India's Leading Lawyers and Legal Icons

INTRODUCTION

Based on the collective views of in-house counsel and India-focused partners at international law firms, the following are India’s leading lawyers and legal icons.

The A-List is based on extensive research conducted by India Business Law Journal. Biographies and contact details, where provided, are written by the lawyers themselves and have not been independently verified. The A-List does not include independent counsel/senior counsel.

It is important to emphasise that the A-List is merely indicative of the nominations and testimonials received by India Business Law Journal, and the background research of our editorial team. Many outstanding lawyers do not appear on the A-List, which should not be viewed as a comprehensive list of the leading lawyers in the country.

Click here to read the report that accompanies the A-List. Click here to read the A-List methodology.

Asim Abbas

	Asim Abbas L&L Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Technology, media and telecommunications

Hiroo Advani

	Hiroo Advani Advani & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; infrastructure; litigation; power & energy

Mahesh Agarwal

Mahesh Agarwal
Agarwal Law Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4220 0000
Email: mahesh.agarwal@aglaw.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; intellectual property; litigation; power & energy

Mahesh Agarwal is managing partner of Agarwal Law Associates, one of the foremost full-service law firms in India. He is widely considered to be a leading figure with a wealth of experience in dispute resolution. He has a diverse and large practice across the country in litigation and international arbitration leading one of the largest filing offices in the Supreme Court of India.

He is widely considered an expert in regulatory disputes, insolvency, corporate commercial arbitration, international investment arbitration, general commercial disputes, general civil disputes, and corporate crimes. He has represented some of India’s largest clientele in infrastructure, energy and telecoms industries, including Adani Group, Tata Group, and Reliance Group and international clientele, including Monsanto and Vodafone Plc, in litigations and arbitrations involving transnational and domestic commercial transactions before international and national fora.

Mahesh is a third-generation lawyer and an alumnus of the Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi, and the Government Law College, Mumbai.

Amit Aggarwal

Amit Aggarwal
SNG & Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1032 4028
Email: amit_aggarwal@sngpartners.in
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Amit Aggarwal heads the corporate practice of the firm and has a specialisation in banking & finance, M&A and capital markets. He specialises in structured finance transactions and handled transactions, which fall within the domain of external commercial borrowings, G3 bonds, domestic bond issuances, project finance, acquisition finance, asset finance, trade finance, real estate financing, security creation, unlisted debt, private banking and general banking products.

He works with fund houses, financial institutions such as alternate investment funds, private equity funds, distressed asset and special opportunity funds, etc. As a lead partner, he has also worked on many government disinvestment transactions as well as various IPOs and QIPs. He is known to present solutions for complex structuring related issues and able to use this as expertise in M&A transactions.

Akila Agrawal

	Akila Agrawal Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; corporate governance; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions

Ashish Ahuja

	Ashish Ahuja Wadia Ghandy and Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; restructuring & insolvency; white-collar crime

Ruby Singh Ahuja

Ruby Singh Ahuja
Karanjawala & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4358 8888
Email: rubysingh.ahuja@karanjawala.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; bankruptcy & insolvency; corporate & commercial; litigation

Senior partner and Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court, Ruby Singh Ahuja is a leading dispute resolution lawyer in India and supervises commercial litigation at the firm. She has over two decades of experience as an advocate and an Advocate on Record at the Supreme Court. She has successfully represented large conglomerates in high-value commercial disputes across various judicial and regulatory fora.

She advises multinational companies and leading Indian corporations on litigation strategy in sync with the clients’ business objectives. Her participation in landmark proceedings as evidenced in a large number of reported Supreme Court judgments is a testimony to her long-standing experience.

Ruby has expertise in a wide range of practice areas including company law, real estate, pharmaceuticals, land acquisition, commercial and contractual disputes and insolvency and bankruptcy. Her clients value her comprehensive understanding of Supreme Court procedure, balanced legal strategy, around the clock availability and prompt turnaround time.

Bharat Anand

Bharat Anand
Khaitan & Co
New Delhi

Email: bharat.anand@khaitanco.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Bharat Anand is senior partner at Khaitan & Co’s office in New Delhi and leads the M&A practice in Delhi. Bharat’s expertise spans a range of areas including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity transactions. Bharat is regularly approached as a strategic adviser on particularly complex M&A transactions or sensitive corporate governance situations in India.

Some of the marquee transactions Bharat has recently led are ReNew Power’s SPAC, representing Softbank in connection with several investments in India, Aakash Education on its sale to Byju’s and Manipal Hospitals on its acquisition of Columbia Asia’s portfolio of hospital sites in India.

Bharat joined Khaitan & Co in 2009 with direct responsibility for the firm’s corporate and M&A practice in Delhi, and is a member of the firm’s National Executive Committee. Prior to joining Khaitan & Co, Bharat had a successful career at the London offices of Freshfields from 2001 until 2009.

A dual qualified lawyer (India and England Wales), Bharat read law at Jesus College, Cambridge, as a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar and is an alumnus of St Columba’s School. He is ranked as “Band 1 Lawyer” for M&A work in Delhi, by both Chambers Asia Pacific and UK and recognised as a Global Leader by “Who’s Who Legal” for M&A and governance issues.

Pravin Anand

Pravin Anand
Anand and Anand
New Delhi

Tel: +91 120 4059300 / +91 99 9985 5512
Email: pravin@anandandanand.com
Key practice areas: E-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; intellectual property; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications

Pravin Anand is the managing partner and head of litigation at Anand and Anand.

Honoured with the AIPPI Award of Merit, the INTA President’s Award and recognised as the “Most Innovative Lawyer” for the Asia-Pacific Region by the Financial Times, Pravin has appeared in over 2,500 cases in over 42 years of practicing as an IP lawyer.

Some recent landmark decisions in his career:

Patent lawsuits that transformed the pharmaceutical and biotechnology enforcement regime in India including Merck v Glenmark; Roche v Cipla; the Monsanto case; and a large number of other suits on behalf of Pfizer, BMS, AstraZeneca, etc.
India’s first Anti-anti-suit injunction order (InterDigital v Xiaomi); Software Patent lawsuit conferring protection (the Ferid Allani case); development of a damages culture in a large number of cases that recognised not only punitive, but compensatory, exemplary and aggravated damages (Philips v AmazeStore); India’s first post-trial SEP judgment (Philips v Bhagirathi); development of unique remedies such as the “Tree Planting Order” (the Merck case); and an order benefiting adolescent girls (the Hermes case).

He was author of Halsbury’s Laws of India on Intellectual Property and a large number of chapters in international IP publications. Outside court, Pravin engages with the larger community to spread the message of IP through:

The Raj Anand Moot Court Competition since 1997;
Anaryst – an IP Board Game;
Brainchild – First IP-themed play;
Adventures of Mr IP – an IP comic; and
IPONOMICS – a coffee table book.

Professional Association:

Ex-Member of the INTA Board of Directors
Past President of the Indian Groups of AIPPI, APAA and FICPI
Member of the INTA Enforcement Committee

Professional Honours:

INTA President’s Award 2021
Managing Partner of the Year – Asian Legal Business India Law Awards 2021
Patent Lawyer of the Year – Legal Era India Legal Awards 2021
Leading IP lawyers of the Decade – Legal Era India law Awards 2020
Managing Intellectual Property IP Star – Patent 2017-21
Chambers and Partners Highly Recommended lawyer in IP – 2017-21
Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Dispute Resolution Star 2021
World’s Leading Practitioners – IAM Patent 1000 (2016-21)
World’s Leading IP Strategists – IAM Strategy 300 (2016-21)
Inducted in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame
AsiaIP IP Expert

Safir Anand

Safir Anand
Anand and Anand
New Delhi

Tel: +91 12 0405 9300
Email: safir@anandandanand.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; intellectual property; licensing & franchising; mergers & acquisitions

Accredited as one of India’s top IP attorneys, Safir Anand has over 25 years of experience in providing inputs on strategy, business models, marketing and commercial insights, blended with an astute understanding of IP law that encompasses IP protection, IP enforcement, IP agreements, licensing, franchising, monetisation and due diligence. He has worked throughout his career to explore multiple facets of monetisation, fine-tuned the concept of returns of advertising, created industry level specialisations for the firm, worked with clients’ R&D teams for product development and personally created product prototypes and very recently jointly set up a Covid Fund for artisans in the country.

