PDS Legal opens Bangalore office spearheaded by AZB partner Chetan Nagendra (NLS ‘00)

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Wednesday, 6 February 2019 By Legally India Law firms

Chetan Nagendra opens Bangalore front for PDS

Chetan Nagendra, former Bangalore partner of AZB & Partners, has joined Big 4 consultancy E&Y best friend law firm PDS Legal as a partner, to open up its Bangalore office, according to sources with knowledge of the move.

He specialises in corporate work and VC/PE work, and would complement the firm’s work in Mumbai and Delhi.

It is understood he is joining with a small team of associates.

Nagendra had left AZB in November 2018, after three years at the firm, following one year of running the Law Offices of Chetan Nagendra, in association with Themis Associates.

Before that, the 2000 NLSIU Bangalore graduate was associate general counsel at Facebook, between 2012 and 2013, and he had also worked as head of the India practice at UK law firm Harney Westwood & Riegels.

Prior to that, he had also been an associate at what-was-then Amarchand Mangaldas, and regional counsel at liquor company Diageo’s India office.

He is qualified to practice in India, England & Wales, New York and in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

We have reached out to Nagendra, PDS and AZB for comment.

partner hiresoffice openingsBangaloreAZB & PartnersPDS Legalpremium contentChetan Nagendra

Comments

Subscribe? 7 Feb 2019, 02:54
+2 -1
Lifted the paywall because B&B published the story? The paywall wasn't supposed to be lifted until later today.
kianganz 7 Feb 2019, 05:22
+3 -1
Haha, yes, they seem inclined to copy-paste our limited-time paywall stories as soon as they can. Whenever they do, we generally shorten the time the story goes live but sometimes it lasts. :)
Dualipa 7 Feb 2019, 05:37
+21 -0
[img]https://i.ibb.co/JcDxXSd/1-F704919-14-BB-4089-B56-A-5-EFFF74311-E7.jpg[/img]
Fatboy Slim 7 Feb 2019, 05:38
+1 -0
All the very best Nags on your new endeavour
Guest 7 Feb 2019, 06:30
+1 -2
Way to go PDS Legall!! Best wishes to the team.
NewKrishnaBhavan 7 Feb 2019, 09:52
+11 -5
Man! oh man! This guy sounds like quite a catch for pds. Why did AZB let him go? He's done so much and will have a well rounded view on law and life. Not like the homegrown law firm paper pushers. How much of the azb book has moved to PDS?
Book 8 Feb 2019, 11:50
+5 -10
Did he even have a book worthy of AZB? His startup practice is not something that would meet AZB billing standards. I doubt AZB would miss having him around.
12ka4 7 Feb 2019, 12:04
+2 -0
Kian, when are you going to report Behram's son Navruz joining SAM?
kianganz 7 Feb 2019, 12:34
+13 -1
Probably not at all, though I agree it has gossip value. But we don't normally report senior associate moves, and I'm not sure why this would be an exception. Though, if anything, it's the sign of a maturing legal market that such moves (are allowed to) happen. Also worth asking, would anyone bat an eyelid if the son of a managing partner of another firm moved to a rival?
Basundi 8 Feb 2019, 03:34
+1 -3
I thought he joined SAM as a partner.
Wondering on the moon 21 Feb 2019, 07:54
+1 -0
then why report this, Kian?
https://www.legallyindia.com/in-house-corporate-counsel/nalsar-15-alum-quits-khaitan-joins-scripbox-as-sole-legal-counsel-20180821-9494
Founder 7 Feb 2019, 20:02
+7 -1
Dude Kian - big news - Bahram Vakeel’s son Navruz has left AZB to join SAM!! If the son of the cofounder doesn’t want to be in the firm that says something! Also good on SAM for taking him... a famous son in law was famously denied entry by AZB!
But the again given your new found closeness with Zia you may not want to piss her off!!
kianganz 8 Feb 2019, 09:45
+5 -0
Hehe, I think the vast majority of that is wild conjecture, but I agree with you, good on SAM for letting him join.

It doesn't seem fair to single out daughters or sons of senior lawyers and attribute so much significance to their job moves, no matter their seniority. And children of top lawyers often work in firms that are not their parents', even in India.

However, I agree that such moves may be newsworthy in a few cases, such as in firms where family is very much publicly in its DNA. In the case of AZB and Bahram, it's not really ever been structured as a family firm, as far as I know, so this is just another associate move at the end of the day.
Dualipa 8 Feb 2019, 15:04
+1 -0
I had a meme ready for this news. It goes to thrash now!
kianganz 8 Feb 2019, 15:09
+0 -1
Oh no, I'm sorry. :) There's nothing to stop you from posting it here, of course, if you wish...
ATD 8 Feb 2019, 07:21
+6 -0
Let the guy whose article has been published garner some mileage rather than some SA move of a founding partner. If anyone can shed light on the person, since considering PDS Banglalore as next move. Is he good in M&A/PE space??
7th floor well wisher 8 Feb 2019, 11:06
+0 -0
Ain't no sunshine when he's gone
It's not warm when he's away
Ain't no sunshine when he's gone
And he's always gone too long
Anytime he goes away
I wonder this time where he's gone
Wonder how long he's gonna stay
Ain't no sunshine when he's gone
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime he goes away.
Nomad 9 Feb 2019, 05:32
+0 -0
His team left with him??
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