Luthra & Luthra has promoted two M&A and private equity lawyers – Damini Bhalla and Amit Shetye – to its partnership, as the firm has widened its executive committee and management outlined a strategic vision to ditch lower margin work and eschew big headcounts.

Former Mayer Brown JSM Asia COO Jennifer Milford joined AMSS today.

Amarchand is the fourth major Indian law firm to have made it (mostly) mandatory for fresher recruits to rotate between different departments for the first eighteen months. J Sagar Associates (JSA) and Khaitan & Co also swear by it; Trilegal was less enamoured. Is it the new standard or just a fad?

J Sagar Associates’ (JSA) executive committee vote brings together five veterans for the job.

“I’m not nervous about it,” claims Jyoti Sagar about surrendering the last 7-odd per cent of equity he holds in the firm he started more than 20 years ago. “It is something I have known for 10 years, not something sudden.”

“Our model is well–known but people have carried the impression that it’s just a model but not for real. But people are trying to figure out what’s going on [now that I’m actually retiring].”

Exclusive: Nishith Desai Associates (NDA) has appointed Matthew Nimetz – US diplomat and former chair of US law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison – to its internal board of trusted advisors (BOTA) that meets up to three times yearly to decide on firm strategy.

In today’s edition of Mint: A lot of Indian law firms are run like the personal fiefdom of a senior or founding partner. The senior partners are a law unto themselves and are neither accountable internally nor externally. Such systems can breed unique pressures and cultures, quite separately from associate satisfaction with their salaries.

Exclusive: Trilegal, which is claimed to have been growing at 25 per cent per year, has converted into nearly a full equity partnership, created an elected management committee and a democratic model where the founding partners could theoretically be ousted by an equity partnership vote.

Legally India was candidly walked through the changes and examines the back story to the end of its best friendship with Allen & Overy (A&O), the grief lawyers can cause, one-way referrals and the inevitability of associate attrition when a firm has to run fast without godfathers.

Luthra & Luthra has promoted six associates to its partnership, of whom three are in its Delhi litigation practice.

Dhir & Dhir Associates has appointed former Singhania & Partners chief executive officer (CEO) Manju Mohotra as its first ever CEO on 1 August, aiming to expand its insolvency and restructuring practice, and to set up in Chandigarh.

In today’s edition of Mint: The Indian lawyers’ pie may be large but taking the first nibble is often the hardest part.

Exclusive: J Sagar Associates (JSA) yesterday effectively promoted Mumbai retained partner Aashit Shah as its twenty-third equity partner, becoming an “equity partner elect” to sidestep the 20-equity-partner limit per firm, while Germany-India returnee Anish Mashruwala was made a retained partner.

Exclusive: Economic Laws Practice (ELP) is considering implementing a bespoke report by a global human resources (HR) consultant, as the firm lifted four partners into the equity pool alongside its founding partners, while eight associate partners were promoted to non-equity partnership.

Exclusive: Khaitan & Co has not promoted any partners internally in its annual promotion round after internally restructuring its associate and partnership track, nine associates were promoted to senior associate level and one lateral associate partner joined in Mumbai.

In today’s edition of Mint: Legally India reveals Cyril and Shardul Shroff’s, and Boston Consulting Group’s masterplan to take the firm to the next level of a Rs 1,000 crore ($203m) turnover, while securing the future of future generations of the family.

Exclusive: FoxMandal Delhi and Little & Co have separated earlier today with Little repaying Fox the original stake purchased in the Bombay solicitors firm when they merged in 2006.

Exclusive: PXV Law Partners’ founders have agreed to separate, with managing partner Rohit Das and co-founding partner Arindam Pal reverting into the RDA Legal brand name in Mumbai and Kolkata, while the six remaining partners would continue in Delhi and Bangalore under the PXV banner. Both firms intend to restart offices to become national firms again.

Indian law firms are setting up distressed assets, bad loans and restructuring departments to deal with an expected increase in such work in an expected economic downturn, reported Mint today.

There has been no management restructuring more eagerly awaited in the Indian law firm world than Amarchand’s most recent one. Now that it’s out, the headline is certainly dramatic: the firm wants to double in size in the next six years to 1,000 lawyers, which would approach the size of London or New York headquarters of the largest global firms. Question is, can it?

Exclusive: Amarchand Mangaldas has promoted five new partners into the lockstep equity pool and created 11 practice heads, as part of the 2017 plan for the firm to grow to 1000-lawyers and 100 partners following the proposals from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) review.