Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) has made up seven non-founding partners into equity, for the first time ever, in its 30th year of existence.

Six tax partners – three in Delhi, two in Mumbai and one in Bangalore – and one Chennai IPR partner were promoted into equity.

LKS managing partner V Lakshmikumaran, who was the firm’s joint equity holder with co-founder V Sridharan, who has since left the firm after being designated a senior advocate, said: “I think the time has come that people who’ve contributed to this office [grow into equity].”

“The salaried partnership was reserved for people who have spent some time with us. For the first time we have introduced the [equity partnership to non-founders]. The sharing of profit was done by a partnership deed,” he said.

He told Legally India that partners would get a fixed percentage of the firm’s profit, adding that “we want to keep it simple”. He said that the partners will “participate in managing the administration of the firm”.

Lakshmikumaran explained that each of the new equity partners will get equal percentage share in the firm’s profits, which “may change” year on year “depending upon their performance”. He also said that each of the new equity holders will get one vote in the administrative decisions of the firm. He declined to comment on the total percentage set aside for the new partners after the founders’ share.

The new equity partners are Bangalore tax partner G Shivadass who has been with the firm since 1993, Mumbai tax partner Nambirajan R who joined in 1991, Delhi tax partner Seetharaman S who joined in 2000, Delhi tax partner Mathivanan N who joined in 2002, Delhi tax partner Narasimhan BL, Chennai IPR partner Parathasarthy R and Mumbai tax partner Vishwanathan T.

Shivadass heads the Bangalore office and is responsible for litigation and consulting, Nambirajan heads the excise and service tax team in Mumbai, Seetharaman heads the international trade division, Mathivanan heads the consulting team in Delhi, Narasimhan heads litigation up to CESTAT and consulting division for excise for North and Eastern regions, Parathasarthy heads the intellectual property division and Vishwanathan heads the customs team.

In April the firm added its ninth regional office, opening up in Chandigarh and last year hiked its fresher base pay to Rs 7.2 lakh.

In April the firm’s partner of 28 years Madhav Rao moved to BMR Legal as partner.