Saraf and Partners Unveils New State-Of-The-Art Office In Bengaluru

April 10, 2024
Saraf and Partners has moved to a new, expansive office located in Embassy Square, Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru, effective February 29, 2024. This significant relocation highlights the firm’s ambitious plans to strengthen its presence in Bengaluru and support its growing team. The grand opening of the new premises was celebrated with traditional fervor, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by the firm’s Senior Partners. The festivities began with a Ganesh Pooja, continued with a Guruji’s Satsang, and concluded with a luncheon. This momentous event was attended by the firm’s Management Committee, along with all Bengaluru-based counsel and staff, marking a new chapter in the firm’s history. “The transition to our new Bengaluru office is not just a change of location; it’s a leap towards our commitment to growth, excellence, and enhancing our service to clients. This new space is designed to foster innovation and teamwork, providing an ideal environment for our team to thrive,” Mr. Saraf reflected on the move. Following closely on the heels of the firm’s expansion into Hyderabad, this move is a testament to Saraf and Partners’ dynamic expansion and its enduring vision for the future. Now with a robust presence in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, the firm has grown to include 38 partners and boasts a comprehensive strength of over 250. This growth cements Saraf and Partners’ position as a leading force in the Indian legal sector, ready to face the challenges and opportunities of the...

Lawyers on Demand Appoints New UAE Country Manager

February 26, 2024
Lawyers on Demand (LOD), a Consilio company, has appointed Mark Dodd as the new UAE Country Manager. Mark has been an integral part of the LOD business since early 2019, and currently leads LOD’s Global Insights Centre of Excellence. With over a decade of legal industry experience, he has an in-depth understanding of the LOD business and how alternative legal service providers can unlock remarkable value for law departments. Leveraging his deep insights and market acumen, Mark is positioned to play a pivotal role in creating growth opportunities and enhancing client and lawyer engagement throughout the Middle East region. Before joining LOD, Mark was a lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Perth, and worked for LexisNexis in London. He officially commenced his new role on February 1, 2024, and is relocating to Dubai with his family. “I’m thrilled to take up this role in the UAE. It’s such an exciting and dynamic region. I can’t wait to build upon our strong reputation in the region. My priority will be to deliver customer-centric services to our fantastic client base, and to ensure our brilliant lawyers are supported and thriving in our market-leading business model,” said Dodd. Brett Menadue, LOD’s Managing Director for Asia and Middle East, commented, “We are very excited to have Mark take the helm in the UAE. Mark’s strong business insight, combined with his legal expertise, positions him as a highly capable leader for this role. With Mark’s passion for fostering empathetic client and lawyer relationships, he is well placed to meet the growing demand for ALSPs within the...

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Expands Management Board

February 12, 2024
As a testament to the firm’s continued growth and evolution, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co expands its Management Board to nine members to align with the firm’s commitment to infuse fresh leadership at its Board level. The four new members appointed to the Management Board effective January 29, 2024 are Mr. Raghubir Menon, Mr. Prashant Gupta, Mr. Naval Satarawala Chopra and Ms. Shweta Shroff Chopra. Each new Board member brings over 20 years of experience, is qualified to practice in India and in some overseas jurisdictions, and holds a strong reputation as a market leader. Senior Board members Mr. Shardul S. Shroff (Executive Chairman), Mrs. Pallavi S. Shroff and Mr. Akshay Chudasama (Managing Partners), Mr. Jatin Aneja and Ms. Gunjan Shah have pledged their continued commitment and support as members of the Board, providing a blend of senior leadership and fresh young leadership to collaboratively take the firm to new...

