Indian law firm Desai & Diwanji has welcomed Pooja Sable, a former principal associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, as a partner in its Mumbai office, becoming the latest firm to attract pre-partner level talent from top-tier law firms to build out its offerings.
Sable, who has close to 11 years of experience, spent almost nine years as a corporate lawyer at CAM, including close to four as principal associate. She also had stints at ALMT Legal and Majmudar & Partners.
The trend of counsel and principle associates at top-tier Indian law firms moving to partnership positions at smaller outfits has continued into 2025, with the latter offering better designations, higher salaries, and leadership opportunities.
The trend reflects the challenges of the traditional pyramid structure in top-tier firms, where only a few lawyers make it to partnership. This stagnation has pushed many to explore opportunities at smaller firms, where they can lead practices, build client relationships, and gain recognition.
Last week, Saga Legal welcomed former AZB counsel Atul N Menon as the head of its dispute resolution practice in Bengaluru. In December, Antares Legal added former Luthra and Luthra partner designate Ankit Jain as partner.
Firms like Trilegal are witnessing a wave of counsel departures, with notable exits including Shringarika Priyadarshini to JSA earlier this year. Aseem Dhawan moved to Argus Partners while Prateek Batra moved to Tatva Legal, Hyderabad, in December. Pooranimaa Hariharan left the firm to join the partnership at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in July, and Anurag Shrivastav moved to a partner role at JSA Advocates & Solicitors in May.
Other firms are seeing departures too. Former AZB & Partners counsel Nikita Jain moved as a partner to IndusLaw. While Saikrishna & Associates associate partner Eshani Kaul moved to Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys. Khusnuma Nagwaswalla, who was a senior associate at M&A boutique Quillon Partners moved to Agram Legal Consultants as partner. Talwar Thakore & Associates launched a dispute resolution practice with the addition of former Saraf and Partners partner-designate Arunav Guha Roy.