Safir is on the advisory board of the International Facility Management Association, the Fashion Design Council of India, the Event and Entertainment Management Association, JHS Svendgaard Brands Ltd, Brand Musiq Private Ltd, Teamwork Arts Private Ltd, My Rights LLP, Tarrakki, Fresh Brew, White Willow, Siddhartha Bansal and Royal Fables and additionally holds memberships with national and international organisations.

He has been a member of INTA’s Presidential Task Force on Brand Valuation, and also serves on its Commercialisation of Brands Committee and its first prestigious Research Advisory Council continuously for the second term. He has also been associated with the Brands & Innovation Committee, the Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee and the Trademark Office Practice Committee.

Safir extensively contributes to prestigious national and international publications, and is on the editorial panel of many leading journals and magazines focused on commercialisation, licensing, franchising and other aspects of Intellectual Property. He also writes frequently for financial dailies and is featured on TV shows on trend forecasting.

He has been recognised as one of the most Innovative Practitioners across Asia-Pacific by Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific 2020; named in Forbes India’s Legal Powerlist 2020 as one of the Top Individual Lawyers; awarded the extremely prestigious IAF-Atmanirbhar Bharat Award 2020-21; awarded for exemplary performance in the field of Intellectual Property by International Advisory Experts; ranked in the top 300 strategists in IP in the world by IAM; ranked as Elite Practitioner by Asialaw Leading Lawyers; awarded for Sterling Performance in Business and Law by Legal League Consulting to name a few.

Jatin Aneja

Jatin Aneja
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 99 1009 8314
Email: jatin.aneja@AMSShardul.com
Key practice areas: Infrastructure; project finance

Jatin Aneja is a senior equity partner at the firm and is also part of the management board of the firm and the national practice head of projects and project finance practice. Jatin has extensive experience in projects, infrastructure, project finance and investment across infrastructure sectors including airports, roads, ports, oil and gas, energy (conventional and renewable), power and other urban infrastructure in India.

Jatin has been involved in advising various Indian as well as multinational companies on commercial law aspects including drafting, structuring and negotiating various investment agreements, joint venture agreements, business purchase agreements, financing agreements, concession agreements, offtake agreement, tolling agreement, EPC contracts, consortium agreements, and other related legal advisory work.

Jatin has led several precedent setting and high value transactions that have hugely impacted the projects and infrastructure landscape of India.

Some of his most prominent transactions include drafting the concession agreement for Delhi and Mumbai airports and undertaking the privatization of the two airports; Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline project; Indian Oil’s LNG procurement from the United States; Petronet LNG and other PSUs LNG procurement from Qatar; private container train concession for Indian Railways; Delhi & Mumbai airport city side development project(s). Recently, he advised GMR Infrastructure Ltd in relation to divestment of major shareholding (approx. USD 1.5 billion) in GMR Airports Ltd., GMR’s holding company for multiple airports globally.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 features Jatin as ‘Band 1’ lawyer for Projects, Infrastructure & Energy. He has advised on a series of award-winning transactions and has been consistently ranked in “Band 1” in the Projects, Infrastructure and Energy practice by Chambers and Partners and as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 (each year, from 2009 to 2021), IFLR1000 2022 ranked Jatin as ‘Highly Regarded’ for Energy and Infrastructure, Project Development, Project Finance, M&A. Jatin was recognized as an “Global Leader” by Who’s Who Legal – 2021 Energy and Project Finance.

Vineet Aneja

	Vineet Aneja Clasis Law New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; inbound investment; labour & employment; mergers & acquisitions

Yash Ashar

	Yash Ashar Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets; corporate governance; securities regulatory and advisory

Sanjay Asher

	Sanjay Asher Crawford Bayley & Company Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions

Ajay Bahl

	Ajay Bahl AZB & Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; litigation; mergers & acquisitions; taxation

Rajendra Barot

	Rajendra Barot AZB & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery; arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; white-collar crime

Sumanto Basu

	Sumanto Basu Sumanto Basu & Associates (Advocates) New Delhi
Key practice areas: Compliance; corporate & commercial; power & energy; project finance

Rajesh N Begur

	Rajesh N Begur Begur & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Probal Bhaduri

	Probal Bhaduri Lumiere Law Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; labour & employment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Sandip Bhagat

	Sandip Bhagat S&R Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets; corporate & commercial; corporate governance; mergers & acquisitions

Ajay Bhargava

	Ajay Bhargava Khaitan & Co New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; intellectual property; litigation; white-collar crime

Shweta Bharti

Shweta Bharti
Hammurabi & Solomon Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1102 0612
Email: shweta.bharti@hammurabisolomon.com
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; litigation; real estate; restructuring & insolvency

Shweta Bharti carries with her an enriched experience of almost 20 years as a litigator primarily focusing on dispute resolution and arbitration in corporate commercial matters. Shweta has also handled some path-breaking matters in insolvency and bankruptcy cases including reverse insolvency. Her other areas of specialisation are real estate, environmental laws and corporate commercial advisories, corporate governance and compliance.

She is a recipient of several awards and accolades and was recently recognised as the Thought Leader of the Year – India and Middle East by the Asian Legal Business Women in Law Awards and is also a speaker at various forums, seminars and webinars both domestic as well as international.

Shweta is also the jurisdictional council member of IPBA and has also held the position of chairperson of the Environmental Law Committee of the IPBA in the past. She has also written various articles and publications, the latest being the contribution in compliance, ethics and integrity from the Indian perspective in the Global Ethics, Compliance & Integrity Yearbook 2021 compiled by the Viadrina Centre for Compliance in Germany. She is an author on Compliance Laws in India published by Bundesanzeiger Verlag, a leading German publication, and contributed to the World Bank’s Women Business and Law.

She also sits as an independent director in various multinational companies as well as acting as the external member of the POSH Committees of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority and the Observers Research Foundation (in the past), and conducted various investigations on various complaints. She was also a member of the task force formed by Invest India, under the aegis of Department of Justice, to examine the issues relating to time standards and delays.

Shweta is hugely respected and recognised by the courts and legal luminaries/senior counsels in practice and has advised the various ministries of the Government of India on various legal reforms issues.

She holds a double MBA in International Trade & Business and Marketing & Business Development. Pursuant to which, Shweta has an LLB from the University of Delhi and has also completed her executive course on managing a professional services firm from the prestigious Harvard Business School.

Alka Bharucha

	Alka Bharucha Bharucha & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; capital markets; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

MP Bharucha

	MP Bharucha Bharucha & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery; arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; corporate governance

Zarir Bharucha

	Zarir Bharucha ZBA Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; insurance & reinsurance; litigation; shipping

Lalit Bhasin

	Lalit Bhasin Bhasin and Company Advocates New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; aviation; corporate & commercial; labour & employment

Abhimanyu Bhattacharya

Abhimanyu Bhattacharya
Khaitan & Co
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 6636 5000
Email: abhimanyu.bhattacharya@khaitanco.com
Key practice areas: Capital markets; corporate & commercial; corporate governance

Abhimanyu Bhattacharya is a partner in the capital markets team at Khaitan & Co, based out of the Mumbai office. His expertise lies in advising clients on a wide range of capital markets transactions such as initial public offerings (IPOs); qualified institutional placements; InvITs/REITs; rights issues; GDRs/ADRs; issuance and restructuring of FCCBs; and the issuance of high-yield notes.

He has worked on IPOs by One97 Communications Limited (Paytm), Aditya Birla Sunlife Asset Management, Sterling & Wilson Solar, Bandhan Bank, HDFC Asset Management, SBI Life Insurance Company Limited, Metropolis Healthcare, GIC Re, Eris Lifesciences Limited and Mahindra Logistics Limited; the institutional placement programme by InterGlobe Aviation Limited (Indigo); and qualified institutional placements by Bajaj Finance, among others.

He has been recognised as a leading lawyer for capital markets by Chambers and Partners; Who’s Who Legal; IFLR 1000; and the Legal 500. He is also a member of the academic council of the Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai.

