Breaking exclusive: ALMT Legal has ended its best friendship with Clyde & Co as it is parting ways with five partners across Mumbai, London and Delhi who will create new start-up firm Clasis Law with a partner joining from the international firm.

ALMT Legal advised UK food services firm Compass Group on its acquisition of two companies, one of which was advised by SNG & Partners.

ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain advised the organising company of Canadian crooner Bryan Adams’ India tour that kicked off in Mumbai and Pune last weekend.

AZB & Partners was the busiest private equity legal advisor of 2010 ahead of ALMT Legal and Indus Law tied in second place followed by DSK Legal and Tatva Legal. Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal came in fourth and fifth places respectively, according to a volume-based league table by data provider Venture Intelligence.

AZB & Partners, Indus Law, ALMT Legal and Trilegal have topped data provider Venture Intelligence’s private equity league tables for the first nine months of this year.

Exclusive: ALMT Legal has hired Paras Kuhad Associates partner Gautam Bhatikar to beef up its shipping practice, which is one of the specialist areas of ALMT’s UK best-friend firm Clyde & Co.

Former Luthra & Luthra and FoxMandal Little partner Vineet Aneja has now joined ALMT Legal to start up the firm’s office in Delhi.

One third of top infrastructure boutique India Law Services has joined ALMT Legal in Mumbai, with partner Ishtiaq Ali set to start up ALMT’s projects and infrastructure practice.

ALMT Legal in Bangalore and Malaysian law firm Zuraidah Naziha & Fadly advised Indian developer Davanam Constructions and Ascenteus Holdings of Malaysia in their $350m joint venture hotel project.

ALMT Legal has voted for South Mumbai and taken on an extra 50 per cent of floor space in Mumbai’s busy Express Towers building, to make room for future expansion.

ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain has fallen short of his target after tentatively winning around 199 first preference votes in the preliminary counting rounds in the first five districts out of 37 in the Maharashtra & Goa Bar Council elections, with four other candidate building a potentially strong lead of first preference votes.

Argus Partners and Nishith Desai Associates have advised on the Rs 200 crore ($43m) sale of Ravin Cables to an Italian cable manufacturer, while ALMT Legal has scored its first mandate for a Reliance fund, which was one of Ravin’s shareholders.

Law firm lawyers turned out in force for the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council elections yesterday, having left ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain feeling confident of winning a seat by a comfortable margin.

Another law firm partner has thrown his hat in the ring of local Bar Council elections, with ALMT Legal partner Hitesh Jain running for the Maharashtra & Goa Bar Council on a ticket of improving participation, relevance and infrastructure.

ALMT Legal Mumbai partner Vivek Daswaney has left the firm to start up his own practice called V Law Partners.

Indian law firms are famously enamoured with the letters of the alphabet. But is it rubbing off on the Indian tax office?

The Income Tax Department raided the Mumbai offices of ALMT Legal and AZB & Partners late last week looking for information related to clients and offshore transactions. The raids were not related to either of the law firms’ own tax positions.

For an Indian firm, going under the wing of an international firm is not necessarily as appealing as some might suppose and could even be downright dangerous.

ALMT Legal has formed a best friends relationship with UK international firm Clyde & Co.

In a joint statement the firms said that they would share information, harmonise training and set in place an extensive secondment programme.

ALMT partner S R Arun (pictured) said: “We anticipate that we will have access to the markets where Clyde is and that not many of the large magic circle firms have got access to.”