Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) Delhi-based partners Abir Roy and T Sundar Ramanathan have left the firm to start-up an independent firm in collaboration with former LKS senior partner S Seetharaman, who left the firm in October.
Roy was part of the firm’s competition practice and also focused on the Insolvency Code, while Ramanathan focussed on general and commercial litigation.
They will be starting their own firm by mid-January as well as collaborating with Seetharaman’s independent practice, who focuses on international trade and competition, said Roy.
Roy had joined LKS in January 2015 from his partnership at Khare Legal Chambers, and Ramanathan had joined the firm in 2009. Both had their last working days at LKS yesterday, confirmed Roy.
Both are NLU Jodhpur 2007 alumni and made partner in LKS’ annual promotion round this year.
Roy commented: “[Starting up] has been in mine and Sundar’s mind, we wanted to do something of our own that was a long drawn ambition. Now we finally decided: if not now, when?”
“[The Insolvency Code] from a company perspective is a huge boon, a lot of creditors are happy, also from the lawyer’s perspective there are so many cases going around in a year’s time, there is huge scope,” he added.
LKS founding partner V Lakshmikumaran commented: “We wish them best of luck. They have done a good job. They’re both good boys and we should allow people to grow. We should encourage them.”
He said that LKS Delhi-based international trade practice partner Dhruv Gupta, who was made up to partner in the same round as Roy and Ramanathan, would take charge of the competition practice post the exit of Roy and Ramanathan, alongside Lakshmikumaran himself.
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Comments
As far as retaining talent in concerned, the King himself publicly proclaimed long back that he is a like a jeweler who keeps creating many diamonds regularly such that it does not matter to him as to who leaves and who joins his firm.
God bless Indian law firms.
The Warden of the North and West have left already. The young Lords are leaving slowly. With the Warden of the South slowly planning to leave the Kingdom, the Mad King has finally lost it all.
The Warden of the East is marred by allegations. Now the time is ripe! Because there is hope! Rebellions are built on hope! With those words, the Wardens finally drove their swords deep in the Mad King's heart!
Valar Morghulis Mad King! All Men Must Die!!
if a person is a partner in a prestigious firm, let us give him the credit that he earns, which is a lot more than all of us commenting here and deserves some respect.
Lets stick to the constructive criticism. :)
BTW, I am sure that many other partners or most law firms also have upon this mouth-freshner.
You are way off the mark. What you call as the reason for 'incentivising' is the exact reason why they are not acceptable in LKS. VLK does not want anyone who knows the skills of business development. Remember one who can bring clients can also take them away. So these people are the cause for fear.
Instead VLK wants only the also-rans in the firm such that the entrepreneurship is confined to 'the family' and rest all are pawns who just execute errands to the satisfaction of 'the family'.
The insistence on 'knowledge', 'quality', etc. is all drama as hungry mouths cannot be fed with these. Those who have the skills or work hard to make a living expect to take back the reward for their efforts. However, as someone pointed out above, the greed of 'the family' is reflected in getting to open a new office (somewhere across the globe) every two years. This ensures that the old office (which was in any case owned by VLK and not by the firm) get back in their hands after it has been paid for by the blood of the pawns.
So a short piece of advice. If you have the talent, explore it elsewhere. It will not be appreciated in this place. Nothing will change here. People with more than decades of their life spent here will confirm the above.
Also, the South King has not attended any of the office meetings is over 6 months owing to his prince having quit the firm. Coincidence much?