Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas has hired Akshay Chudasama as the managing partner of its Mumbai office. Chudasama joins from J. Sagar Associates (JSA), where he was a senior partner in Mumbai.
This is the highest-profile lateral hire in India following the Amarchand split in early May. Chudasama, who spent almost ten years at JSA, is the son of former Mumbai mayor Nana Chudasama, and has established a reputation in the M&A and private equity space.
According to Indian website Bar & Bench, Chudasama is taking a team of 16 JSA lawyers with him, including salaried partners Ashoo Gupta, Ashni Roy, Gaurav Singhi and Mithun Thanks.
In an interview with the Economic Times, Chudasama described his strategy for Mumbai: “Shardul and I are looking at getting around a 100 lawyers on board in the first year. We want to ensure that we have all the key areas of the Mumbai market covered. Corporate M&A and private equity would be the mainstay of the firm but we believe banking finance, capital markets and securities work are also areas which have to be properly covered. I will look at bringing on board people who are able to deliver the kind of quality that the brand requires.”
With these additions, SAM now has 11 partners.
