The over-a-century-old firm Khaitan & Co Thursday announced its partner promotions, after which it became the first Indian law firm to reach the 200 partners milestone. The addition of new partners and counsel takes the strength of the firm’s leadership to 200 partners and 25 counsel and total bench strength of 880 lawyers, giving it the distinction of becoming the first Indian law firm to reach a double century-partner count.“A leadership team of 200 partners is a major milestone for us and signifies our tremendous growth journey,” said Senior Partner Haigreve Khaitan, Khaitan & Co. “While we have a storied legacy behind us, we remain young in our mindset and look to our young partners to keep us nimble-footed on this journey.” Legal expenses of listed Indian companies during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, were reported to be Rs 36,973.75 crore, according to their annual reports. This is expected to increase significantly during FY2022 due to increased overall business activities including M&A, IPO and other general policy and corporate advisory work. In July 2020, Khaitan & Co became the first Indian firm to cross the 150-partners mark. “A majority of our partners are homegrown and will continue to perpetuate our unique culture and value systems,” said Amar Sinhji, Executive Director, Human Resources at Khaitan & Co. “This is the value-based talent model that has seen our Firm’s sustained and steady growth for more than 110 years.” Founded in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1911, the firm currently has offices in New Delhi, Noida, Bengaluru, Chennai and Singapore. According to Neha Kashyap, founder of the Grey Matter, an advisor to law firms, the country is now a $3.1 trillion economy and expected to grow to over $5 trillion. “We will need many more such firms in the near future scaling to this level when the overall economy is growing so fast,” said Kashyap. “For Khaitan, a partnership that is 200 personnel strong will not only make it easier for the clients but also be able to create a niche for each one with respect to practice areas and industry sectors,” she said.