Aditya Vikram Bhat, a former senior partner at AZB & Partners, has decided to fly solo with his independent practice.
Bhat’s career commenced with KG Raghavan and Arun Kumar who subsequently merged their practice with Dua Associates. They were later designated as senior advocates by the Karnataka High Court.
Bhat, who joined AZB in 2004, said, “The firm and I grew together. I was a part of the firm’s senior partnership for several years before deciding to step out on my own.
“AZB was home for 20 out of the 21 years I have been in practice. So, while I have left AZB, it is unlikely AZB will leave my bloodstream anytime soon. I continue to be engaged by the firm on a number of matters, and I hope that I will continue to receive Zia’s mentorship. That said, I wanted to renew my focus on court work, with a smaller footprint.”
While Bhat sees himself as “a generalist”, he believes that he has “spent a long time litigating and arbitrating shareholder disputes, broader matters relating to companies legislation, complex commercial disputes, civil and criminal aspects of fraud (especially in the corporate sector), matters arising out of the FEMA [Foreign Exchange Mangement Act] and the PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act], matters relating to the Prevention of Corruption Act and broader white-collar offences.”
“I have also built some expertise advising regulated professionals (chartered accountants, company secretaries and lawyers). I also have considerable experience on constitutional matters,” he added. Bhat also believes that having practised in Bengaluru, he “will be busier in these areas than others”.