Aparajit Bhattacharya

	Aparajit Bhattacharya DSK Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds

Marylou Bilawala

	Marylou Bilawala Wadia Ghandy & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Aviation; intellectual property; mergers & acquisitions; succession planning (family office)

Vinayak Burman

	Vinayak Burman Vertices Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Inbound investment; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Mukesh Butani

	Mukesh Butani BMR Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate governance; litigation; restructuring & insolvency; taxation

Rashmikant C

	Rashmikant C Rashmikant and Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; litigation; white-collar crime; negotiation and finalisation of high-stakes contracts

Mathew Chacko

	Mathew Chacko Spice Route Legal Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; private equity; venture capital & funds; technology, media and telecommunications

Reeba Chacko

	Reeba Chacko Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Karan Chandhiok

	Karan Chandhiok Chandhiok & Mahajan; Advocates and Solicitors New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; competition & antitrust; litigation; white-collar crime

Bobby Chandhoke

	Bobby Chandhoke DSK Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & alternative; competition & antitrust; dispute resolution; litigation

Varoon Chandra

	Varoon Chandra AZB & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets

Vivek Chandy

	Vivek Chandy JSA Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; real estate

Manjula Chawla

Manjula Chawla
Phoenix Legal
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4983 0000
Email: manjula.chawla@phoenixlegal.in
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; restructuring & insolvency

Manjula Chawla is one of the founding partners of Phoenix Legal, a full service law firm with offices in Delhi and Mumbai. She concentrates on the areas of strategic corporate investments, mergers & acquisitions, foreign direct investments, private equity, corporate finance and restructuring, divestitures and general corporate and commercial matters.

Manjula was one of the first handful of lawyers who chose to become a corporate lawyer and advise on cross-border transactions soon after the liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991. Since the early years of liberalisation, she has assisted many multinational corporations (including Fortune 500 companies) in establishing their presence in India in a variety of sectors including automobiles, aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, energy, financial services, F&B, healthcare and pharma, information technology and outsourcing, oil and gas, ports, transportation and telecommunications. She has counselled and represented various clients in numerous mergers and acquisitions, buy- outs and other corporate transactions in these sectors.

She advises her clients on a wide range of laws involving anti-corruption, competition law, corporate governance, general corporate advice, exchange control laws, data privacy and protection of personal information, labour and employment and real estate. She has also been involved in several complex litigation and arbitration matters arising out of commercial and cross-border transactions. She is actively involved in rendering pro bono legal advice to international and foreign non-profit organisations in relation to their activities in India furthering social causes.

Manjula’s commitment to her clients and consistent delivery of high-quality services has been recognised by her clients and peers. She was awarded the National Law Day Award – 2000 by the Union Law Minister for “excellence in corporate law” and for her “unique contribution in bringing foreign exchange into India”. She featured in the recently published 100 Legal Luminaries of India, which focuses on some of the most illustrious legal minds in the country. Among various accolades, she has been recognised as the Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year at the Women in Business Law Awards 2021 Asia by Euromoney Legal Media Group, ALB India Super 50 Lawyers 2021 by Asian Legal Business and one of the Most Promising Women Leaders 2021 by the Economic Times.

Akshay Chudasama

Akshay Chudasama
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Mumbai

Tel: +91 98 2103 8898
Email: akshay.chudasama@amsshardul.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; real estate

Akshay Chudasama, is the co-managing partner of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and along with Ms Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, has successfully led the firm to an exponential growth from 60 partners in 2015 to 144 partners as of December 2021.

Akshay’s practice is primarily M&A and concentrates on cross-border and multijurisdictional, having advised on several marquee transactions. Consistently recognized as a cross-border M&A specialist by Asia-Pacific Legal 500, Akshay is particularly noted for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, real estate, IT, telecommunications and media laws for various high-profile transactions in these areas. He also advises on investment and exits across a wide range of industries. His varied experience includes advising large listed and private companies on public and private M&A, joint ventures, demergers and restructurings as well as both primary and secondary capital raisings.

Akshay is highly regarded for his practical advice to multinational companies, PE funds, investment banks and growth stage enterprises on extremely complex deals. Chambers and Partners notes Akshay as a “fantastic deal maker, he understands the real estate funds sector and anticipates the issues a foreign investor will face”. Chambers and Partners 2020 notes that he is highly sought after by both international and domestic clients. He advises on investment, exits across a wide range of industries, and is especially praised for his expertise in the real estate and technology sectors and that he impresses clients with the “depth of his knowledge and ability to close transactions swiftly.”

Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Akshay as a ‘Band 1’ lawyer in Corporate/M&A. IFLR 1000 has been consistently recognising Akshay since 2017 and in 2022 views Akshay as a ‘Highly Regarded’ lawyer for Investment funds, Private Equity, M&A, Real Estate Acquisitions. RSG Report 2019 has also highlighted Akshay as ‘business savvy’, an “exceptional communicator” and recommended for having “excellent” M&A experience. Who’s Who Legal sees Akshay as a Global Leader for Corporate Governance and M & A. Akshay was a partner at AZB & Partners for over three years and thereafter at JSA for almost 10 years.

Gaurav Dani

Gaurav Dani
IndusLaw
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1043 0449
Email: gaurav.dani@induslaw.com
Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions; private client; private equity, venture capital & funds; real estate

Gaurav Dani is a founding partner of IndusLaw. He is a US (New York) and India-qualified lawyer based in the firm’s New Delhi office. He specialises in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions including stressed assets, joint ventures and corporate partnering transactions, private equity and venture capital financings and strategic investments.

He represents public and private companies, private equity funds and venture capital investors in the automotive, e-commerce, food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, real estate, technology and tour and travel sectors. He has led some of the largest private equity investments involving trend-setting investment structures in the e-commerce and digital media industry in India. Before founding IndusLaw, Gaurav worked with the India team at White & Case as well as prominent Indian law firms.

He has been consecutively endorsed as a leading lawyer for financial and corporate law by IFLR1000 since 2018 and as one of the most trusted lawyers in India in the Indian Corporate Counsel Association’s publication The Vanguards. Legal 500 Asia-Pacific has, over the past several years, listed Gaurav as a recommended lawyer for banking and finance, corporate and M&A and capital markets transactions.

Clients rate Gaurav for his rainbow of experience, persistence and maturity in dealing with complex situations and coming out with innovative solutions. He is a regular speaker at seminars in India and overseas. Gaurav is also an avid golfer.

Avimukt Dar

Avimukt Dar
IndusLaw
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1857 7632
Email: avimukt.dar@induslaw.com
Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery; competition law; corporate & commercial; financial services

Avimukt Dar is a founding and senior partner of IndusLaw and advises and represents clients across a range of business laws and regulations. He helps domestic and international clients navigate India’s digital regulations, ranging from data protection, e-commerce to payments and FDI across sectors.

He also represents clients in commercial and corporate controversies including competition law, data protection and business regulatory matters, and has extensive experience in negotiating entry and exit strategies for investors and joint-venture partners.

Avimukt is a Spotlight Lawyer in the Chambers and Partners FinTech Rankings 2021 and 2020. He has been named in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of Top 100 lawyers in India in 2021 and 2020.

Avimukt has been recognised as Distinguished Practitioner by Asialaw Profiles since 2020 for private equity. He has also been consistently recognised as “one of the leading lawyers of India” for corporate/M&A, investment funds and dispute resolution by Asialaw Profiles.

The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific lists Avimukt as a recommended lawyer for investment funds and he has been recommended every year by the same publication over the past decade for corporate and M&A transactions.

Avimukt was endorsed as one of the most trusted lawyers in India in the Indian Corporate Counsel Association’s latest publication The Vanguards.

He is a regular speaker at the UIA-ABA International Seminars on cross-border M&A since 2007. He is a guest faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow) where he teaches legal aspects of mergers and acquisitions. He has authored articles and conducted several seminars on the recent corporate reforms introduced by the Companies Act, 2013.

Bomi Daruwala

	Bomi Daruwala Vaish Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; Inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Anjan Dasgupta

	Anjan Dasgupta DSK Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; infrastructure; power & energy; project finance

Ameet Datta

Ameet Datta
Saikrishna & Associates
Noida

Tel: +91 12 0463 3900
Email: ameet@saikrishnaassociates.com
Key practice areas: Intellectual property; technology, media and telecommunications

Ameet Datta is a senior partner with the tier-1 IP and TMT law firm Saikrishna & Associates. Ameet is an IP litigator specialising in copyright, trademark and design litigation, as well as a trade and regulatory compliance counsel.

With over 20 years as a lawyer, Ameet’s specialisations include wide-ranging expertise across the telecoms, technology, media and entertainment sectors on a variety of issues relating to IP, technology regulations and e-waste, plastics compliance regulation.

Ameet’s specialisations also include wide-ranging expertise across the technology, media and entertainment sectors in relation to content creation, aggregation and acquisitions, and distribution aspects of the M&E sector.

Over his career, Ameet has advised leading Indian and international industry clients including consumer durables and technology companies, media houses, broadcast sector clients, copyright societies, film production, music labels and content exploitation platforms. Ameet also specialises in privacy issues, as well as personal data protection laws, data security, trade secrecy/data theft (civil and criminal) claims and advisory support, and advises clients in relation to online intermediary liability, format rights, defamation issues and right of publicity. Ameet also advises clients on general trade compliance issues arising in relation to consumer law, advertising, legal metrology and e-waste related environmental compliance issues.

