Mumbai: Partner churn at India's top law firms is gathering pace as senior lawyers with limited room for advancement in top-heavy partnerships seek faster paths to leadership, while rival firms lure rainmakers with established client books to strengthen high-demand practices.
The trend signals a shift from the culture of loyalty and lifelong careers that once defined the industry, forcing law firms to rethink how they reward and promote their most valuable partners.
Recently, five partners, including disputes specialist Kapil Arora and Delhi head Ajay Sawhney, left Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) to join AZB & Partners. In April, three CMS IndusLaw partners and 18 associates joined JSA Advocates & Solicitors. CMS IndusLaw has also hired teams from Saraf and Partners. Earlier this year, Rohan Singh and Huzefa Tavawalla joined CAM from Fox Mandal & Associates and Nishith Desai Associates, respectively.
Executive search firms and law firms told ET that several more high-profile team moves are expected over the next two to three months. "Young partners are feeling suffocated in large firms with set power structures," CEO of a top legal firm said on the condition of anonymity.
"They want a say in running affairs, titles and more responsibilities."
This comes amid growing competition among firms in fast-growing areas like private equity, mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure, real estate, disputes, and regulatory advice as India Inc's legal spend rises.
In FY25, all the listed companies collectively spent over ₹86,500 crore on legal, 13% higher than ₹76,163 crore in the previous year, data compiled by ETIG show.
Rather than spending years developing expertise internally, law firms are increasingly looking to hire experienced professionals from other firms as they expand their teams and add more practices.
"Conversations today are not just around designation/title, but around the overall institutional proposition, including accelerated equity tracks, team integration support, business development budgets, sector branding, office expansion support and the ability to scale a practice with greater entrepreneurial freedom," said Akanksha Antil, vice president at legal search firm Vahura.
However, firms are careful while choosing partners from rivals. "For us, cultural alignment is probably the most important consideration when hiring lateral partners and their teams," said Vivek Chandy, joint managing partner at JSA Advocates. "As a result, only about one in four such discussions ultimately translates into onboarding."
The churn is also creating new opportunities within firms. Some are expected to pursue aggressive hiring, while others may promote younger lawyers to rebuild practices and strengthen succession plans.
Neha Sharma, founder & director of legal search and consulting firm Avimukta, said the trend is likely to continue.
"It is important to first understand the motivations behind a partner's decision to move and assess what better opportunities can be offered to them," she said. "Firms also need to manage expectations, as internal benchmarking and compensation structures mean that not every expectation can always be fulfilled."
The consensus across the market suggests this phase will remain until firms adjust leadership structures, strengthen succession planning and rebuild depth in key practice areas.
The trend signals a shift from the culture of loyalty and lifelong careers that once defined the industry, forcing law firms to rethink how they reward and promote their most valuable partners.
Recently, five partners, including disputes specialist Kapil Arora and Delhi head Ajay Sawhney, left Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) to join AZB & Partners. In April, three CMS IndusLaw partners and 18 associates joined JSA Advocates & Solicitors. CMS IndusLaw has also hired teams from Saraf and Partners. Earlier this year, Rohan Singh and Huzefa Tavawalla joined CAM from Fox Mandal & Associates and Nishith Desai Associates, respectively.
"They want a say in running affairs, titles and more responsibilities."
This comes amid growing competition among firms in fast-growing areas like private equity, mergers and acquisitions, infrastructure, real estate, disputes, and regulatory advice as India Inc's legal spend rises.
In FY25, all the listed companies collectively spent over ₹86,500 crore on legal, 13% higher than ₹76,163 crore in the previous year, data compiled by ETIG show.
Rather than spending years developing expertise internally, law firms are increasingly looking to hire experienced professionals from other firms as they expand their teams and add more practices.
"Conversations today are not just around designation/title, but around the overall institutional proposition, including accelerated equity tracks, team integration support, business development budgets, sector branding, office expansion support and the ability to scale a practice with greater entrepreneurial freedom," said Akanksha Antil, vice president at legal search firm Vahura.
However, firms are careful while choosing partners from rivals. "For us, cultural alignment is probably the most important consideration when hiring lateral partners and their teams," said Vivek Chandy, joint managing partner at JSA Advocates. "As a result, only about one in four such discussions ultimately translates into onboarding."
The churn is also creating new opportunities within firms. Some are expected to pursue aggressive hiring, while others may promote younger lawyers to rebuild practices and strengthen succession plans.
Neha Sharma, founder & director of legal search and consulting firm Avimukta, said the trend is likely to continue.
"It is important to first understand the motivations behind a partner's decision to move and assess what better opportunities can be offered to them," she said. "Firms also need to manage expectations, as internal benchmarking and compensation structures mean that not every expectation can always be fulfilled."
The consensus across the market suggests this phase will remain until firms adjust leadership structures, strengthen succession planning and rebuild depth in key practice areas.
