[Exclusive]: Cyril Amarchand poaches Grant Thornton’s Kunal Gupta for Forensic Services practice

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has roped in Grant Thornton’s Executive Director Kunal Gupta to head the firm’s Forensic Services practice in Delhi, according to reliable sources..Neither Cyril Shroff nor Kunal Gupta were reachable for comment at the time of publication..Update: On his role, Managing Partner Cyril Shroff commented, “Forensics & Investigations compliments our other practice areas and we are delighted to have Kunal on board. Kunal would add immense value to the firm given his rich and diversified sectoral experience in forensics”.Kunal Gupta, on his appointment said, “With the increase in frequency and. sophistication of forensics, white collar crime and regulatory supervision, clients have a profound need for law firms which can understand and advise on matters that traverse technology, legal and financial domains. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, offers an excellent opportunity to serve clients in this evolving area of practice, and I am excited to be part of it”.Kunal has been working with Grant Thornton since April 2014, prior to which he was working at PriceWaterHouseCoopers. He has also worked with the World Bank Group and Luthra & Luthra Law Offices..Kunal has nearly 15 years of experience assisting a wide variety of clients in all aspects of business development and execution on forensic services mandates..Kunal is a 2006 Erasmus Mundus Scholar, having obtained his European Master in Law & Economics from the Erasmus University, University of Ghent & Hamburg University. Further, he holds a B.A. LLB (Hons) degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and a LL.M from the Harvard Law School, 2008, where he was also the editorial staff for the Harvard Journal on Legislation..This hire reflects the trend of law firms developing their in-house forensic practice teams. Earlier, AZB & Partners had poached Ajay Upadhyay, Director – Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services at Ernst & Young, to head the firm’s Compliance and Investigation Practice.