AZB & Partners
Top-tier Indian corporate law firm advising on major M&A, banking, and cross-border deals.
On the record
Checkpoint: Outcome of pending KKR/Singtel-ST Telemedia data centre deal and Tata Motors demerger closing
The call
AZB sits inside a protected six-firm domestic club, with the real contest being talent and deal share among Indian peers, not foreign firms or AI.
AZB & Partners is a major law firm in India that handles large corporate deals like company splits and bank mergers. It is hard to replace because Indian rules ban foreign law firms from practicing there, and the firm's success depends on relationships and lawyer judgment that AI tools like Harvey cannot take over. The main challenge is staying ahead of the five other top Indian law firms competing for the same big clients.
Why
01
AI pressure: Harvey AI (deployed firm-wide). AI speeds up drafting and research but a licensed lawyer still has to sign off, so it adds output rather than cutting the firm out. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan and Co, Trilegal, JSA. These five rival Indian firms compete hard for the same mandates and poach partners, but foreign Magic Circle firms cannot legally enter India to compete at all. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Bar Council of India bars foreign law firms from practicing Indian law, locking out the biggest global rivals entirely.
What would change this call
Whether more AZB partners exit to Anagram Partners or other Big Six rivals within 12 months. Would show talent attrition accelerating beyond a single departure.
Whether AZB keeps lead counsel role on Tata Motors demerger and KKR/Singtel-ST Telemedia deal at closing. Would show if top-tier deal mandates are shifting to rival firms.
Any Bar Council of India ruling on foreign law firm entry or AI-tool use in legal practice. Would show whether the regulatory wall protecting AZB is weakening.
Whether AZB keeps lead counsel role on Tata Motors demerger and KKR/Singtel-ST Telemedia deal at closing. Would show if top-tier deal mandates are shifting to rival firms.
Any Bar Council of India ruling on foreign law firm entry or AI-tool use in legal practice. Would show whether the regulatory wall protecting AZB is weakening.
Key numbers
- Tata Motors demerger deal valued at $13.7B
- RBL-Emirates NBD deal valued at $3B
- Senior partner Anind Thomas departed after 15+ years
Named risks
- Partner attrition to newly launched rival firms like Anagram Partners.
- Difficulty hiring specialized legal talent flagged by leadership, July 2026.
- Financial opacity from private partnership structure limits external scrutiny.
- Rising regulatory scrutiny of AI use in legal practice could reach Indian firms.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas | gaining on | Named IBLJ Law Firm of the Year 2025, versus AZB's Best Overall Firm nod in 2026 |
| Anagram Partners | gaining on | Poached 15-year AZB partner Anind Thomas to launch Bengaluru rival, July 2026 |
| Clifford Chance and Magic Circle firms | contesting | Barred from Indian practice by Bar Council; only referral ties existed 2009 to 2011 |
| Trilegal | contesting | 1,300+ lawyers across 9 offices under lockstep model rivals AZB's scale |
Questions people ask
- Is AZB & Partners profitable?
- AZB is a private partnership with no public financial disclosure obligations, so no audited revenue or profit figures exist. Third-party estimates range wildly from about $101M to $461M in 2026, but these are unverified aggregator figures, not confirmed by the firm itself.
- Could AI replace AZB & Partners lawyers?
- Unlikely for core work. AZB rolled out the Harvey AI tool firm-wide by July 2026 for document review and research, per managing partner Zia Mody, but Indian Bar Council rules require licensed lawyers for court appearance and legal sign-off, which AI cannot substitute.
- Who owns AZB & Partners?
- AZB & Partners is a private law firm partnership, not a corporation with outside investors. Founding partners Zia Mody, Ajay Bahl and Bahram Vakil remain named managing partners as of 2026; Indian Bar Council rules bar external equity or public listing for law firms.
- Who is AZB & Partners' biggest competitor?
- AZB competes within India's domestic Big Six: Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co, Trilegal, and JSA. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas held IBLJ's Law Firm of the Year title in 2025, ahead of AZB's Best Overall Firm honor in 2026.
- Are Magic Circle firms like Clifford Chance a threat to AZB & Partners?
- Not directly. Bar Council of India rules legally bar foreign firms like Clifford Chance, Linklaters, and Allen & Overy from practicing Indian law. AZB once had a referral tie with Clifford Chance from 2009 to 2011, since terminated, leaving only informal cross-border alliances.
- Is AZB & Partners growing or shrinking?
- Chambers & Partners' 2026 profile lists 700+ professionals including 144 partners, while ICLG's June 2026 profile cites 750+ lawyers. Deal mandates like the $3B RBL Bank-Emirates NBD investment in 2026 point to continued growth, though exact headcount trends vary by source.
Timeline
- 2026-07-29Managing partner Zia Mody confirms firm-wide rollout of Harvey AI tool to all lawyers
- 2026-07-2715-year AZB partner Anind Thomas departs to co-launch Anagram Partners in Bengaluru
- 2026-07-08AZB named among Best Overall Law Firms at IBLJ Law Firm Awards 2026
- 2026-02-12AZB advises KKR and Singtel on ST Telemedia Global Data Centres acquisition
- 2026AZB advises on RBL Bank-Emirates NBD strategic investment, roughly $3B deal
- 2025AZB advises on $13.7B Tata Motors demerger
- 2025AZB advises on Schneider Electric-Temasek stake acquisition, roughly $640M
- 2004AZB & Partners formed via merger of CZB & Partners and Ajay Bahl & Company
Revision history
30 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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