Over the past 10 years, Ameet has engaged in policy reform around copyright and, in the past five years, in relation to personal data protection issues. He has deposed as an expert witness before parliamentary standing committees. He drives the policy reform, advocacy and development group at the firm, advising various technology and creative sector industry groups in the consumer durable, IT, broadcast, film, software and print publishing space.

Karam Daulet-Singh

	Karam Daulet-Singh Touchstone Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Inbound investment; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Rukshad Davar

	Rukshad Davar Majmudar & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; inbound investment; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions

Anand Desai

	Anand Desai DSK Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Litigation; mergers & acquisitions; technology, media and telecommunications; white-collar crime

Nishith Desai

	Nishith Desai Nishith Desai Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate and commercial; intellectual property; international tax; private equity, venture capital & funds

Vishwang Desai

	Vishwang Desai Desai & Diwanji Mumbai
Key practice areas: Infrastructure; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds; project finance

Mohan Dewan

	Mohan Dewan RK Dewan & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Intellectual property

Vinod Dhall

	Vinod Dhall Touchstone Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; corporate governance

Alok Dhir

Alok Dhir
Dhir & Dhir Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4241 0000
Email: contact@dhirassociates.com
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; litigation; restructuring & insolvency; securitisation & structured finance

Alok Dhir is the founder and managing partner of Dhir & Dhir Associates, a leading full-service law firm in India. He is a chartered accountant and lawyer, and has extensive experience of four decades in corporate-commercial and civil law with a special focus on corporate and financial restructuring, insolvency, M&A and takeovers, banking, real estate, airport and aviation, PE transactions, turning around of financially stressed entities and issues related to asset reconstruction and securitisation.

He is a leading counsel and represents a myriad client base before various courts, tribunals and the Supreme Court of India. He is actively involved with regulators and the government in devising mechanisms for cross-border legislation, group insolvency, personal insolvency, etc.

He is widely covered in mainstream media on ongoing cases and the development of insolvency laws. He is recognised as a leading lawyer for restructuring and insolvency by Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, Asialaw Profiles, IFLR1000, Benchmark Litigation, India Business Law Journal, etc.

Apurva Diwanji

	Apurva Diwanji Desai & Diwanji Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; litigation

CR Dua

CR Dua
Dua Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 2371 4408
Email: ranji@duaassociates.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; corporate governance; mergers & acquisitions; power & energy

Having founded Dua Associates over 35 years ago, as chairman of the firm, CR Dua’s responsibilities currently include providing strategic advice and direction to the nearly 300 legal professionals for its further growth and development, including providing a long-term vision.

CR’s experience encompasses corporate and commercial law, public policy and administration, governance and ethics, foreign investments and mergers and acquisitions. He sits on the boards of Indian companies and is currently chairman of the board of Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care and an independent director on the same board. He is one of the senior vice presidents of the Society of Indian Law Firms.

He has been the recipient of several awards as a leading lawyer in M&A and corporate restructuring. In the past two years, he has been twice conferred with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution and Excellence in the field of Law.

Feroz Dubash

	Feroz Dubash Talwar Thakore & Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; power & energy

Ameeta Verma Duggal

Ameeta Verma Duggal
DGS Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1129 8043
Email: ameeta@dgsassociates.in
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; international trade & bilateral investment treaties; mergers & acquisitions; technology, media and telecommunications

Ameeta Verma Duggal is the co-founder of DGS Associates, a law firm established in 2004. Earlier, she worked with some of the leading law firms in India based out of New Delhi. She was awarded the British Chevening Scholarship to study at the College of Law, York, and worked briefly in the London office of Clifford Chance.

Founded in 2004, DGS Associates is a multidisciplinary boutique law firm situated in New Delhi. The key areas of practice for the firm are arbitrations; aviation; corporate and commercial; corporate governance and compliance; investments; international trade and bilateral investment treaties; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; regulatory practice; and technology, media and telecommunications.

Ameeta spearheads the M&A, international trade and regulatory practices. Her expertise lies in trade remedies and export controls including the licensing, drafting and implementation of internal compliance programmes and training.

She has authored a book titled Export Controls in India published by Thomson Reuters.

Anuradha Dutt

	Anuradha Dutt DMD Advocates New Delhi
Key practice areas: International arbitration; litigation (commercial & tax)

Krishnava Dutt

Krishnava Dutt
Argus Partners
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 6736 2222
Email: krishnava.dutt@argus-p.com
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate governance; mergers & acquisitions; restructuring & insolvency

Krishnava is founder and managing partner of Argus Partners and sits on the executive committee, which advises the firm on various strategic initiatives. He has led the firm from its inception in 2009, now with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Krishnava advises some of the largest corporate houses and their boards on various matters including corporate governance and board responsibility.

He has been the lead adviser in some of the largest and most complex M&A and financing transactions. He is regularly sought out by CEOs, CFOs, GCs and legal heads of large multinational corporations, government agencies and funds for his unique mix of in-depth knowledge of law and regulatory matters, coupled with a very keen understanding of finance, accounts and business issues. Krishnava has been consistently recognised for building Argus Partners into a leading national level firm with offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

Aliff Fazelbhoy

	Aliff Fazelbhoy ALMT Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Commercial disputes labour & employment; mergers & acquisitions; taxation

Muffazal Federal

	Muffazal Federal Federal & Company Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; litigation; real estate; succession planning (family office)

Samir Gandhi

	Samir Gandhi AZB & Partners New Delhi NCR
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust

Gowree Gokhale

	Gowree Gokhale Nishith Desai Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; intellectual property; technology, media and telecommunications

Sridhar Gorthi

	Sridhar Gorthi Trilegal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds; restructuring & insolvency

Prashant Gupta

Prashant Gupta
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4985 9928
Email: Prashant.gupta@amsshardul.com
Key practice areas: Capital markets

Prashant Gupta is a partner in the firm’s corporate department, focusing primarily on capital markets transactions. He represents both issuers and underwriters in various equity and debt capital raising transactions, including initial public offerings, rights issues and QIP offerings, buy-backs, capital restructurings and pre-IPO private placements. He has advised on capital markets transactions that have raised over US$50 billion globally, which include both the largest IPO and bond offerings out of India, as well as the largest secondary trade on the stock exchanges in India.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Prashant as ‘Band 1’ in Capital Markets: Equity. IFLR 1000, 2022 see him as a ‘Market Leader’ for Capital Markets. Chambers 2020, quotes a source who said, “Prashant is a no-nonsense lawyer who cuts straight to the point, providing crisp, balanced, commercial and technically correct advice.” He has been recognized by The Economic Times in the prestigious “ET 40 under forty” list of India’s “hottest business leaders” in 2019. He has also been recognized by IFLR1000 in the list of “Asia’s Best Lawyers” in 2021 and, and has been recognised in IBLJ’s A-List of India’s Top 100 Lawyers since 2018.

He has also been recognized among the Who’s Who Legal “Thought Leaders: Global Elite 2022”.

Prashant has advised on equity and bond offerings by issuers across various industries, including Apollo Tyres, Azure Power, AU Small Finance Bank, Bharti Airtel Limited, Coal India, DLF Limited, Dr. Lals Pathlabs, Embassy Office Parks REIT, Eris Lifesciences, Eros International, Federal Bank, Freshworks, HPCL-Mittal Energy, IDFC, IndiaMart, InterGlobe Aviation, Jubilant Foodworks, Lemon Tree Hotels, MakeMyTrip, One97 Communications (Paytm), ONGC, PB Fintech (Policybazaar), PVR Limited, Power Grid Corporation, PNB Housing Finance, SBI Cards and Payments Services, Network18/TV18, TCNS Clothing, Vedanta, Varroc Engineering, Videocon d2h, and Yes Bank.

Rajesh Gupta

Rajesh Gupta
SNG & Partners
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 4038 5151
Email: rng@sngpartners.in
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; private client; real estate

Rajesh Narain Gupta is a practising lawyer for over three decades. He is the managing partner of SNG & Partners, Advocates & Solicitors, a full-service law firm with offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Singapore. His areas of specialisation include banking and finance, commercial laws, real estate and private client practice. He is an adviser to a number of foreign and Indian banks, financial institutions, corporate and industrial houses and real estate players.

Rajesh has authored and edited several books on banking laws and regularly contributes to leading papers and journals. He sits on the boards of listed and unlisted companies as an independent director; and is also a member of advisory boards of some corporate houses, alternate investment funds and NGOs. He regularly advises well-known families and UHNIs on issues related to estate and succession planning.

