AZB & Partners has recently hired Australian competition lawyer Fadi Metanios in its Delhi competition team as a senior consultant.

Prior to joining AZB & Partners, Metanois was working at a boutique law firm Addisons as a Solicitor advising on competition law. Prior to his stint at Addisons, he was working with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the Mergers, Enforcement and Telecommunications sections.

In the firm’s press release, AZB’s Managing Partner Ajay Bahl said,

“Fadi is a valuable addition to the Firm’s competition law practice, and one that we are confident will help us continue to provide our clients with top-notch advice in this specialized field of law.”

Samir R. Gandhi, who heads the firm’s competition practice said that, “with Fadi’s joining, the competition practice will be even better placed to advise Indian and global clientele on the implications of their actions in India and beyond”.

“With the Indian Competition Commission increasingly looking towards global precedent in its enforcement decisions, and with international M&A transactions being notified simultaneously across several jurisdictions, Fadi will help bring a valuable international perspective to the advice we provide our clients”, added Samir.

This is not the first instance of non-Indian lawyers being hired by Indian firms.

Earlier Amarchand Mangaldas had hired John Handoll, William Fry’s Head of Competition and Regulatory Department, as a Senior Advisor in the firm’s competition team.