India Business Law Journal – May 2026

Recognising greatness

Legal innovation and market leadership flourish in this year’s awards

The past year has been defined by strong economic growth, fuelled by record deal activity, a vibrant IPO market and expanding opportunities across technology, infrastructure, financial services and renewable energy. At the same time, evolving regulations and the accelerating adoption of AI has reshaped client expectations and legal service delivery.

Against this backdrop, legal excellence is celebrated in the India Business Law Journal Law Firm Awards. The awards recognise firms that demonstrated exceptional expertise, innovation and client service. They also highlight the growing sophistication and breadth of India’s legal market.

The team drew on nearly 3,500 nominations and peer recommendations, 151 law firm submissions and feedback from more than 1,100 references worldwide to finalise the awards.

Firms recognised this year distinguished themselves not only through technical excellence, but through their ability to combine commercial judgement, sector-specific expertise and responsiveness while advising on some of India’s most significant transactions, disputes and regulatory matters. AZB & Partners is Law Firm of the Year, reflecting its outstanding performance, market leadership and impact across practice areas.

In a more nuanced shift, Chennai’s legal fabric, examines a city long recognised for legal excellence. Chennai combines a rich judicial legacy with a sophisticated commercial practice and strong litigation culture.

Yet its legal ecosystem extends well beyond disputes, encompassing specialised expertise in intellectual property, manufacturing, infrastructure, shipping, automotive, renewable energy, healthcare, technology, employment law and private equity.

Contrary to popular perception that Chennai trails other tier-1 cities, legal leaders describe a market that rivals Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru in quality while remaining more cost-efficient and offering a better work-life balance. The city’s economy, driven by MSMEs, family businesses, and expanding global capability centres, generates sustained demand for both litigation and corporate advisory services. The market remains relationship-driven, with trust, continuity and local insight valued as highly as technical expertise.

As part of the Chennai legal market guide, authors from Peritum Partners share insights on important facets of the city’s legal and economic environment – covering data protection, dispute resolution and real estate.

In Rebalancing bank-NBFC relationships, Nishant Kotak, head of legal at DSP Finance highlights the evolving regulatory framework governing co-lending arrangements.

As banks and non-banking financial companies deepen collaboration to expand credit access, increased regulatory oversight is reshaping partnership structures, risk allocation and compliance obligations. The feature explores how market participants are adapting to heightened scrutiny while maintaining commercial viability.

Meanwhile, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) marks its centenary under the leadership of president and CEO Bridget McCormack, who is overseeing a significant technology-driven transformation centred on AI.

In AAA tools with AI, McCormack shares how the organisation has integrated AI across its operations through secure enterprise systems, staff training, multilingual client chatbots and innovative dispute-resolution tools. Its flagship innovation, the AI Arbitrator, accelerates case handling through claim parsing, document analysis and summarisation, while preserving human oversight in final decision making.

In India’s changing labour law regime, we examine the landmark implementation of four Labour Codes in November 2025. Replacing 29 central labour laws, the new framework consolidates regulation around wages, industrial relations, social security and workplace safety.

Rooted in recommendations of the Second National Commission on Labour, the reforms aim to simplify compliance, modernise regulation and align labour law with contemporary economic realities.

In Family of marks doctrine in India, this month’s Expert briefing examines a concept that, while not expressly recognised under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, has evolved through judicial precedent. The doctrine protects groups of trademarks sharing a common dominant feature, such as a prefix or suffix, where consumers associate that feature with a single commercial source.

To establish a family of marks, multiple marks with a common feature must be owned by the same proprietor, and the shared element must have acquired secondary meaning through extensive use and consumer recognition. Courts have recognised examples involving the prefix “Mc” and the suffixes “-contin” and “Qilla”.

Where third parties adopt the same dominant element for similar goods or services, confusion may arise and infringement may occur under section 29(2) of the Trade Marks Act. The doctrine complements the anti-dissection rule by protecting the source-identifying significance of the shared element.