India's largest law firm Amarchand to split following brothers' dispute
Cyril and Shardul Shroff are to split the firm geographically in April amid row over ownership
January 26, 2015 at 02:33 AM
2 minute read
Brothers and managing partners of India's largest law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co have decided to split the business after entering a legal battle over ownership at the end of last year.
A report by the Economic Times has revealed that Cyril and Shardul Shroff will each get an equal share in the firm, which will be divided geographically as of April 2015.
Partners declined to give an official statement, but Legal Week understands that Shardul will be given the offices in Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, which he already manages, while Cyril will take ownership of branches in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, which he oversees.
The two firms are to be given new names, and each will have full liberty to establish additional branch offices in the other's cities or anywhere else in India or abroad.
As part of the settlement the brothers have also signed a non-poaching pact, though the Indian daily said each has already initiated conversations with senior partners at rival camps.
They are reportedly yet to agree on smaller matters such as how to divide law firm assets and membership to the Lex Mundi network – which usually only accepts one independent firm per country.
The Shroffs called on mediators at Bombay High Court in November last year after a dispute broke out regarding the will of their mother Bharti Shroff, who passed away in August.
According to the will, Bharti Shroff's equity in the law firm and her personal wealth was left to the older brother Shardul, which Cyril claimed breached a family understanding that the stake would be equally shared.
The 600-lawyer outfit, which is ranked Band 1 in India by Chambers & Partners for corporate, finance, capital markets, disputes and private equity work, is less than three years away from celebrating its 100-year anniversary and counts almost 90 partners across eight cities.
In October, Shardul Shroff told Legal Week the firm was considering opening a ninth office in India in addition to its first international office, possibly in Singapore, in 2016.
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