Ashurst has entered into a best-friends arrangement with Mumbai firm Indian Law Partners (ILP).
The non-exclusive tie-up will see the two firms refer work to each other on a preferential basis.
ILP, which was created earlier this year by former DSK Legal partners Gopika Pant and Piyoosh Gupta, also houses one counsel and 10 associates.
Pant, who set up a firm also called ILP in 1999, which merged with DSK in 2004, specializes in Indian corporate and commercial law, including cross-border commercial transactions, private equity investments and acquisitions.
Gupta is also a corporate and commercial lawyer, with a broad practice covering infrastructure, acquisitions, real estate, franchising and retail and employment law.
The referral agreement comes a little more than a year after Ashurst was forced to close its liaison office in Delhi after a long-running case in which the Bombay High Court ruled against the practice of law by foreign firms in India.
Ashurst India practice head Richard Gubbins commented: "Gopika Pant and Piyoosh Gupta are both excellent lawyers. We have worked together on many matters over the years and we share a number of mutual clients. We very much look forward to continuing to work alongside one another whenever we can."
Ashurst's recent deals in India include advising on Coal India's $3.4 billion IPO (£2.1 billion) and advising Oil India Ltd. in relation to its $560 million (£347 million) Indian IPO and global offering on the BSE.
Ashurst's liaison office was initially set up in 1994. Ashurst, Chadbourne & Parke and White & Case all had to shut down their liaison offices as a result of the case.
