to complete a master’s degree.
Mukherjee said: “I wish my team and Manan all the best and I will miss them.”
Legally India reported earlier this month that three partners - Nivedita Tiwari, Moushami Joshi and Shweta Hingorani- had left or are about to leave the firm. Delhi litigation partner Ajit Warrier had joined Amarchand in May.
Luthra promoted two lawyers to partner on 3 August, saying it was launching a strategic initiative to focus on higher-margin work after profits at the firm took a dive.
Luthra managing partner Rajiv Luthra and senior partner Mohit Saraf were not reachable for comment at the time of going to press.
Comments
...and you have been a good friend to those who havent had the fortune of working with you. Good Luck Madhurima...
Hi, I also got trained from her. She is so nice..
Huge loss for Luthra though, considering her experience and reputation with bankers.
I wonder if she left because she was not made part of the executive committee and was "passed over" for partners like Vijaya, Samir and Sundeep. If that's the real reason, its the right decision.
I wonder if she left because she was not made part of the executive committee and was "passed over" for partners like Vijaya, Samir and Sundeep. If that's the real reason, its the right decision.[/quote]
so if Madhurima was such a "senior most partner" and a darling of merchant banks, why was she shown the door before other "not so great" partners?
any prudent managing partner would keep his best cards close to his chest before surrendering them. he would probably (in best prudence) get rid of the not-so-well-performing cards before the "senior most partners"
[b]P.S. [/b]Since I am not the managing partner, I cannot answer your question! However, it is a statement of fact that Madhurima was one of the senior most partners and is known as the "darling of the merchant banks".
Oh, and before you say it, I ain't touchy mate. Just having fun at a loser's expense :)
Oh, and before you say it, I ain't touchy mate. Just having fun at a loser's expense :)[/quote]
I agree. Pedantic little b***h. Ek toh got pwned, oopar se seenajori
Separately, I [b]DO NOT[/b] know that "going to press" is not to be taken literally. And if it is not to be taken that way, it actually buttresses my observation. I have not come across this usage on any online portal/blog/newspaper which is generally lauded for its writing (unless they have a print edition and the online version is just a reproduction)(in my limited sifting of the internet). Ne tom dk n harry cn rite whtevr on da net n gt away wid it. jus coz u cn read n undrstnd dis sntnc duznt mean dat dis iz da way to rite, howeva acceptbl dis writin styl mite hv bcom "in 2dayz wrld".
They dont care about their Rainmakers. People who have the potential of bringing in work, leading teams and making a difference are leaving because people who have no potential of the type are constantly nigging at the ears of the powers that be.
ya! maybe she stopped working on deals because she had no deals to work on. How many big ticket IPOs has luthra done in the past couple of years?
ya! maybe she stopped working on deals because she had no deals to work on. How many big ticket IPOs has luthra done in the past couple of years?[/quote]
clearly someone who has no idea about the market or the practice.....check out any of the large deals (DLF, Bharti Infratel) and Madhurima was on those
ya! maybe she stopped working on deals because she had no deals to work on. How many big ticket IPOs has luthra done in the past couple of years?[/quote]
clearly someone who has no idea about the market or the practice.....check out any of the large deals (DLF, Bharti Infratel) and Madhurima was on those[/quote]
and in which year was DLF IPO exactly?
ya! maybe she stopped working on deals because she had no deals to work on. How many big ticket IPOs has luthra done in the past couple of years?[/quote]
clearly someone who has no idea about the market or the practice.....check out any of the large deals (DLF, Bharti Infratel) and Madhurima was on those[/quote]
and in which year was DLF IPO exactly?[/quote]
How many 'big ticket' IPOs have happened my friend ? With a practice team which is 1/3rd of largest competitor, if she managed to do 50% of the work in market, that is commendable !
to refresh your memory reference here is to DLF IPP and not DLF IPO. clearly, this shows your level of awareness in cap mkt space.
