AZB & Partners has hired L&L Partners Mumbai-based partner Avinash Subramanian as a partner in its restructuring, IBC and structured finance practice in Mumbai.
He is a 2012 NLSIU Bangalore graduate who had joined L&L out of college and became a partner at L&L in 2020.
He’s the latest of many homegrown L&L partners to defect from the firm during the spat between the co-founders, which despite the Delhi high court judgment ordering an agreed split has not ended but is now to start in earnest.
Co-founder Mohit Saraf has announced he would start his own firm, while the firm’s original namesake, Rajiv Luthra, would continue with the L&L brand.
Competition for the talent that is left is bound to be fierce.
The tally of exits during the dispute:
- homegrown corporate partner Samarth Gupta joined SAM in April 2021;
- Mumbai corporate partner Apurva Jayant’s exited,
- homegrown real estate partner Sachit Mathur quitting earlier this month,
- homegrown IP partner Nirupam Lodha joining Khaitan & Co,
- homegrown partner Damini Bhalla leaving for Zomato, and
- S&R hiring capital markets partner Jitesh Shahani.
Comments
Tum Kya Lekar Aaye the
Tum Kya Lekar jaoge
Organize karo Digital June Conference
Kaam Kahan se Laoge
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Dear benevolent dictator, we will be happy if you please pay our bonus. You have not even paid any increment for 2020-21, others have. We have weathered a year of pandemic and two of you fighting and destroying the firm we also worked to build. Now you have divided the rewards between you and your formerly favourite partner leaving us counsels without a proper place to work. The least you can do is pay us our bonuses to ease the pain.
Clearly you have no idea how the appraisals were done, either last year or the years before. Its not that you will learn and do the appraisals post this month or the next or anytime later. Why don't act on the benevolent part and not the dictator for once give us our due and we will figure out how to find happiness. You keep announcing things and not acting on anything substantial - employees and lawyers died in the pandemic and nothing was done for them apart from announcing some grand fund - which like other things will not be acted upon. No one asked for Yoga - it was organized perhaps because some friend of the leader had to be accommodated.
Please don't rob hardworking regular lawyers, we have given our best to the firm, the least you should do is give us what is our due. You will still have the money to build your new office etc, for us the bonus matters esp in the present economic situation.
Despite the difficult times faced by the firm, including the pandemic – we got a 7% adhoc bonus. This was given before the appraisals were even completed. This may have helped so many ease the burden faced due to the pandemic.
Mr. Luthra has diluted his equity to two of our deserving partners and I am convinced that the plan is to continue.
As a L&L member I am proud to say that the COVID helpline we have, works round-the-clock, helping not just our family members but also our extended families, friends and clients too. I feel proud of the firm we have built together.
In the meanwhile, there have been so many meaningful initiatives the firm has put together for us to deal with mental wellbeing. The most recent, to name a few, are the yoga sessions by a reputed yoga instructor; we also had a webinar with Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman, Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco Surgery and Lung Transplantation and Co-chairman, Medanta Robotic Institute, Medanta - the Medicity, Gurugram. We had Vesna Jacobs, an accomplished fitness teacher, talk to us about the various breathing techniques and fitness regimes to help both physical and mental wellness.
Mr. Luthra on his personal capacity has started an Education Trust for children of the members of the L&L family who have lost a parent/s to COVID.
I have personally seen pictures of the collapsible prototype rooms the firm is working on to help us work better from home or a remote location.
As a firm we will not break by discourteous write-ups, I am a proud member of the L&L family and I believe we will build an even stronger firm with a stronger culture and values.
I wish you a lot of happiness and contentment.
Best wishes,
A proud L&L family member.
But, for the record:
1. 7% ad hoc increment was for previous year. And that was only for associates not the entire firm. Nobody knows when current year's increments and bonus is going to be given. If I was RKL, I would announce a bonanza not just to retain people but also to reward loyalty.
2. Dilution of equity is a sham. Always was, and will be! Those who stay back just need to negotiate good packages, that's it (wohi milega)! Also deserving or not, let's just not talk about those 2 so called equity partners!
3. Covid helpline, education trusts for children of those departed, HR sessions and all are very good initiatives - but these are extraordinary times (more so for the firm currently)...all that brings comfort is MONEY...so, RKL, if you're listening, please give attractive bonuses and increments!
4. Collapsible work-rooms/desks and all is BS. Nobody wants it!
5. L&L Family and all - please stop this nonsense: everybody has seen how the 'family' fights publicly. Only way to salvage - reward loyalty handsomely, make some heavy-hitter hiring. And, yes, RKL - you will have to give equity to those who command it if you want to get lateral heavy-hitters. A 10-12 member tier-less firm is not 'heavy-hitting', so, please...
Hum saath saath hain, Karan are Arjun ko koi judda nahi kar sakta
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Is there any timeline within which they will pay up amounts. Not to my knowledge
VS, HSC, SS and RKL have been saying for a while they are considering and will do the needful soon. There is no answer to how soon. It seems like a dilatory tactic
Ever heard of a firm holding back increments for FY 2020-21 which are to be announced based on the appraisal of FY 2019-20, because the appraisal form for FY 2020-21 has not been completed. My partner told me this and I was like, Listen, never mind my bonus, you should leave this place as quickly as possible. While at it, tell Luthra to get a basic lesson on law firm management.
He tried1 to tell me how I should treat this a minor event in the life of a law firm. I said, buddy, you have messed up your career in shop with no equity in sight, why are you trying to spoil mine. Have you ever heard of a firm asking for applications for equity??? And exactly what was the result of such applications?? It's there for everyone to see. About the results, the less said the better. It was quite evident from the email exchange with MS.
Having worked here from the start of my career, I can tell you, the place is losing its sense by the day. Stupid, employee unfriendly policies are being introduced each day. There is an annoying accountant who is stupidly called a CFO, has no idea what his role is. He wastes lawyers time and would be taken to task by MS for doing that. Now he tell all sorts of stories to Luthra and acts as if he is running the place. Luthra clearly can't get his head around anything but 3X as a means of appraisal because then he can get away without reading the forms and rely on some dashboard and AI. Seriously, he wants to run law firm evaluated by software. Ever heard of this stupidity before??
No increments no bonus. Retainer toh mil raha hai time pe, khush raho
Thankfully l have not taken sides in the fight between these two and now have to evaluate the two sides.
One a FMP who has put 25 % equity for professionals, but has not clarified how people will be inducted into equity. Last time he asked for applications and less said the better about the equity partners he chose. So what confidence should I have in him.
Another who has put 66% equity for professionals, but has also not clarified how he plans to share it with the professionals. Plus he has clarified that he chooses one are 23 only. But I have been offered a good raise and also most of the people I have worked with over the years are moving to this platform.
Please help, fellow readers.
As I see, if you have a better financial package with MS, then join him since at least immediate financial scene improves.