Four former IC Universal lawyers set up Aequitas Law Partners

Sambhav Ranka, Rowena De Sousa, Anita Jain and Abhishek Pai, all formerly from IC Universal Legal, have established Aequitas Law Partners, a full-service law firm in Mumbai.

In an exclusive with India Business Law Journal, Ranka, one of the four founding partners at Aequitas Law, said, “I was waiting for the right time where I could have pivoted this [idea of launching a new firm].

“It came to a point where I decided that I would move on [and] while I made that decision, it was very easy.

“It was a personal choice [and] when there were certain other decisions, which came to my knowledge in terms of the other founding partners [who had] decided to quit, that is where we all connected.”

Ranka reveals that while all four partners left their previous work at IC Universal Legal independently, given their aligned vision, mission and values, Aequitas Law Partners was born.

“There were a lot of synergies in terms of what our thought processes were and we collectively decided to take that leap to get into a position where we are today.”

Ranka brings nearly two decades of experience in M&A, private equity and venture capital, with a strong track record in complex domestic and cross-border transactions.

De Sousa’s expertise covers private equity, M&A and corporate advisory, with deep insight into Indian and international markets.

Jain specialises in investment funds and regulatory practice, advising on onshore and offshore fund formation, including within GIFT City, as well as structuring and compliance strategies.

Pai brings more than a decade of experience as a company secretary, litigation lawyer and corporate transactional adviser. He has worked across governance, high-value private equity, venture capital, M&A transactions and disputes.

Speaking of the firm’s range of expertise, Ranka said, “Predominantly we do everything in the corporate financial services and regulatory areas where we do everything from M&A to private equity to venture capital, everything on the transactional front.

In July 2025, the managing partners of IC Universal Legal also went their separate ways leading the firm to split into IC RegFin Legal, headed by Tejesh Chitlangi and Chugh Universal Legal, led by Partha Mandal.

From the previous firm, senior partners Leelavathi Naidu and Indrajit Mishra went to IC RegFin. Shaurya Mitra Tomar, Kavitha Vijay, Akash Mukherjee and Sameena Chatrapathy went to Chugh Universal where they have been appointed senior partners.