Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM) Bangalore private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) partner Siddharth Nair has resigned, we understand from sources.
He counts a number of major start-ups and investment houses as his clients, having worked with Lendingkart, Pepperfry, Swiggy, Faasos and Westbridge Capital, according to our deals directory.
Nair had joined in 2017 as part of SAM’s national absorption of BMR Legal.
M&A partner Roshan Thomas, who had joined with Nair in Bangalore, both having also worked at Themis Associates together before joining BMR, is understood to remain with the firm.
Both had been a coup for SAM when they had joined its Bangalore office, with its first Bangalore partner Karthik Mahalingam having left the firm in 2018.
Nair is a 2005 NLSIU Bangalore graduate who had begun his career at ALMT Legal, worked in-house at Old Mutual for a year in 2008, and then set out on his own for three years, under the Law Offices of Siddharth Nair banner.
He had joined Themis in 2012.
We have reached out to Nair and SAM for comment.
Update 00:53: We have received SAM’s comment, reproduced in full below:
Bangalore based salaried partner Siddharth Nair tendered his resignation from the firm on 30 April 2019. His resignation has not yet been accepted and will be handled in accordance with the Firm’s policies.
In any event, the Firm continues to have a robust presence in the Bangalore market, under the supervision of Amit Khansaheb, senior equity partner, who has been overseeing the operations in Bangalore following the departure of Karthik Mahalingam last year. Khansaheb, with support from Regional Practice Head – Corporate, Raghubir Menon, and locally based partner Roshan Thomas, continue to drive our strong Bangalore based M&A, PE and VC practice and neither the Firm’s clients nor our associates will be impacted in any manner.
Update 08:43: Nair commented:
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co has been an incomparable platform and a wonderful place to work. I am and will remain deeply grateful to Mr. Shroff and the other lawyers at the Firm for the opportunities afforded to me during my tenure here.
I have tendered my resignation so as to explore an engagement with the practice of the law in a manner and at a scale more compatible with the personal issues that I am facing.
I reiterate my gratitude to the Firm for all the wonderful memories that I will take with me into the next phase of my career.
Update 6 September 2019: Nair’s quote above has been amended on request since publication.
Comments
Either ways, good luck Sid!
All the very best to Sidd! He had a great run at SAMCO and the firm should introspect into why it has had really high levels of attrition over the past year.
SAMCO HR/PR/Management should really get their acts together and learn to handle exits with a little more grace.
This press statement is unclassy, and frankly SAM needs to do much better in terms of its messaging - especially if it hopes to hire and retain real talent. Many other / smaller firms have managed to gracefully respond to partner exits and announcements, and it isn't too much to expect from SAM.
[...] Culture sucks in an all [...] lawyers. Too late for them to do anything but send people on leave.. [...]
Wonder how much Sid made? He made 100 crores we hear, got 10 crores bonus..
None. Zero. So stop throwing numbers you cannot understand.
The ones who remain are either those who are indifferent to their condition or those who are waiting for an opportunity. All of them, for sure, are crying on their fate for have become a money minting machines as contrasted from a lavish life in BMR legal.
Those glasses are foggy Sid, and these pretzels are making me thirsty.
That is the sad reality, contemplating the rest is useless gossip.