JSA Gains Ground: Welcomes Iqbal Khan and Ambarish from SMA Along with 18 Lawyers

JSA Advocates and Solicitors has hired two partners, Iqbal Khan and Ambarish, from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. (SMA) as competition heats up among India’s leading law firms. They are bringing along 18 lawyers to boost JSA’s mergers, acquisitions, and private equity teams.

Iqbal Khan will serve as the national corporate lead at JSA, working closely with the joint managing partners and the executive committee to strengthen the firm’s corporate practice and expand its services. Iqbal and Ambarish have worked on deals for major clients like Advent, Bain, Brookefield, TPG, Biocon, L&T, LIC, PharmEasy, Reliance, Serum, and Tata.

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Amit Kapur and Vivek K. Chandy, the joint managing partners at JSA Advocates, expressed their excitement: “We welcome Iqbal, Ambarish, and their team to JSA. Their expertise in corporate law, M&A, and private equity will greatly enhance our firm and the value we offer our clients.”

Trend of Team Moves in Law Firms

The trend of partners leaving to join rival firms with their teams has become common in the legal industry. As clients tend to follow trusted partners rather than stay with the firm, there is a growing demand for experienced professionals in areas like private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation.

This is the second major team shift at JSA Advocates; earlier, they brought in Nisha Kaur Uberoi from Trilegal, who led her competition practice along with 25 attorneys and two partners.

In July, Mint reported a significant turnover at law firms, with Vahura, a legal consultancy, estimating a 25% attrition rate among associates and senior associates. These moves can take 6 to 10 months, with partners often taking a large portion of their practice’s revenue with them.

Additionally, Manmeet Singh, a senior partner at Saraf and Partners, is expected to join Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas with his team, further reshaping the legal landscape. On Monday, Argus Partners announced that Ashwin Krishnan and Anantha Krishnan Iyer from IndusLaw will join their Bengaluru office, strengthening their corporate, M&A, private equity, and technology practices, accompanied by a team of seven.