Khaitan & Co head south to set up base in Chennai

Khaitan & Co head south to set up base in Chennai

The Chennai office, the law firm's fifth office in India, will offer full services to its existing and prospective clients

Khaitan & Co, one of India's oldest full-service law firms, is spreading its wings and set up its new office in Chennai soon.

The Chennai office, to be led by Corporate partner Vivek Sriram and newly-hired dispute resolution partner Arva Merchant, will be the firm's fifth office in India. It already has a presence in four Indian metros Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, besides its newly opened first overseas office in Singapore.

The Chennai office is expected to become functional later this year and complement its Bengaluru arm. It will enable the firm to expand its work and offerings to existing and new clients given Chennai's position as a base for several large and medium scale industries in sectors like automobile, textile, construction, engineering and pharmaceuticals.

The Chennai office will be co-anchored by its Corporate Partner Vivek Sriram who moves to Chennai from its Mumbai headquarters. He will be joined by the independent lawyer Arva Merchant who takes over the Dispute Resolution Partner. The duo will be expected to be joined by more relocations and new hires once the Chennai office becomes fully functional.

Sriram who has been associated with Khaitan & Co since 2013 focuses on corporate and M&A work, private equity and venture capital matters. He has previous experience of appearing before the Madras High Court and other local tribunals.

Merchant who specialises in litigation, mediation and arbitration in commercial and real estate has been active as an independent practitioner in Chennai for the past seven years. She has gained valuable experience with her appearances before the Supreme Court and the Madras High Court as well as various local arbitration tribunals.

"We believe that Southern India holds great promise for the firm, and it was only a logical choice for us to set up our presence in Chennai after Bengaluru to cater to our growing set of clients in this region," Haigreve Khaitan, the firm's senior partner, said.

Like its other offices, Khaitan & Co's Chennai office will focus on M&A, private equity and venture capital general corporate matters, solvent and insolvent restructuring, private and public investments, real estate and dispute resolution, including domestic and international arbitrations.

The firm established in 1911 by the constituent assembly member Debi Prasad Khaitan now has 177 following lawyers following the recent round of bumper promotions and Merchant's arrival.