Quite obviously, most national law firms are focusing on Competition law. What started with Vaish Associates hiring former Registrar of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), M.M. Sharma, the last couple of months have seen Amarchand hiring Irish competition law expert, Paku Khan, and Khaitan hiring JSA partner and Additional Registrar of the CCI, Manas Kumar Chaudhuri. 

Now Luthra & Luthra has restructured resources by seeking the Head of the International Trade Law practice, Moushami Joshi to dedicate half her time to the practice of competition law. Currently, the competition law practice is being headed by Senior Partner H.S. Chandhoke with Partner and former Additional Director General of the CCI, G.R. Bhatia. They are assisted by Senior Associates Abdullah Hussain and Ravishekhar Nair and a team of three Associates. Managing Partner Rajiv Luthra told, "Moushami has been working quite closely with the competition law team for a while now and has already made huge contributions, so we just decided to formalize her role."

Having started its competition law practice in 2007, two years before the Act was notified. Luthra has been involved in the formulation of regulations under the Competition Act. In 2007, Luthra & Luthra acted for the United States Federal Trade Commission in a USAID exercise to develop reference material for the CCI, and since 2007, has been (together with the International Bar Association's Antitrust Section) advising the CCI on the draft combination regulations that are yet to be notified.

"The practice has immense potential. In terms of volume, the next couple of years will see an exponential growth, especially in compliance and advisory, which will require a large amount of dedicated resources. This is one of the reasons why we are seeing many hires and moves in the competition law practice," Moushami Joshi told Bar & Bench. "My traditional focus has been International Trade, which has similar geographical markets and synergies, but just that the background is different, and adding a senior resource to the existing practice will surely help," she added.

Managing Partner Rajiv Luthra, who is also a member of the Advisory Committee constituted by the CCI, said, "We have been investing quite significantly in our competition law practice for a few years now. The fact that we began this early not only meant that we had the privilege of contributing to the law making process, but also ensured that we are now fully prepared to face the challenges of the new law."