VERUS gets new Partner in Dua Associates’ Siddharth Bhavnani; Bhavnani to work out of Delhi office

VERUS Advocates has hired Siddharth Bhavnani as a Partner in the firm’s Delhi office with effect from October 1, 2014. Bhavnani had previously worked at Dua Associates’s Gurgaon office as a Manager, a firm he rejoined in 2013 following a two and a half year spell at Tatva Legal. It is understood that Bhavnani shall be focusing on the firm’s transaction practice, and becomes the fifth Partner in the firm.

Bhavnani’s hire comes more than two years after the first round of expansion, where the firm was converted to a partnership model. In April of 2012, the firm saw the addition of four new Partners, two in Mumbai and one each in Delhi and Mumbai.

A 2006 graduate (University of Leicester), Bhavnani worked with Dua Associates before shifting to Tatva for close to fourteen months. Speaking about his experience at the relatively older firms, Bhavnani says that those years allowed him to develop a useful skill set.

However, it was an entreprenurial streak that drew him towards a young firm such as VERUS. Working out of the Delhi, Bhavnani says that not only will he be handling the Delhi-based clients, but also looking to build a practice.

He says,

I have always been enthused with the thought of building an independent practice and I wasn’t sure how an entrepreneurial streak would fit into older firms.

On the viability of smaller law firms, Bhavnani admits that a number of breakaway firms have come and gone in the recent past. At the same time, he is extremely optimistic about the future.

I think smaller law firms are doing great quality work, and they guarantee Partner attention. VERUS has been involved in a lot of complex transactions and I think the firm has a bright future.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, Krishnayan Sen said that Bhavani’s hire was part of the firm’s plan to expand the firm’s corporate practice.

“Till now, the Delhi office has had a strong disputes practice with two disputes partners; and transactional work was being serviced by our Mumbai-based corporate partners. Naturally, a Delhi-based corporate partner was a necessity in the long run, and hence this decision. We think alike, and that’s what is most important in an enduring partnership.”