Co-founder of DSK Satish Kishanchandani, 2 partners to start new firm with high ‘happy quotient’

Co-founding partner of DSK Legal Satish Kishanchandani is leaving the firm with two corporate partners and their teams in the coming months.

Joining him is partner Narendra Dingankar - who headed up the Pune office of the firm since 2014 - and Mumbai-based partner Pritha Jha.

Having practised law since 1989, Kishanchandani completed his solicitors qualification from Mulla & Mulla, followed by Gagrats, and Anderson & Co for five years. He joined Dua Associates in 1997, starting its Mumbai and Pune offices, and finally co-founded DSK in 2001 with Anand Desai, initially functioning as a law firm extension of Anderson. He specializes in corporate, commercial and private equity work.

“I have decided to move on after an exciting 18 year journey to set up a focused legal services practice with a difference. The happy quotient has to go up. I don’t think lawyers as a community are happy people,” he said.

“With a difference” means the first should be more people-centric, he elaborated on phone. “More like an institution. So we would not have the name of the partner in the name. Number two: the more critical part is, the happy quotient has to go up. I don’t think lawyers as a community are happy people. You have to be happy working. That’s a little lacking. It’s become more like a machine,” he said.

A 1998 B.Com. graduate from Mumbai University, Dingankar began his professional career at Arthur Anderson & Co in 1994, moving to Dua Associates in 1998, and joining DSK Legal in 2001.

A 2000 ILS Pune graduate, began her career at Desai & Diwanji, before joining DSK in 2009 where she was promoted to associate partner in 2016, and partner in 2018.

DSK’s Pune office will continue without Dingankar and Kishanchandani with the firm’s real estate team continuing to be based there.