Jayesh H

Jayesh H
Juris Corp
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 6720 5504
Email: jayesh.h@jclex.com
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; restructuring & insolvency; securitisation & structured finance

Jayesh H is a chartered financial analyst, advocate and solicitor. Jayesh is sought after for his extensive transactional and advisory experience in enforcements, fintech, leveraged buyouts and restructurings. He is an emerging thought leader in the field of arbitration.

He has been a regular adviser to the Indian Ministry of Finance including on the legal framework for financial resolution and allied areas. Jayesh is the first to be inducted from India to PRIME Finance, a panel of over 200 elite financial, legal and dispute resolution experts globally.

According to clients, Jayesh is known to act in the best interests of clients and work on bringing down avoidable legal costs through innovation and forward thinking.

Juris Corp is driven with the view that in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, clients want simplification and hand-holding.

Ameet Hariani

	Ameet Hariani Hariani & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; real estate; banking & finance; dispute resolution

Nusrat Hassan

	Nusrat Hassan Link Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Agriculture; arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Poornima Hatti

	Poornima Hatti Samvad Partners Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; bankruptcy & insolvency; labour & employment; litigation

Akil Hirani

	Akil Hirani Majmudar & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking and finance; corporate and commercial; mergers & acquisitions; projects and energy

Bikash Jhawar

	Bikash Jhawar Saraf & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds; restructuring & insolvency

Rabindra Jhunjhunwala

	Rabindra Jhunjhunwala Khaitan & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; inbound investment; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions

Abhijit Joshi

	Abhijit Joshi Veritas Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions; private client; private equity; venture capital & funds; succession planning (family office)

Ashwin Julka

	Ashwin Julka Remfry & Sagar Gurugram
Key practice areas: Data protection; intellectual property; licensing & franchising; technology, media and telecommunications

Sumeet Kachwaha

Sumeet Kachwaha
Kachwaha and Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4166 1333
Email: skachwaha@kaplegal.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; arbitration & alternative dispute resolution; infrastructure; litigation

Sumeet Kachwaha is the founding partner of Kachwaha & Partners, a leading dispute resolution and arbitration practice. He has handled many landmark and high-stake matters (including a large number of cross-border disputes).

He has served as amicus curiae to the High Court of Delhi in two matters, including in the bilateral treaty dispute Vodafone v Union of India. He has also stood in as an expert witness on Indian law in the courts of England and Singapore. He has received several appointments from the High Court of Delhi to sit as a sole arbitrator.

Sumeet has been ranked in Band 1 for arbitration by Chambers and Partners since 2009. He also figures as a leading individual in dispute resolution in the Legal 500 Asia-Pacific. He features in Who’s Who Legal in five sections: arbitration, asset recovery, construction, government contracts and procurement.

He currently serves as vice president of the Asia-Pacific Regional Arbitration Group and on the advisory board of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (formerly the KLRCA). In the past, he has served as chair of the dispute resolution and arbitration section of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association.

Avaantika Kakkar

	Avaantika Kakkar Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; compliance; mergers & acquisitions; strategic advisory

Vaibhav Kakkar

	Vaibhav Kakkar Saraf and Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; regulatory

Amit Kapur

	Amit Kapur JSA New Delhi
Key practice areas: Environment; infrastructure; litigation; power & energy

Raian Karanjawala

Raian Karanjawala
Karanjawala & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4358 8888
Email: raian@raian.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; litigation; private client; white-collar crime

Known as the “big picture guy” to his clients and one of India’s “50 most influential people”, according to the India Today magazine of 2004, Raian Karanjawala is the co-founder of 37-year-old Karanjawala & Co. It is one of India’s leading law firms, based in New Delhi, with close to 100 lawyers, offering top-notch legal advice and services to governments, corporations and who’s who in the world of politics, business and films.

Raian is well known for his keen legal strategy, solution-oriented approach and his farsighted and practical advice to clients.

He is an alumnus of St Columba’s School, the Shri Ram College of Commerce (of which he was both the captain of the college debating team and College Union president) and the Government Law College, Mumbai.

Suneeth Katarki

Suneeth Katarki
IndusLaw
Bengaluru

Tel: +91 98 4507 5312
Email: suneeth.katarki@induslaw.com
Key practice areas: General corporate advisory; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds; technology, media and telecommunications

Suneeth Katarki is a founding and senior partner of IndusLaw. His areas of expertise include domestic and cross-border M&A, private equity and venture capital investments, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. He does a significant amount of work in the general technology regulatory and advisory space including data privacy, consumer technology and fintech as well as all areas overlapping technology in media and telecoms.

He has received many accolades over the years including being consistently listed as a Band 1 lawyer for corporate/M&A and a highly-rated lawyer for private equity by Chambers and Partners Asia Guide. The Chambers and Partners Global Guide has also consistently recognised him for corporate/M&A.

Legal 500 has also recognised him as one of the leading lawyers in private equity and investment funds, technology, media and telecommunications, data protection and intellectual property. Suneeth has also been named in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of top 100 lawyers in India for the past few years and one of the top 50 legal icons in India.

Asialaw Profiles 2022, 2021 and 2020 recognised him as Distinguished Practitioner for corporate and M&A after listing him as “one of the leading lawyers of India” for many years. Suneeth has been consecutively endorsed as a leading lawyer for financial and corporate law by IFLR1000 since 2018 and as one of the most trusted lawyers in India in the Indian Corporate Counsel Association’s publication The Vanguards.

Suneeth also writes and speaks extensively in the space he practises in and has several publications to his credit. He also serves on the boards of various organisations and is currently the vice chair of the India chapter of United Way the world’s largest charity organisation.

Srinivas Katta

Srinivas Katta
IndusLaw
Bengaluru

Tel: +91 98 4518 6912
Email: srinivas.katta@induslaw.com
Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions; private client; private equity, venture capital & funds; technology, media and telecommunications

Srinivas Katta is a founding and senior partner of IndusLaw. He represents entrepreneurs, businesses and investment funds on corporate governance issues, fundraising, partnerships, joint ventures, collaborations, acquisitions, investments and exits.

He has been consistently recognised for corporate/M&A, private equity and TMT by Chambers and Partners in its Asia Guide. Chambers and Partners Global Guide has also consistently recognised him for corporate/M&A.

Srinivas has also been named in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of top 100 lawyers in India in the 2021 and 2020 edition. This endorsement is based on extensive research by IBLJ, on the nominations received by thousands of in-house counsel and India-focused lawyers at international law firms.

He was endorsed as one of the most trusted lawyers in India in ICCA’s publication The Vanguards. Srinivas has been recognised in the Mint (one of India’s leading business newspapers) for being one of the 40 who matter in the startup ecosystem for his role in helping to build this sector in India.

Srinivas is a member of the board of several companies, and is also a trustee and adviser to charitable foundations and projects. He speaks regularly at conferences.

Haigreve Khaitan

	Haigreve Khaitan Khaitan & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds; project finance

Gautam Khurana

Gautam Khurana
India Law Offices
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 2462 2216
Email: g.khurana@indialawoffices.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Gautam Khurana is an advocate licensed to practice in India for more than 25 years and registered with the Bar Council of India. He is the founder and managing partner of India Law Offices since 2003. He has worked extensively in cross-border work with clients and advisers from over 60 countries worldwide. He has been active in the space of corporate law, cross-border trade and dispute resolution, and helping companies grow internationally over the past 15 years. He brings a wealth of information and experience of working in major markets such as India, over 20 countries in the EU, USA, China, Iran and other central Asian countries, ASEAN & MENA regions.

He has worked extensively with companies wishing to enter the Indian market and Indian companies that wish to enter international markets. The services cover the entire life cycle of a business starting from incorporation of legal structures, help with employment and immigration structures, assistance with finance, fund raising, finding business or joint-venture partners and continues to helping make acquisitions or divestments for businesses within India and around the world. He has a deep understanding of cross-border dispute resolution including international arbitrations and litigation.

Education:

Schooling – Frank Anthony Public School, New Delhi
B.Com ( Hons) – Sriram College of Commerce ( SRCC), Delhi, India
B. Law – Campus Law Centre, North Campus, Delhi, India

Practice Areas: Corporate & commercial Law; Overseas and domestic acquisitions & takeovers (M&A), Project & structured finance, Cross-border Litigation & arbitration, Cross-border & domestic taxation advisory.

