Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Bangalore-based partner Roshan Thomas will be leaving to become group general counsel (GC) at online education giant Byju‘s, according to a press release from the firm.
Byju is a close client of SAM’s with Thomas having been the point partner.
SAM’s press release therefore made it very clear that it intended to remain in that seat, stating: “Our bond and relationship with Roshan, who we consider an integral part of the SAM family remains very strong and we look forward to working even more closely with him and the rest of the team at Byju’s as we move forward.”
SAM’s release also added that its Bangalore-based partners Prateek Lala and Arjun Perikal “would continue to service our large client base in Bangalore with active support from all our offices and from Amit Khansaheb, our partner based in our Gurugram”.
Gurgaon is mentioned as Roshan (a 2003 Nalsar Hyderabad graduate) had joined SAM with Khansaheb from BMR Legal in 2017.
SAM executive chairman Shardul Shroff said in a statement: “Whilst as a firm we are sad to see Roshan go, we take great pride in Roshan joining Byju’s, which is undoubtedly the most valuable and fastest growing Unicorns in India and set to become a global Ed-Tech giant. I would like to personally wish Roshan the very best.”�
Delhi-based managing partner Pallavi Shroff added: “Whilst we wish Roshan the very best in his new endeavor, we have thoroughly enjoyed having Roshan with us at the Firm for 4 years. He is an excellent lawyer who makes business happen for our clients and leaves with tremendous goodwill of the entire firm.”
And Mumbai-based managing partner Akshay Chudasama said in the release: “Roshan is an excellent and effective lawyer with a very good roster of clients. We would like to thank him for his tremendous contribution to the growth of our Bangalore office and look to his continued support in the days to come, albeit now as a client.”
And finally, completing the mutual admiration in the press release, Roshan Thomas added: “I wish to thank the entire SAM & Co family for welcoming me into the firm, offering me the platform to grow our Bangalore practice and finally giving me a very warm and graceful farewell to pursue my new role as Group General Counsel at Byju’s. I consider myself as an extension of the SAM & Co. family and look forward to working very closely with the Firm in the days to come.”
Comments
The first exception to the report/ legal opinion/ client memo would have been removal of any liability to the firm, when they issued it. But CAM would have still charged major bucks for it because the report would have been issued on the firm's letterhead. This way the promoter got to maintain their institutional relationship with ICICI as a client but also ensure the firm's derriere was covered. Two birds with one stone, right?
I believe the only reason they withdrew it was because the whole thing blew up publicly and CAM's name was being bandied about in relation to the scandal. Bad optics is an absolute no-no for these law firms anyway. Otherwise, they'd have left it if it was under wraps.
comes across like an admission of some sort(even if there was nothing to admit to).it can make the bank majorly vulnerable.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/law-firm-cyril-amarchand-mangaldas-withdraws-report-that-gave-clean-chit-to-kochhar/article25301232.ece
Face-saving tactic
“The scope of the probe has widened, so the law firm felt it should withdraw its report,” said a source familiar with the development, and added that it may be a face-saving tactic by the firm in case Kochhar is found to be at fault. The CBI, the I-T Department and SEBI are also probing the allegations against Kochhar
https://wap.business-standard.com/article-amp/economy-policy/pmla%E2%80%88case-former-icici-bank-ceo-kochhar-gets-bail-but-can-t-leave-country-121021300049_1.html
Interestingly, the Reserve Bank in its 2018 scrutiny report had flagged conflict of interest on part of both Kochhar and the private lender, as advocates and solicitor for term loan agreement between ICICI and Videocon under debt consolidation was Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Suresh Shroff. The same firm was also appointed by the bank board to probe alleged quid pro quo arrangement between Kochhar and Videocon.
Testimonies of officials in bank also revealed that as on March 2020, the total principal outstanding for the bad loan accounts towards Videocon was Rs 2812 crore. The Bank was never holding the assets equivalent to outstanding principal amounts since classifying them to NPA to till date.
Can't help but wonder if Roshan had joined another law firm, would these glowing tributes and laudatory words still be made/spoken? I'm sure all they would have said is "we wish him all the best"... And SSS wouldn't even bother with a comment ;)
Sab moh maya hai :))))
1. https://www.barandbench.com/news/pnb-scam-role-of-cyril-amarchand-mangaldas-requires-further-investigation-cbi-to-special-court
2. https://inbaviewpoint.org/raking-the-truth-behind-cyril-amarchand-mangaldass-role-in-pnb-fraud-case/
3. https://www.legallyindia.com/lawfirms/decoding-latest-salvo-in-nirav-modi-privilege-battle-cam-had-no-privilege-claims-cbi-20180920-9549