Mumbai-based DSK Legal has merged with AKS Law Associates of Bangalore. The merger took effect on 1 April. Ajesh Kumar Shankar, the managing partner of AKS, has joined DSK Legal as an equity partner.
The amalgamation takes DSK to 17 partners and 98 lawyers. Crucially it gives the firm a presence in Bangalore to complement its existing offices in Mumbai and Delhi.
Shankar told India Business Law Journal that the merger was a logical step for both firms, which already enjoyed strong professional ties. “AKS Law Associates has been working with DSK Legal for the past six years, so the natural question was how to develop and enhance this relationship,” he explained. “The best answer was to merge the practices.”
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Shankar added that he was already seeing positive results. “At AKS we had been servicing clients primarily on dispute resolution and real estate law with limited corporate advisory work,” he said. “With this merger, our offering has increased. DSK in Delhi and Mumbai has a great team of experienced corporate lawyers, which now clients in the south of India can take advantage of. Simultaneously DSK Bangalore is building up a bigger team, especially for corporate law, by increasing our capabilities there.”
Shankar said that he aspired to achieve “visibility in all states across the south – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu – for major matters by March 2012.”
The merger is the latest in a series of marriages between north Indian and south Indian law firms. In 2009, J Sagar Associates beefed up its southern presence by merging with Bangalore-based M&C Partners, Delhi-based Salvus Partners tied up with Chennai firm Atman Law and Vidhii Partners joined hands with Harsha & Co in Bangalore.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Just 19 months after AZB & Partners merged with Chennai-based Anup S Shah Law Firm, the two firms parted company. AZB said that it wanted to pursue the Chennai market independently.
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