# AZB & Partners

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Indian corporate law firm

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AZB & Partners Type Partnership Firm (90+ partners) Industry Law Practice Founded 2004; 22 years ago (2004) Number of locations 6 Key people Zia Mody (Founder & Managing Partner) Bahram Vakil (Founder & Managing Partner) Ajay Bahl (Founder & Managing Partner) Number of employees 500+ Website www.azbpartners.com

**AZB & Partners** is a corporate [law firm](/source/Law_firm) in [India](/source/India), with offices in [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai), [Delhi NCR](/source/National_Capital_Region_(India)), [Bangalore](/source/Bangalore), [Chennai](/source/Chennai) and [Pune](/source/Pune). The firm comprises over 150 partners specialising in [General Corporate](/source/Corporate_law), [M&A](/source/Mergers_and_acquisitions) and Banking and Finance practice and other specialised verticals such as [dispute resolution](/source/Dispute_resolution), real estate, [competition law](/source/Competition_law), [intellectual property](/source/Intellectual_property), [capital markets](/source/Capital_market), compliance & investigations, funds, employment law, etc. AZB & Partners' domestic and international clients range from privately owned to publicly listed companies, including [Fortune 500](/source/Fortune_500) entities, [multinationals](/source/Multinational_corporation), i[nvestment banks](/source/Investment_banking) and [private equity firms](/source/Private_equity_firm).

## History

[Zia Mody](/source/Zia_Mody), an alumnus of [Cambridge University](/source/University_of_Cambridge) and [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School) who had worked with [Baker & McKenzie](/source/Baker_McKenzie) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) established her own Litigation practice in [Mumbai](/source/Mumbai) as the sole proprietor of the Chambers of Zia Mody.[1] She had been friends with Bahram Vakil,[2] a graduate of [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) who also practiced for 2 years in the [United States](/source/United_States) before returning to [India](/source/India) and working as a partner at Little & Co.. The two chose to partner and established CZB (Chambers of Zia and Bahram). Ajay Bahl started his career as a [Chartered Accountant](/source/Chartered_accountant) but was persuaded by [N.K.P Salve](/source/N._K._P._Salve) to study law and intern with prominent lawyer [Soli Sorabjee](/source/Soli_Sorabjee) (Zia's father), after which Ajay set up his own practice in New Delhi.[3]

AZB & Partners was formed in 2004 when CZB & Partners in Mumbai merged with Ajay Bahl & Company in Delhi. The firm has moved away from the traditional family-style set-up, however, and has a clear partnership track in place, which has led it to be credited for the modernity of its practice.[4] The firm entered into a "best friends agreement" with [UK](/source/United_Kingdom)-based [Clifford Chance](/source/Clifford_Chance) in early 2009,[5] which was terminated by mutual agreement in January 2011.[6]

## Locations

The Firm has a total of 7 offices in India: Two each in Mumbai and Delhi NCR and one each in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.[7]

## Practice Areas

The major practice areas of the Firm include:[8][9]

- Mergers & Acquisitions

- Joint Ventures & General Corporate

- Private Equity & Funds

- Banking & Finance

- Real Estate

- Insurance

- Competition

- Dispute Resolution

- Capital Markets

- Employment

- Compliance & Investigation

- Tax

- Technology, Media & Telecommunication

- Intellectual Property

- Projects & Energy

- Funds

- Private Client Practice

## Partners

The firm has more than 150 partners.[10]

## Awards

AZB & Partners has received wide national and international acclaim within the legal sphere, some of which include 'Ranked No.1' by RSG Top 40 India law firm ranking in 2019 and 2017,[11] 'Best Overall Law Firm of the Year- 2017' at India Business Law Journal's Indian Law Firms Awards, 2017–18,[12] 'Law Firm of the Year- 2017' by [VC Circle](/source/VCCircle) (topping the tables in both deal count and volume)[13] 'Client Service Law Firm of the Year - 2017' by [Chambers and Partners](/source/Chambers_and_Partners) Asia-Pacific Awards.[14] For the first quarter of 2018, the firm was ranked on top in both M&A deal count and volume on the league tables published by [Merger Market](/source/Merger_Market), [Bloomberg](/source/Bloomberg_L.P.) and [Thomson Reuters](/source/Thomson_Reuters).[15] In May 2024, AZB & Partners was recognized as the "Best Overall Law Firm" category at the India Business Law Journal's Indian Law Firm Awards 2024.[16]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Mukherjee, Udayan (12 June 2022). ["Ace Lawyer Zia Mody on Why She Became a Lawyer"](https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/interview/story/ace-lawyer-zia-mody-on-why-she-became-a-lawyer-335788-2022-05-31). *www.businesstoday.in*. p. 1. Retrieved 12 June 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Sai, Aparna (4 February 2021). ["ALB CONVERSATIONS: BAHRAM N. VAKIL, CO-FOUNDER AND SENIOR PARTNER, AZB & PARTNERS"](https://www.legalbusinessonline.com/other-news/alb-conversations-bahram-n-vakil-co-founder-and-senior-partner-azb-partners). *www.legalbusinessonline.com*. p. 1. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Ajay Bahl's Profile"](https://www.legallyindia.com/wiki/Ajay_Bahl).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Indian Lawyer 250 - Firm Profile - AZB & Partners"](http://indianlawyer250.com/firms/16/inl250/353/azb-partners/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Reuters India AZB - Clifford Chance agreement"](https://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-37486720090116). *Reuters*. 16 January 2009.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["AZB - Clifford Chance end best friendship"](https://www.legallyindia.com/201101211707/Law-firms/breaking-azb-clifford-chance-end-best-friendship).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Chambers & Partners Profile- AZB (see: offices)"](https://www.chambersandpartners.com/asia/firm/2269/azb-partners).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Chambers & Partners - AZB Profile (See: Practice Areas)"](https://www.chambersandpartners.com/asia/firm/2269/azb-partners).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Legal 500 - Firm Profile - AZB & Partners"](https://www.legal500.com/firms/32059-azb-partners/32309-mumbai-india).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["AZB promotes 15 to partner (40% women) • Grows to 105 • Symbi most, 2 each from NUJS, NLU-J, GNLU"](https://www.legallyindia.com/lawfirms/azb-promotes-15-to-partner-across-offices-delhi-does-9-20190401-9957).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["RSG India Law firm Rankings (2017)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200809082144/http://www.rsg-india.com/rankings). Archived from [the original](http://rsg-india.com/rankings) on 2020-08-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["IBLJ Indian Law Firm Awards"](https://www.vantageasia.com/indian-law-firm-awards-2017-18/). 15 March 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["VC Circle Flashback 2017"](https://www.vccircle.com/flashback-2017-top-law-firms-of-the-year/). 27 December 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Chambers APAC awards 2017"](https://www.chambersandpartners.com/chambers-asia-pacific-awards-2017).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["M&A league Q1 2018 Legallyindia"](https://www.legallyindia.com/lawfirms/azb-leads-q1-by-value-and-volume-of-deals-across-mergermarket-thomson-reuters-and-bloomberg-leagues-00011130-9270).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Indian Law Firm Awards 2024"](https://law.asia/iblj-awards-2024/). *Law.asia*. 29 May 2024.

- [Companies portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Companies)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [AZB & Partners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZB_%26_Partners) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZB_%26_Partners?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.