Baker McKenzie has appointed a new India practice chair after repeatedly stating its interest in establishing an office in India as soon as the local Bar Council rules allow it to do so.  

Mini Menon vandePol, who has worked at Baker for more than 25 years, will succeed Singapore principal and head of Baker's Asia Pacific capital markets practice Ashok Lalwani as the firm's Indian practice leader. Lalwani has held the role for 12 years and will continue to serve as a member of the India practices' steering committee, which consists of 14 other lawyers across the globe. He will relocate to the U.S. next year to help the firm build out its U.S.-Indian practice synergies, Baker said in a statement. vandePol is based in Hong Kong and is also the firm's Asia Pacific head of compliance and investigations practice. She joined the firm as a partner in 1998 in Australia and was previously head of legal for the credit management arm at Australian financial institution ANZ.