Satyam, the controversial Indian IT firm facing several law suits in the US, has requested to replace its legal advisors, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, with Jones Day.
Jones Day lawyer Jayant Tambe filed a request with the Manhattan federal district court on behalf of Satyam seeking to substitute Wachtell, Satyam’s current US counsel. Satyam is currently dealing with several class action law suits filed by investors in the US following an accounting fraud committed by former Satyam chairman Ramalinga Raju earlier this year.
Tambe had advised Tech Mahindra on its acquisition of Satyam in April this year, following a reshuffling of Satyam’s management board.
Wachtell lawyer Warren Stern has reportedly agreed to the substitution. Satyam refused to comment and no reason was given for the change in the court application.
A source close to the matter speculated that the change could be due to Wachtell’s M&A market reputation, and the work Jones Day did for Tech Mahindra in the Satyam acquisition. “Wachtell is an M&A focused firm and I don’t think that Satyam is going to conduct any M&A deals in a hurry,” they said.
“I’m sure if you get quality service you’d want to go back. Jones Day must have done something right.”
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