[quote name="@ L&L"]The fee was Re. 1.[/quote]
Umm, this is what comes from half baked knowledge. Re. 1 was the fee of merchant banks. ET never published the fee of legal counsel, so you would not know.
http://www.legallyindia.com/201006251026/Analysis/anatomy-of-the-new-disinvestments-tenders-near-zero-fees-for-lawyers-or-boon-for-competition
I don't remember what the Luthra fee for coal was, but for Engineers India's disinvestment they and DLA won with a joint bid of Rs 136 lakh. I think Coal may have been slightly less?
But that's what happens in government L1 contracts, I believe...
Don't listen to hearsay, idiot. Do you even know what and who you're talking about? If she was only marketing, your daddy was taking the calls? Or do you expect her to do a trainee's work and unhappy cos she's moved on in life to a bigger role while you're still an idiot?
Instead of the weekly/ monthly birthday celebrations... there are weekly/ monthly FAREWELL parties.
Sadly Luthra has decided to get rid of all the good people- rainmakers in the name of the new strategy.
This is but the beginning of the end for this firm.[quote name="Pft"]Well now that 4 partners have left (and luthra does not have to pay 4 people)....the poor souls at luthra can hope for their increment which is overdue by like half an year[/quote]
You are not getting it! Dream on. And if you complain- they will throw the bond in your face and chain you down.
Even without increment, associates in luthra make more money than in most other law firms in India. So shut up!
1. be from a Tier III law school,
2. not know the law,
3. be spoon fed by your partner all the way,
4. commit 5 drastic bloopers in as many hours,
5. not work weekends and to leave office at 6pm,
6. create work product that can be charged out at Rs 2,000/ hour,
7. ...
When you've ruled out the 99% of the 'law firms' in the country and talk about only the mainstream ones with expectations, workload, and required credentials of lawyers, you realize the disparity between what Luthra pays and what other comparable firms pay.
1. be from a Tier III law school,
2. not know the law,
3. be spoon fed by your partner all the way,
4. commit 5 drastic bloopers in as many hours,
5. not work weekends and to leave office at 6pm,
6. create work product that can be charged out at Rs 2,000/ hour,
7. ...
When you've ruled out the 99% of the 'law firms' in the country and talk about only the mainstream ones with expectations, workload, and required credentials of lawyers, you realize the disparity between what Luthra pays and what other comparable firms pay.[/quote]
Oh, wow! Since when did junior associates at law firms (any firm for that matter) start working on law? I always knew that all of you were quite good at looking for punctuation errors on a microsoft word document. So, knowing or not knowking the law hardly matters. And, work hours? Most of you indeed have a lot of time to comment on LI/BB.
At my Tier 1 firm, @ ~20L per annum at my Jr Assoc. level, it doesn't work out very economical for them. So they keep sending all this legal work my way and hire someone like you at minimum wage and parade them as paralegals or interns.
PS. Pl do give me details of your firm. Here they make me work on a lot of law. It started on the first day of my job here, and it hasn't stopped since. Your job sounds like easy money. My team's paralegal is looking for a change of office for better pay. He would love to apply.
PPS. The quip about the work hours.. It's late Sunday night and I finally get the time to reply to your comment.. the less said the better. Then there's also the case of the kettle calling the pot black. Whatever you do and wherever you do it - it gave you time to write on this wall much before I did.
They don't care.
Why is this exit dramatic? what is the drama about this exit? someone please enlighten me
Yes, but for how long? They have a long history together. MM has nurtured ML and under her guidance, he has flourished.
The exit seems really sudden - LI should investigate.
Hilarious.... Do you know the difference between Cap Marks and PE Lawyer. just because some one is a Cap market lawyer, how is it probable that she will be a PE Lawyer. anyway, the legal advisor in question to Temasek was not L&L... it was an esteemed Mumbai based firm
Btw, from what we hear, she did not even take the BMW from the firm
As a woman, I take strong objection to that. These comments are offensive to say the least!