Positions:

Managing Partner – India Law Offices
Director – Warwick Legal Network, UK
India Partner – OnetoOne Corporate Finance
Member Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Delhi Council 2021-2022
Independent Director – Many EU and US companies as their representative in India

Network: Gautam is deeply involved in corporate finance matters and has built up a unique network of law firms, corporate finance and investment banking services in over 100 countries worldwide. Within India, he has set up offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.

Recognitions: Top 100 Lawyers in India in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Rohit Kochhar

	Rohit Kochhar Kochhar & Co New Delhi
Key practice areas: Labour & employment; litigation; mergers & acquisitions; white-collar crime

Naina Krishna Murthy

	Naina Krishna Murthy Krishnamurthy & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds

Manoj Kumar

Manoj Kumar
Hammurabi & Solomon Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1040 9090
Email: manoj.kumar@hammurabisolomon.com
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; public policy & regulation; restructuring & insolvency

A top-tier name in the insolvency and business restructuring, corporate law and governance, energy and resources, policy and regulation and technology/data privacy space, Manoj Kumar is acknowledged for his outstanding leadership, strategy and ability to find alternate solutions to the most critical and complex challenges across geographies.

Manoj is founder of Hammurabi & Solomon Partners and a visiting fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, vice chair of the Natural Resources Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, vice president of the Society of Construction Law UK – India, expert on the Inclusive Policy Lab of UNESCO, a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Management, part of the India task force of the International Chamber of Commerce and the legal services committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry, an editorial board member of Thinkers 50 India and independent director on corporate boards.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi Samman awarded at the House of Lords, London. He has also conferred with honorary professor of the Academic Union of Oxford, UK. He was named in the 100 Legal Luminaries of India, published by LexisNexis in 2016 and was named in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of top 100 lawyers of India for 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021. Ranked as a Super Lawyer and one of the best managing partners in India, Manoj has received numerous recognitions from various highly esteemed publications and organisations such as Asian Legal Business, India Business Law Journal, Asialaw Leading Lawyers, Global Law Experts, Forbes India, BusinessWorld, India Corporate Counsel Association and many more.

An alum of the prestigious Harvard Business School and National Law School of India, Manoj is a distinguished author, teacher, arbitration expert, mediation expert, strategist, columnist, thought leader, and is called on by government bodies and top-of-the-line Indian and international institutions.

Mrinal Kumar

Mrinal Kumar
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1022 5012
Email: mrinal.kumar@amsshardul.com
Key practice areas: Real estate; private equity, venture capital & funds; mergers & acquisitions; corporate & commercial

Mrinal Kumar is an equity partner with the Firm and specialises in areas of General Corporate, Real Estate, Retail and E-commerce. Mrinal has worked extensively on the real estate practice area focussing on merger & acquisitions, structuring transactions, advising on foreign direct investment laws, land acquisition, construction contracts, local land laws of various States in India, for large domestic and international clients. He has also drafted and negotiated transactions documents for domestic and international clients.

Mrinal has been actively involved in the corporate commercial advisory relating to Corporate and Real Estate transactions including structuring, drafting and negotiating transactions for domestic and international clients.

Mrinal has led several high value transactions. Some of the prominent matters that Mrinal has advised include Reall UK on the structuring and debt funding of an affordable housing project in India; Reliance Industries Limited on the real estate related aspects of the acquisition of the retail business of the Future Group through its group company; Kubota Corporation, Japan on the real estate related aspects of the transaction which involved acquisition of control of Escorts Limited by Kubota; American Express India Private Limited on acquisition of land and setting up of a campus in NCR; Bharti Realty Limited on development and management of a residential project in Delhi NCR; OYO Group on acquisition of 5 star hotels;

Mrinal has been advising Government of India, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs on various legislations.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Mrinal as ‘Band 1’ lawyer for Real Estate. He has been adjudged as one of the leading real estate lawyer in the India Region by Asialaw Leading Lawyers for 12 consecutive years, from 2010 to 2021. Mrinal has also been adjudged as a ‘leading lawyer’ in construction and real estate by The Legal 500 in 2018-19. Mrinal has been recognised as “IBLJ’s A-List of India’s Top 100 Lawyers” in 2019.

Mrinal has been consistently ranked in ‘Band 1’ for his expertise in Real Estate by Chambers and Partners from 2016 to 2022.

Manan Lahoty

Manan Lahoty
IndusLaw
Mumbai

Tel: +91 7400016811
Email: manan.lahoty@induslaw.com
Key practice areas: Capital markets

Manan Lahoty specialises in capital markets, with over 20 years of experience. Over the years, he has advised on some of the largest and most prestigious Indian transactions in the domestic and international capital markets. In addition, Manan’s practice includes advising on pre-offering corporate restructuring, corporate governance and other securities law matters.

He is qualified to practise in both England and Wales, and India. Prior to joining IndusLaw, he has worked with Shearman & Sterling in London, Amarchand & Mangaldas and L&L Partners.

Manan is a leading capital markets lawyer in India and consistently included in the top tier by independent legal directories and publications. He is currently listed in the A-List of IBLJ, IFLR Asia’s Best Lawyers, Band 1 lawyer by Chambers and Partners, Global Elite of Who’s Who Legal and highly ranked by IFLR1000, Asialaw Leading Lawyers, and Legal 500. He has also been named one of India’s Top 100 Great People Managers by the Great Manager Institute in the Forbes India magazine.

V Lakshmikumaran

	V Lakshmikumaran Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; intellectual property; litigation; taxation

Niloufer Lam

	Niloufer Lam ZBA Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; banking and finance; private equity, venture capital & funds; mergers & acquisitions

Rajiv Luthra

	Rajiv Luthra L&L Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; corporate governance; mergers & acquisitions

Vineetha M G

	Vineetha M G Samvad Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; restructuring & insolvency

Sonali Mahapatra

	Sonali Mahapatra Talwar Thakore & Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; project finance; restructuring & insolvency; securitisation & structured finance

Ankit Majmudar

	Ankit Majmudar Quillon Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Private equity, venture capital & funds; mergers & acquisitions; international trade & bilateral investment treaties

Shwetasree Majumder

	Shwetasree Majumder Fidus Law Chambers Noida
Key practice areas: E-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; intellectual property; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications

Abhishek Malhotra

Abhishek Malhotra
TMT Law Practice
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1156 4568
Email: amalhotra@tmtlaw.co.in
Key practice areas: Data protection; intellectual property; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications

Abhishek Malhotra, founding partner of TMT Law Practice (with offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Bhubaneswar), has two decades of experience in the primary areas of expertise, including intellectual property, commercial dispute resolution, technology, media and telecommunications. He has advised clients in minimising legal risks and devising strategies for safeguarding against civil and criminal liability.

Abhishek’s expertise in the media sector has resulted in a close alliance with production houses, broadcasters and artists across the industry, and he is recognised as the “go to” professional for issues concerning copyright, specifically for broadcasting, music and sports. He has represented clients in precedent-setting disputes in copyright law.

He has contributed to policy with inputs to governments and think tanks on copyright issues, sports and fantasy gaming, digital health; and as a principal adviser to the Broadband India Forum on issues relating, inter alia, to satellite communication and data protection. He is a member of the Bar Council of Delhi and the State Bar of California, and holds memberships of national and international professional associations.

Shuva Mandal

Shuva Mandal
Fox Mandal & Associates
Mumbai

Tel: +91 98 8097 4882
Email: shuva.mandal@foxmandal.in
Key practice areas: Inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; succession planning (family office)

Shuva Mandal is the managing partner of Fox Mandal & Associates, a leading full-service law firm carrying on a trusted legacy of 125 years and the chairman of the Fox Mandal Global (FMG) Group, a multifaceted professional service firm, headquartered in Singapore with offices in India and Taiwan. He has been instrumental in widening the field of professional services offered by both the entities by expanding their geographical reach and client base, catalysing acquisitions and instituting growth initiatives.

As the managing partner of Fox Mandal & Associates, he strives to maintain positive client relationships and drive accession, while developing and implementing the organisation’s goals, procedures, and policies. Under his guidance the firm has received multiple awards and recognition by several international fora and publications. Additionally, he has steered FMG’s leadership towards delivering quality service in the areas of legal and tax, accounts and assurances, business advisory, new-age technology, and family business.

He graduated with a degree in law from the University of Calcutta and further honed his skills through an M&A Program from the Wharton School, and a diploma on Negotiation Skills from MIT. At present, he is affiliated with the International Bar Association, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, the Family Business Network, the International Fiscal Association and American Bar Association. He is a regular speaker at the Horasis Asia Meetings and has been a panellist at multiple business conclaves.

