The Mumbai office of AZB & Partners is having attrition concerns with a number of associates leaving AZB Mumbai. The recent exodus includes Partners Vaishali Sharma and Gool Kotwal and there are rumours of another Partner leaving the firm. This brings down the total number of Partners in the AZB Mumbai office from 18 to 16.

Vaishali Sharma (pictured) has joined  Khaitan & Co, Mumbai as an Equity Partner on October 16.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, Partner Vaishali Sharma said, “I qualified as a lawyer in 2000 from Government Law College, Mumbai and it’s been over 10 years in this profession. I started with Desai Diwanji and was with them for around 3 years, then moved on to Majmudar for around a year plus and further moved to join Kochhar & Co. Afterwards I went on to do my Solicitors (QLTT) and I’m a non-practicing Solicitor from England and Wales. I came back to India and joined AZB Mumbai and I would have completed five years in September (quit in August). I join Khaitan & Co as an Equity Partner and will be handling M & A, Private Equity and Anti-Trust”.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, (Co-founder) Rabindra Jhunjhunwala said, “We are excited that Vaishali has decided to join Khaitan & Co. Her coming on board enhances our existing Corporate M & A team in the Mumbai offices. When we started in 2001 the Mumbai office was made up of one handful of lawyers, today in Mumbai we are 21 Partners and almost 100 Associates”.

At present the total strength of Partners in Khaitan & Co, Mumbai is 21 and overall it has gone upto 44. Khaitan & Co, Mumbai has aggressively been on a hiring spree, with Devidas Banerji recently joining their Mumbai office as a Partner in Banking & Finance.

Gool Kotwal was not available for a comment.