As a woman, I take strong objection to that. These comments are offensive to say the least![/quote]
Pls stop being over-sensitive to the point of being ridiculous...
As far as I know from the grapevine, it's true that Mukherjee already has an Audi and declined to take the BMW, Audi or Mercedes options offered by the firm (see this report, here: http://www.legallyindia.com/201208283067/Law-firms/luthra-promotes-3-corp-3-lit-partners-and-raft-of-assocs-but-no-beemers-equity-this-year )
However, as far as I know, not that it matters, she bought the car herself. Will check with her and find out.
Not that it should really matter - surely a spouse can buy a gift or their spouse? Particularly if they are both high-earners, which is obvious. I assume this kind of stuff happens on both sides in marriage :)
Departure and resignation seems to have happened within a day.
Kian time for some investigative journalism.
Who is next...Mr. Luthra himself.
Ha, negotiations? in this down market for cap marks? Were they negotiating on downward pay revisions?
Departure and resignation seems to have happened within a day.
Kian time for some investigative journalism.
Who is next...Mr. Luthra himself.[/quote]
Resignations and departures is part of the new LL strategy.
Feel bad for Mr. Luthra... his edifice seems to be going through some tumultuous times
http://www.legallyindia.com/201006251026/Analysis/anatomy-of-the-new-disinvestments-tenders-near-zero-fees-for-lawyers-or-boon-for-competition
I don't remember what the Luthra fee for coal was, but for Engineers India's disinvestment they and DLA won with a joint bid of Rs 136 lakh. I think Coal may have been slightly less?
But that's what happens in government L1 contracts, I believe...[/quote]
Coal India was 90 lakhs.
And banks. Its a fact of life. Madhu is a great person and has done a lot for luthra. What she has done is awe inspiring. Having said that an institution goes on. Even the person goes on. Both amicably. There is a void but its not insurmountable for either party. Its a part of life. Its called moving on.
Why are you ppl politicising the issue ? Read the news move on. Wish them both luck and happiness.
Luthra as a firm will survive and madhu will to. Both are made of stronger stuff. Why malign them by creating stories that are not true
Question is - are so many departures across all ranks, the new strategy, admittedly low profit margins, announced promotions, mass exodus, absence of salary revisions, beaten market reputation, disgruntled and vocal employees/ ex employees, etc all merely a coincidence?
It should be obvious that there's a bigger issue with the management. Opining on that is hardly politicising any issue. Comments here are inside scoops, market rumors or speculations.
In case any smart managing partner would want to save money by sacking partners, they would probably follow last-in-first-out policy. And they would probably get rid of non performing partners first. Did any commenter on this article ever think that why Madhurima had to quit when there are 30 other partners?
Kian, some people have commented that she has an offer from Khaitan. Can you get a confirmation/denial from Khaitan.
With the way people are reacting, it appears things are hunky dory in rest of the world and LL has such issues that it is the next Greece. If you think so, I am convinced that you are not a corporate lawyer and have no idea about the market. Things are BAD everywhere. That is a function of the market, and is not LL's problem alone.
@Kian Btw the comments section in LI has become the wall of a public loo, where every urchin comes and dumps their verbal trash. I am certain that LI is not visited by 10 times the number of people who visit B&B, but the comments are. And the quality of comments, less said the better.
In terms of loowall, we are but a mirror to the profession. And the worst comments, which are truly fit for a loo wall, we haven't even published. And all the comments I've seen on any other sites are not of a higher quality either.
Which should give pause for thought about the profession / urchins... :)
I believe that's around 3 to 4 times more than B&B, extrapolating from independent anlytics and anecdotally, but I don't think they've published their figures ever, so I don't know exactly.
If someone knows for certain, please do share, would be interested.
Dear Guest,
Clearly, you're clueless. Seeing as how you sound so ignorant & defensive.. you are with or close to the Luthra management, aren't you? Markets were BAD everywhere, yet not every economy sank the way Greece did. Even politicians at Greece blamed everyone [i]else[/i] and the BAD global markets as Greece steadily sank instead of addressing/ admitting their own problems. Strikes a chord?
