HS Bobby Chandhoke and Sudhir Sharma, both senior partners at L&L Partners, have left to join DSK Legal and have taken along with them 63 lawyers including 19 partners.
The departing partners are Abdullah Hussain, Akhil Anand, Altaf Fathima, Anant Garg, Ashish Chandra, Deepali Chandhoke, Durga Bose Gandham, Kanika Chaudhary Nayar, Kunal Mehra, Mohit Bakshi, Pradyuman Dubey, Prashant Mishra, Prashant Pakhiddey, Saleem Hasan Ansari, Saurabh Tiwari, Shiv Sapra, Subhash Bhutoria, Suyash Srivastava and Tarun Dua.
“I feel what one would feel to leave one’s home where he was born, to go to a new place. There is anguish, yet there is excitement,” said Chandhoke. “While I do cherish the time spent with L&L, I am keenly looking forward to our new partnership. The team looks forward to a new beginning at DSK Legal with like-minded partners.”
However, commenting on their departures, L&L founder Rajiv Luthra told India Business Law Journal the development was “very unfortunate and totally undesirable”.
“I’ve known them for 25 years. [Bobby and Sudhir] were like my younger brothers,” he said. “Their families were like my family. But I take it on the chin and move on.”
Chandhoke, who has more than 25 years of experience, was one of the co-founders of L&L Partners’ litigation arm, which was recently dissolved by Luthra. Sharma also has more than 25 years of experience and specialises in dispute resolution.
The departing team members come from practice areas including dispute resolution, competition and antitrust, employment, international trade, corporate M&A, IP and fintech.
“This is a huge move for the Indian legal market, and an enormous step for DSK Legal. We are delighted to have so many experienced and well-reputed lawyers join our firm together,” said Anand Desai, managing partner at DSK Legal.
With the recent appointments, DSK Legal now has more than 250 lawyers including 63 partners, with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