DFDL Expands Its Transfer Pricing Services in Asia

February 12, 2024
DFDL has integrated the 11-member team of IC Advisors, a leading independent transfer pricing firm in Asia, into its regional tax practice, significantly expanding the firm’s transfer pricing services and enhancing its capabilities to provide comprehensive and cost-effective transfer pricing solutions to its clients across Southeast and South Asia. A dedicated transfer pricing consultancy with a wealth of experience and technical expertise in various industries, IC Advisors helps clients navigate the complex and evolving transfer pricing regulations, and optimize their tax positions in cross-border transactions. “We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to the firm. By combining the strengths of DFDL and IC Advisors, we will be able to offer a full range of transfer pricing services, covering planning, implementation, compliance and dispute resolution,” said Jack Sheehan, Partner and Head of Regional Tax Practice at DFDL. “We will also leverage our local knowledge and industry-specific insights to deliver tailored and innovative solutions that meet our clients’ needs and expectations. Adding such high-quality transfer pricing expertise shows our commitment to our clients and the region. We are excited for 2024 and beyond,” Sheehan added. IC Advisors Director Dr Sowmya Varadharajan stated: “My team and I are excited to be part of the DFDL Group.  The broader tax and legal capabilities of the DFDL team will further bolster our existing client...

TT&A Bolsters Knowledge Management Team

February 12, 2024
TT&A has added Swagata Bhattacharya as Head – Knowledge Management (KM) effective January 22, 2024.  With an impressive background of over 18 years in the legal industry, Swagata brings a wealth of experience to the firm’s team. Her role will involve spearheading and supporting generation of legal content for the firm’s clients and lawyers, and developing systems and channels for collation and dissemination of knowhow. Prior to joining TT&A, she worked with Credit Suisse as Head of Legal, India, and before that, with Deutsche Bank Mumbai as Vice-President, Senior Counsel, Mumbai supporting the Global Markets team. She also worked with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Allen & Overy Shook Lin & Bok in their finance practice areas. Swagata completed her Master of Laws (Corporate and Financial Services) from the National University of Singapore, 2007. She is an alumnus of National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS), India. “I have always had great regard and respect for TT&A through years of interaction with them in my various roles, and I now look forward to working with the wonderful team on our shared vision of harnessing the collective wisdom of the Firm to create a seamless knowledge ecosystem propelling the Firm to new heights of efficiency, excellence and client service,” said Swagata Bhattacharya. TT&A Joint Managing Partners Kunal Thakore and Gautam Saha stated, “We are really excited to welcome Swagata, and we believe that her knowledge and background will significantly enhance both our internal training and knowledge development programs our client servicing capabilities, and we look forward to achieving new milestones with her on...

KWM Bolsters Singapore and Hong Kong Offices

February 2, 2024
Asia’s largest international law firm King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has expanded its Partnership, welcoming three individuals across two of its offices. Gary Hamp and Indraneil Ghosh have been appointed in Singapore, and Ike Kutlaca has been appointed in Hong Kong SAR. Gary has over 12 years’ experience working in Asia, where he was co-Global Practice Group Chair of the Latham & Watkins’ banking practice and prior to that the head of the Hogan Lovells banking group in Hong Kong. He has in-depth expertise across all the major jurisdictions in the region in leveraged finance, acquisition finance, structured lending and secured syndicated financings in addition to acting for private credit funds and advising on the banking law aspects of complex restructurings. Indraneil comes with over 15 years’ experience and, having joined KWM in Singapore as a Special Counsel in 2021, has been advising KWM clients in the funds management, private equity, and M&A space. Having spent the founding years of his career in London, he has subsequently worked across major international fund centres in the Asia Pacific Region including Dubai, Singapore and Sydney. “Gary’s broad banking & finance capability, coupled with Indraneil’s deep knowledge of fund formation and investments, are tremendous additions to KWM’s Singapore banking and funds offering, and will complement and strengthen our existing capability in these areas across our other offices in the region. We’re extremely pleased to welcome Gary and Indraneil to the KWM partnership; we know their appointments will be welcomed by clients,” commented KWM Australia Chief Executive Partner Renae Lattey. Ike has over 12 years’ experience, having spent four years at the KWM Melbourne office before joining the Hong...