If you say every firm of Luthra's size in the same time period in the market has had such mass exodus in similar conditions or for similar reasons I'm convinced you're not a corporate lawyer who knows the market. Attrition many times the market average is not a function of the market but LL's problem alone.
Why blame Kian or LI? He let an urchin (i.e. you) post his vitriolic trash in a comment of questionable quality.
Let's be objective. LL lost four partners - one who got married and moved to the US, one who moved to a smaller firm and a third who decide to cut back on active corporate practice. Madhurima took a sabbatical a few months ago and even before that has been taking it easy for the last two years. So no real impact. If LL lost a Sameen, Vijaya, Manan or Bikash it would bleed. Not this.
Lets be objective. You have obviously not read Who's Who Legal, Chambers and such like on status of capital markets lawyers. Only time will tell the real impact. If you are one of those people "not taking it easy" ...posting pro-Luthra comments, assessing the real impact of this... in the middle of the night, I am sure you will continue to do brilliantly. Especially in L&L.
Let's be objective. LL lost four partners - one who got married and moved to the US, one who moved to a smaller firm and a third who decide to cut back on active corporate practice. Madhurima took a sabbatical a few months ago and even before that has been taking it easy for the last two years. So no real impact. If LL lost a Sameen, Vijaya, Manan or Bikash it would bleed. Not this.[/quote]
Maybe the time to bleed is coming near!
If Luthra gave her a platform then she also gave them results. She also pulled in the dough. Takes two to tango and you dont break up a perfect tango team!
as for non nls and amss- pls note that the whole of luthra (including madhurima and other nls alumni) consults with pple like Sameen and Sandeep on complex legal issues (not just icdr) - so not sure if being from amss automatically means that you are better than the rest.
I can tell you that many who know these gentlemen, even those at LL, could participate in discussions on broader policy or strategy matters, but none would come out on a public forum to pass such sweeping personal statements.
In terms of loowall, we are but a mirror to the profession. And the worst comments, which are truly fit for a loo wall, we haven't even published. And all the comments I've seen on any other sites are not of a higher quality either.
Which should give pause for thought about the profession / urchins... :)[/quote]
Very well said Kian!
In terms of loowall, we are but a mirror to the profession. And the worst comments, which are truly fit for a loo wall, we haven't even published. And all the comments I've seen on any other sites are not of a higher quality either.
Which should give pause for thought about the profession / urchins... :)[/quote]
Very well said Kian![/quote]
Kian- If the comments don't border on the obscene, why censor them? It is good to report ....
All this so call "loo wall stuff" is nothing but the fraternity, industry commenting on the news article and of course- some LL insiders venting their feelings of exasperated desperation- a cry for help from deep within the well of sorts.
Truth be asked for-
Why is it that every LL article, of late, attracts so much negativity?
Why is it that people are leaving this Firm..that too people at the higher level- Rainmakers?
Why are dissatisfaction and attrition levels so high all of a sudden?
Why is it that their profits are taking hits?
Why are they not doing everything in their power to retain talent, rather just letting it go?
Are they making promises that they cant keep? or are they making promises that they dont want to keep?
Is it Complacency? Arrogance? Bad Management? Politics??
These are questions that people need answers to.. clients need answers to... Freshers considering the firm need light on...people no longer get impressed by hot air and faff!!
Surprisingly, no other firm has attracted so much negative publicity (nay venom spewed)over its actions .... .
In terms of loowall, we are but a mirror to the profession. And the worst comments, which are truly fit for a loo wall, we haven't even published. And all the comments I've seen on any other sites are not of a higher quality either.
Which should give pause for thought about the profession / urchins... :)[/quote]
Very well said Kian![/quote]
Kian- If the comments don't border on the obscene, why censor them? It is good to report ....
