Skip to main content

Rajiv Luthra and Mohit Saraf, equity partners at India’s L&L Partners, have been involved in a public tussle over differences related to dilution of shareholding at one of the country’s largest full-service law firms.

Luthra and Saraf currently own 66.6 percent and 33.4 percent of shares in the firm, respectively, but have differing ideas when it comes to freeing up equity in order to admit more partners into the equity partnership, according to reports.

This led to heated argument between the two on an all-firm Zoom call on Sept. 24, according to the website Legally India, with the duo trading allegations and counter-allegations.

Saraf then struck the next blow, announcing internally in early October that Luthra had effectively “retired” and “withdrawn” from L&L Partners, and that the former would “reconstitute” the firm without him, Legally India added.

In response, Luthra terminated Saraf’s role in the partnership, and removed his name from the L&L  website, in addition to posting armed guards at the entrance of the firm’s corporate office in Delhi. He then published a newspaper announcement stating that Saraf was no longer “a representative or acting on behalf of L&L Partners.”

This led to Saraf filing a lawsuit at the Delhi High Court, which ordered both parties to mediate until Nov. 1.  According to Bar & Bench, Saraf and Luthra will mediate before senior advocate Sriram Panchu.

Where this leaves the lawyers is not yet clear, although Legally India reported that L&L partners Apurva Jayant and Samarth Gupta had quit the firm, and that 23 lawyers had joined Saraf’s new entity.

L&L has not yet responded to ALB's request for comment.

Initially called Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, L&L Partners was founded by Luthra in 1990, with Saraf joining the firm in 1995. The firm has more than 70 partners across four offices – New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. L&L clients include Tencent Holdings, Fortis Healthcare, Carlyle, TR Capital and Adani Electricity Mumbai.

 

To contact the editorial team, please email ALBEditor@thomsonreuters.com

Related Articles

Q&A with Edwin Northover, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP won the Insurance Law Firm of the Year award at the ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2024, apart from being the sponsor of the Insurance In-House Team of the Year award. Edwin Northover, Asia-based corporate partner and head of the firm’s financial institutions and corporate practices in Asia, talks about the firm's recent achievements, trends in the insurance industry, and future outlook for insurance law in Hong Kong.

Kramer Levin and Herbert Smith Freehills plan latest law firm mega-merger

by Reuters |

U.S. law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and global legal giant Herbert Smith Freehills are planning to merge to create a firm with more than 2,700 lawyers, according to a joint statement on Monday.

Tokyo International makes Singapore debut with SE Asia in its sights

by Sarah Wong |

Japanese boutique Tokyo International Law Office (TKI) is set to establish its first overseas outpost with the opening of a Singapore office in January 2025, marking a significant milestone in the rapidly expanding firm's global strategy.