Under his guidance, FMG and Fox Mandal & Associates have forged into new markets and expanded operations across all major commercially relevant cities. His expertise and practice include advising clients on inbound investment into India including entry strategy, corporate governance, M&A and joint ventures. Additionally, he also advises clients on the disposal of companies, private equity and securities transactions, and public offerings of debt and equity.

Shuva also serves in the capacity of director on the boards of several large corporates, besides being entrusted with the responsibility of trusteeship of select organisations. He is enthusiastic about legal education and has supported it through the Fox Mandal Foundation Finishing School. He is also the founder of Orygyn, a startup incubation centre in Bangalore, and supports and mentors various accelerator programmes such as the Startup Leadership Program.

Stephen Mathias

	Stephen Mathias Kochhar & Co Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; mergers & acquisitions; technology, media and telecommunications

Rahul Matthan

	Rahul Matthan Trilegal Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; technology, media and telecommunications

Preeti Mehta

	Preeti Mehta Kanga & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Zulfiquar Memon

Zulfiquar Memon
MZM Legal
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 2264 3333
Email: zulfim@mzmlegal.com
Key practice areas: Anti-corruption & anti-bribery; arbitration & ADR; litigation; white-collar crime

Zulfiquar Memon is the founder and managing partner of award-winning law firm MZM Legal operating out of Mumbai and New Delhi. He heads the Global Disputes & White-Collar Crime Practice, which includes cross-border disputes, involving active co-ordination of legal teams in multiple jurisdictions for various high-profile clients. He is well regarded as a specialist negotiator, regularly resolving sensitive disputes and expeditiously arriving at beneficial settlements on behalf of large corporations, high net-worth families, and individuals. He closely monitors and spearheads the firm’s growth and works closely with other partners on litigation strategy, dispute resolution, white-collar criminal defence, internal corporate investigations, and compliance.

Over the years he has assisted international lawyers and law firms in cross-border matters involving England, the US, UAE and South Africa for matters related to international extradition, financial disputes, company matters, commercial arbitration and money laundering.

In November 2020, Zulfiquar was inducted as an executive committee member of ICC India and he has also been nominated to become a member in the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR – ICC Paris. He has been recognised by Chambers and Partners, Who’s Who Legal, Legal 500, and India Business Law Journal for his achievements over the years. In September 2020, he was featured in the list of India Super 50 Lawyers by Asian Legal Business. He has been recognised by Forbes India as one of the Top Managing Partners in their Legal Powerlist 2020. Zulfiquar is a member of prestigious business networking organisations like the Forbes Business Council, the Young President’s Organisation and the Entrepreneur’s Organisation.

He is a director in MZM Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the firm. The main objective of this foundation is to sponsor bright deserving students for higher education, provide midday meals to poor and needy school children, manage the basic requirements of orphanages, work towards the causes of women’s empowerment in rural India and provide medical aid to the needy.

Raghubir Menon

Raghubir Menon
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
Mumbai

Tel: +91 99 1099 8321
Email: raghubir.menon@AMSShardul.com
Key practice areas: Joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Raghubir is a corporate, M&A and PE partner at the firm, the regional head of M&A and PE (Mumbai region) and advises numerous corporates, sovereign wealth funds and private equity funds.

Raghubir actively represents large corporate clients such as Facebook, Walmart, Flipkart, One97 Communications, Sembcorp and blue chip PE and SWF clients such as KKR, Blackstone, Softbank Vision Fund, CPPIB, General Atlantic, GIC, ADIA and Temasek. He has recently advised IndiaIdeas.com Limited on its sale of the entire share capital of the company to PayU Payments Private Limited through secondary sale of US$ 4.6 billion. He has worked on some of the largest recent M&A and PE transactions in India including advising Facebook, TPG, PIF, L-Catterton, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and ADIA’s investment of over US$20 billion by Reliance Jio – India’s biggest conglomerate. He also advised the investors on Reliance Retail’s fund raise of over US$6 billion and Blackstone’s acquisition of Mphasis Limited for US$ 2.8 billion in 2021. In 2018, Raghubir represented Walmart on its acquisition of Flipkart for US$16 billion, making it the largest e-commerce acquisition globally.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Raghubir as a ‘Band 1’ lawyer for each of Private Equity and M&A and he has also been ranked as a ‘Band 1’ lawyer by each of Chambers and Partners Global and Asia-Pacific for M&A for 2021. Chambers and Partners Global 2020, quotes a source saying Raghubir is “an excellent, star partner”. He is further praised for his deep experience in complex cross-border M&A, acting recently on some of India’s most important landmark transactions.

Raghubir was ranked number one lawyer by Mergermarket in 2017 and 2018 for the entire Asia – Pacific region by deal volume and has been noted as the busiest lawyer in Asia in 2018, 19 and 20, by Mergermarket. He is also Ranked #1 in the Mergermarket Individual League Table 2020 Global Rankings, with 45 deals worth US$ 24.3 billion to his credit. He was awarded “Partner of the Year” by IDEX Legal Awards 2017 and is recommended by RSG Consulting 2019 for M&A and Private Equity, and won the M&A Lawyer of the Year: Private Equity at the Asian Lawyer Emerging Markets Awards 2015. Raghubir has been consistently ranked by Who’s Who Legal as one of the Global and India Thought Leaders for M&A and Corporate Governance.

Vaishali Mittal

Vaishali Mittal
Anand and Anand
New Delhi

Tel: +91 12 0405 9300
Email: vaishalimittal@anandandanand.com
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; intellectual property; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications

Vaishali Mittal is a partner in litigation and a strategist at Anand and Anand, with experience of almost 19 years in litigation, prosecution, drafting and advisory work to various Fortune 500 companies and other leading organisations worldwide.

Recognised as the leading light of Indian SEP jurisprudence, Vaishali has appeared in some of the most ground-breaking IP matters including India’s first anti-anti-suit injunction (InterDigital vs Xiaomi), India’s first final judgment on the standard essential patents interpretation of section 8 of the Patents Act to the benefit of patent-holders; first compulsory licensing order for radio broadcasters under the Copyright Act; India’s first judgment declaring colour-combination (green and yellow) a well-known trademark; a landmark judgment on trans-border reputation, a landmark judgment on aggravated damages being the highest ever quantum in a copyright, trademark and design infringement case, to name a few.

Thought leadership
Known for her creative instincts, Vaishali conceptualised and created:

IPONOMICS, a picturesque coffee table book co-authored by her compiling legendary IP matters
Origami – an in-house knowledge manual on best practices and procedures of IP in India for law firms and companies
IP Thinker a digital newspaper to celebrate World IP Day 2020
She also continues to author various chapters and articles in renowned publications such as GTDT, Asia IP, MIP etc.

Professional honours

Among the Top 10 Women in IP – ASSOCHAM IP Excellence Awards 2021
WIPR Diversity 2021 honouring influential women in IP
Among Top Individual Lawyers for IP and Pharma & Life Sciences in the Forbes Legal Powerlist 2020
Leading Individual 2020-21 – Legal 500 Asia-Pacific Rankings
World’s Leading Strategists – IAM 300 Global Leaders
World’s Leading Patent Professionals IAM 1000 & IAM 300 (2019-2021)
Best Trademark Lawyer 2020 – Euromoney’s Women in Business Law
IP Expert 2020 – AsiaIP
Women in Business Law 2020 – Expert Guides
Super 50 Lawyers in India 2020 – Asian Legal Business
Top 15 Dispute Lawyers in India 2019 & 2020 – Asian Legal Business
Recognised by Legal 500 as a leading name in patented technology litigation, specifically regarding standard essential patents in the telecoms sector.

Professional associations and memberships

Member of AIPPI
Member of APAA
Member of INTA
Member of the Standing Committee on ADR at AIPPI till December 2021
Member of the INTA Famous and Well-known Marks Committee (2020-21)

Zia Mody

	Zia Mody AZB & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Mergers & acquisitions; private client; private equity, venture capital & funds, white-collar crime

Suhaan Mukerji

Suhaan Mukerji
PLR Chambers
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 2437 0981
Email: suhaan.mukerji@plrchambers.com
Key practice areas: Data protection; litigation; public policy & government affairs; technology, media and telecommunications

Suhaan Mukerji is the founding partner of PLR Chambers, a law firm specialising in public policy and regulatory affairs, which has been awarded the Best Policy and Regulatory Law Firm of the Year Award by India Business Law Journal for 2020, 2019, 2017-18, 2016, 2015 and 2014, and received Legal Era Awards in 2017, 2016 and 2015. It was named Social Impact Firm of the Year in the Thomson Reuters Foundation Awards, 2018, and Suhaan was recognised as one of eight GenNext lawyers by the Economic Times.

