Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, to start law firm in Kochi

The Kerala Bar is set to welcome a new law firm floated by sons of three figures prominent in the Kerala political arena, advocates Bineesh Kodiyeri, Shone George and Ninu Mohandas..Bineesh Kodiyeri is the son of veteran CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who recently returned to the fray as the State Secretary for the Party . Shone George, a political figure in his own right, is the son of PC George, former Kerala Congress member and founder of Kerala Janaprakasham. Ninu Mohandas, a lawyer practicing before the Kerala High Court, is the son of former State Election Commissioner..The firm, spearheaded by the three classmates from the 2006 batch of Kerala Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, will be opened in the Kerala High Court Advocates Association chamber complex in Kochi on Sunday..The new firm, which will function under the guidance of advocate Aravindakshan Pillai, has been a passion project in the works at least for the last four years of the three partners who had always wanted to return to their field of study after their many trysts with politics, advocate George said while speaking to Bar and Bench.."We've all kept in touch with our legal roots but our involvement in politics meant we couldn't focus on it exclusively or together as friends and former classmates. But once the circumstances around us changed in the last year or so, with no elections in sight till 2024, the time is ripe for us right now," he said..However, due to the pandemic and George's own foray into politics as he stood for and won the 2020 elections from Poonjar to the Kottayam district panchayat, the three were unable to bring their dream of starting a practice focused on Ernakulam and the Kerala High Courts..Another factor that contributed to the delay was obviously Bineesh Kodiyeri's arrest in 2020 for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. However, since he was granted bail earlier this year in October, the three former classmates decided that it was time to begin this new venture..While they had all stayed in touch with their legal background by practicing before courts across Kerala, this would be the first time in years that they are able to focus on it exclusively and that too in Ernakulam, George said.