All this so call "loo wall stuff" is nothing but the fraternity, industry commenting on the news article and of course- some LL insiders venting their feelings of exasperated desperation- a cry for help from deep within the well of sorts.
Truth be asked for-
Why is it that every LL article, of late, attracts so much negativity?
Why is it that people are leaving this Firm..that too people at the higher level- Rainmakers?
Why are dissatisfaction and attrition levels so high all of a sudden?
Why is it that their profits are taking hits?
Why are they not doing everything in their power to retain talent, rather just letting it go?
Are they making promises that they cant keep? or are they making promises that they dont want to keep?
Is it Complacency? Arrogance? Bad Management? Politics??
These are questions that people need answers to.. clients need answers to... Freshers considering the firm need light on...people no longer get impressed by hot air and faff!!
Surprisingly, no other firm has attracted so much negative publicity (nay venom spewed)over its actions .... .[/quote]
@ Why?? "These are questions that people need answers to..." I think buddy you are watching too much of Arnab Goswami. Really no one except the present employees of Luthra are concerned with whether the present attrition rate is due to "Complacency? Arrogance? Bad Management? Politics??". Meanwhile, you can leave the people to do their own business.
That makes sense why all the pro-luthra anti-madhurima comments started coming. Hmmm...
hello Kian, can anyone claim to be insider and write this sort of stuff? to make your website more popular, you are ok? is this something the lawyer - for instance - would permit?
As I've said before. The editorial section is (mostly) ours, the comments (mostly) belong to readers, as it should be. What readers wish to do with that space and platform is largely up to them, within the limits of the law of course.
Best wishes,
Kian
Not that I believe your claim, but if it is indeed true that 40 of the most senior people at LL could afford to waste 4 hours on discussing comments posted on an an LI article, then LL is in bigger trouble that what people here reckon.
I have been a regular reader of LI and have at times have noticed that personal comments have often been censored, for instance the article in connection with Ms.Dhanda and the NALSAR, which had also stirred up controversy of a similar magnitude.
However, in this case the names of partners have been published almost in every case, for instance, none of those disparaging comments about Madhurimas and her policies in the article on the Luthra promotions. Seems like LI is random when it comes to exercising its moderation discretion. A policy which seems arbitrary and unfair.
For an outsider like me, I think it’s a pretty safe assumption to make that LI and Luthra don’t get along well and articles like these were a medium of venting one’s frustration and getting back at the firm for god knows what reason
As I've said before, all we do is receive the comments and weed out the ones that are defamatory or highly personal.
If insiders choose to share grievances on a public forum, and if some of those are a little vitriolic, that is entirely their prerogative (and in fact, I'd assume, useful feedback sometimes for law firm managers).
However, I don't see how that can be our fault. Imagine this: we're regularly damned for censoring comments or not reporting aggressively enough, accusing us of bias in favour of any of a number of law firms or people; likewise we're sometimes accused of bias for reporting news stories aggressively or ensuing comments that are a little pointed.
No win :(
Talking of - for stories with long comment threads it can get a bit confusing - you can click this to see only the latest comments:
http://www.legallyindia.com/index.php?option=com_jcomments&task=rss&object_id=3929&object_group=com_content&format=raw
(link is at the top of all the comments - where there is also the 'interestingness' filter button that weeds out low-rated comments, so you can read the reader-determined 'highlights' only)
We're looking to implement a more elegant solution in future.
Yes go work... I need to buy another set of BMW's for my Partners.
I am happy I am a corporate lawyer and we do have issues but making personal comments and eye brows on other success is a damn kiddish and stating about who is married to whom and which client is going to which firm (with reference and direct jack), I am sorry to say, it shows wrong image of law firms which are running currently and better that lawyers like me who are in corporate are away from these unwanted written comments on just 1 quit..
What prevents people from opening fake email accounts and post exactly the same type of comments under the name of others? Now don't tell me L.I. should insist on using ADHAAR cards!
True for all LI readers. does not exclude me)