HSA Advocates has hired independent practitioner Vatsal Gaur, who had started his independent two years ago after leaving Khaitan & Co and Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, as associate partner in Delhi, according to its press release.

Gaur specialises in venture capital, angel funding and corporate work, having advised a number of funds and start-ups since going independent.

His work has included advising various start-ups across sectors such as fintech (XtraCap Fintech), ed-tech (Klassroom) and agri-tech (Farmguide), on their pre-VC rounds, and has also been advising growth stage, included PE backed companies, on their general corporate needs, across hospitality, technology, retail and services sectors. He has also advised on strategic litigation, and investments by family offices and angel investors.

The NLU Jodhpur 2011 graduate had begun his career at J Sagar Associates (JSA), moved Khaitan & Co in 2014 in Mumbai.

In March 2016 he started his independent practice, joining Lakshmikumaran briefly as a principal associate in Delhi before setting out on his own again in April 2017.

HSA Associates has gone on a lateral hiring spree re-growing to 28 partners with this hire, after the departure of seven partners, including five in corporate, to DSK Legal.

In corporate, HSA had recently added Kochhar & Co partner Gaurav Sahay, in-house lawyer Dipti Lavya Swain.

Managing partner Amitabh Sharma left in April, though he continues to be associated with the firm.