Long-time ALMT Legal senior partner Hitesh Jain is set to leave the firm after 31 March of this year, taking his team of 28 fee-earners, including two salaried partners, with him.

He will be joined by partner Subhash Jadhav is focusing on civil & criminal litigation, general dispute, matrimonial dispute, property & real estate, while partner Pooja Tidke specialises in disputes.

Jain commented: “After a wonderful journey of 12 years at ALMT, I have decided to resign and pursue my career interests.”

He added that he was still finalising his next steps, but would likely make an announcement in the coming days.

Correction: We have been informed that total headcounts at ALMT Legal after Jain’s departure is 58 in Mumbai, and 47 in Bangalore. In Mumbai, there are 4 equity and 4 salaried partners, while in Bangalore there are 5 equity partners and 6 salaried partners.

Jain’s departure will reduce the total partnership headcounts at ALMT Legal from 22 to 19. His team, at nearly 30 fee-earners, is also the single biggest in the firm, which will reduce total headcounts across Bangalore and Mumbai, to around 105.

We have reached out to ALMT for comment.

Update 26 March 2018: ALMT co-founder and senior partner Sameer Tapia commented: “We wish him the very best - he has other aspirations which he wants to pursue. It’s been a great innings together.”

He added that the “firm continued to be a full service firm” in Mumbai, with Aliff Fazelbhoy heading up corporate commercial and tax labour and employment, Chhaya Virani heading property and real estate, Statira Ranina doing corporate commercial and tax, and Ryna Karani doing corporate, banking and finance. Tapia himself did corporate disputes and dispute resolution, he said.

“It has historically been a traditional partnership,” Tapia explained, and said that Jain leaving would not affect profitability of the firm, but declined to comment further.

Jain revenues at his practice consisted roughly 50% of disputes work, with the remaining 50% being made up of media and entertainment, white collar crime, real estate, and corporate commercial.

Jain had joined ALMT in 2006 from Udwadia & Udeshi. He holds a 1995 LLB from SLS Pune, and a 1996 LLM from the London School of Economics (LSE).

In 2010 we had followed Jain for several days in his ultimately unsuccessful bid for election to the Maharashtra and Goa bar council.