ELP Associate Partner Sumit Rai sets up counsel practice

Arbitration and dispute resolution expert Sumit Rai has left Economic Laws Practice, where he was an Associate Partner in the firm’s Mumbai office. As first reported by Global Arbitration Review, Rai has decided to set up counsel practice..The GLC graduate, who joined ELP way back in 2008, has now joined the chambers of senior counsel Pradeep Sancheti..Speaking to Bar & Bench, Rai said that one of the reasons behind the move is the recent changes in arbitration laws in the country. Changes such as time-bound arbitration, and the setting up of institutional arbitration in the country, mean that a specialised arbitration bar is well in the making..As for making the shift later than most, Rai says that his tenure at ELP allowed him to take part in a fair number of arbitrations..“You tend to get get more exposure [to arbitration] at firms rather than as a litigating lawyer.”.And as for his choice of chambers, Rai says that it was partly motivated by the fact that senior counsel Sancheti continues to do a wide spectrum of matters, including trials and arbitrations. It is this variety of work that Rai found particularly attractive..Rai is not the first to make the move, especially when it comes to ELP..In June this year, we had reported that ELP co-founder Rohan Shah would be leaving the firm by the end of September. Following Shah’s departure, Suhail Nathani would take over as the firm’s Managing Partner.