The firm also has a strong pan-India criminal and civil disputes practice, and one of the highest filers in the Supreme Court of India. Suhaan has extensive experience in crisis management, policy formulation, drafting and monitoring of legislative agendas. He consistently advises clients on corporate affairs and public policy strategy in India, primarily involving sectors of defence, nuclear power, information and communications technology, privacy and data protection, anti-corruption and white-collar crime, public procurement, food agriculture and pharmaceuticals law, not-for-profit laws, education, internet and e-commerce, international trade and investment disputes.

He regularly represents and assists clients before the Supreme Court of India, CBI courts, various ministries and departments of the federal government, including the DIPP, Department of Economic Affairs, Road Transport Highways, Shipping, Commerce and Industries, Fertilizers and Chemicals, Environment, Defence, Renewable Energy, Power, Coal, Mining, MEITY and DoC, DRI, various state governments including Haryana, Telangana, Delhi, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, regulators including the RBI, SEBI, DGCA, SFIO, FSSAI, TRAI, and various law enforcement agencies across the country.

Suhaan regularly advises the government at federal and state level on policy and legislative reform, serving on a number of government and industry committees, and regularly appearing as an expert witness before parliamentary standing committees. Legislative drafting assignments include, Amendments to the Information Technology Act, Maritime Act, The Major Ports Bill, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways – Road Transport and Safety Bill; Department of Heavy Industries – the CEMM Bill; Inland Waterways Authority – PPP framework.

He is a passionate supporter of development initiatives and serves on the board of a number of leading global not-for-profit organisations.

Avirup Nag

	Avirup Nag L&L Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Infrastructure; mergers & acquisitions; power & energy; private equity; venture capital & funds

Ameet Naik

	Ameet Naik Naik Naik & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; white collar crime; technology, media and telecommunication; sports and entertainment

Shivpriya Nanda

Shivpriya Nanda
JSA
Gurugram

Tel: +91 12 4439 0660
Email: shippi@jsalaw.com
Key practice areas: Defence; employment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity

Shivpriya Nanda has over 30 years of experience as a corporate lawyer. She has represented several marquee clients over the years that have consistently sought her incisive and business-oriented advice. Her clients have included EMAAR, Walmart, Mercer, Warner Media, Michelin, Raytheon, KFC and Pizza Hut, Fidelity, Frankfurt Airport, Pernod Ricard and Hindustan Times.

Having spent her initial years as a litigator with a premier law chamber, Shivpriya brings an added insight to transactions. She has advised several Fortune 500 companies in complicated strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, shareholder issues, bribery and anti-corruption investigations, technology licensing and transfers, senior management engagement and exits.

Shivpriya has been consistently ranked as a top-tier lawyer by various publications, such as Legal 500, which has consecutively ranked her as a leading individual for the past several years. She has also been listed as a leading lawyer in India by India Business Law Journal and Chambers and Partners.

She has recently founded a not-for-profit research organisation https://Khoji.law/ to help fresh law graduates impacted by covid-19 and the resultant lack of employment opportunities.

Harish Narasappa

	Harish Narasappa Samvad Partners Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate governance; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

L Badri Narayanan

L Badri Narayanan
Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
New Delhi

Tel: +91 99 2045 7336
Email: badri@lakshmisri.com
Key practice areas: E-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; taxation

Badri Narayanan is a partner in the Tax Practice of the firm and leads the M&A/ Private Equity Tax Practice. He also co-heads the Corporate and M&A Practice of the firm. He advises domestic and international clients on all tax and corporate aspects of mergers, acquisitions, in-bound and outbound investments, foreign exchange controls, royalties and licensing arrangements, exits, dividend distributions and other transactional matters. He also advises on capital gains tax, digital tax and negotiations and disputes with the taxation authorities.

He is involved with several government and industry bodies commenting on tax and other legislative proposals including the transition to the new Goods and Services Tax regime in India. He has handled matters across many industries, with experience in the financial services, healthcare, technology, IT, manufacturing, digital, e-commerce and retail sectors among others. Badri has consistently been ranked as a leading lawyer in India by several publications including Asian Legal Business, International Tax Review, Asialaw and Legal 500.

Ravi Nath

	Ravi Nath RNC Legal / Rajinder Narain and Co New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; aviation; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Suhail Nathani

	Suhail Nathani Economic Laws Practice Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets; competition & antitrust; corporate & commercial; international trade & bilateral investment treaties

Sanjay Notani

	Sanjay Notani Economic Laws Practice Mumbai
Key practice areas: Customs; export control; international trade & bilateral investment treaties; technology, media and telecommunications

Essenese Obhan

Essenese Obhan
Obhan & Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4020 0200
Email: essenese@obhans.com
Key practice areas: Intellectual property; litigation

Essenese Obhan is a managing partner at Obhan & Associates. He is an IP lawyer, patent agent and an engineer, and splits his time between patent prosecution and patent litigation. He has been at the forefront of several high-stakes IP licensing and litigation matters in India and landmark patent decisions.

He has represented both the Indian seed industry in their licensing dispute concerning genetically modified seeds as well as various Indian mobile manufacturers in their SEP discussions with SEP owners. He also got the first decision that restored a patent that was allowed to lapse on account of a patent agent error (this was for an Australian client) and the first order that revoked a patent for non-compliance with section 8 requirements.

He advises many companies, including some from the Fortune 500, and India’s leading businesses on developing and maintaining their patent portfolios and IP strategy and licensing.

Gopika Pant

Gopika Pant
Indian Law Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4515 4000
Email: gopika.pant@ilps.in
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; data protection; mergers & acquisitions; restructuring & insolvency

Gopika Pant has more than 36 years of legal experience, and is dual qualified in India and New York. She completed her BA (Hons) in history from St Stephens College (1982) and LLB from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University (1985) following which she was admitted to the Bar Council of Delhi in the same year. She completed her LLM from Columbia University (1986) then was admitted to the New York State Bar Association (1987). She is also a member of the ABA and the Supreme Court Bar Association. Gopika previously worked in New York, then returned to India, was named a partner in a leading law firm before setting up Indian Law Partners in 1999.

Gopika has significant experience in Indian corporate and commercial laws, and is a specialist in cross- border commercial transactions, inbound and outbound, including restructurings, acquisitions, JVs, business alliances, foreign portfolio investments, PE investments and exits, insolvency and bankruptcy, banking and finance, infrastructure and project finance and real property transactions.

Her experience includes advising Times Bank in India’s first private banking merger with HDFC Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation in various equity and debt transactions, including in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Takshasila Hospitals and TechnoTrends Auto Parks. She has also advised clients such as Kuwait Petroleum, BlueScope Steel, Toshiba, Mitsui, Nippon Paper, Hyundai, Dow Jones, KIA Motors, Merlin Entertainments, Savills, Blueair, Fujitsu General, Microsoft, Brookfield, Trivest Partners, Diligent Corporation USA, Navitas, Cardtronics and Major League Baseball on diverse matters.

Gopika is currently an independent director in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd, Colgate Palmolive India Ltd and ABB India Ltd and has completed tenures on the boards of various reputed MNCs such as GKN Driveline (India) Limited, Aegis BPO and Xchanging.

She is a keen environmentalist and has also completed a Diploma in Environmental Law with the WWF. She is an enthusiastic public speaker and has addressed several international conferences. She has also authored articles in various Indian and international publications.

Gopika is also a keen sportswoman having been ranked No. 1 in badminton and No. 2 in squash in New Delhi and No. 3 in squash nationally, and has played several national level championships in India.

Nishant Parikh

	Nishant Parikh Trilegal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; corporate & commercial; restructuring

Anand S Pathak

Anand S Pathak
P&A Law Offices
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4139 3939
Email: apathak@palaw.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; competition & antitrust; litigation; mergers & acquisitions

Anand S Pathak has extensive experience in advising clients on international mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, arbitrations, and European and Indian laws on competition. He is admitted to practice law in the US and India, and has practised law in Brussels, New York, Cleveland and Palo Alto.

Anand attended all the European Council meetings for the adoption of the EU’s merger control regulations. He has represented clients in complex European Commission and Indian competition law investigations and merger notifications. His international M&A experience includes Daiichi Sankyo’s acquisition of Ranbaxy, Warburg Pincus in its Indian investments, Tech Mahindra’s acquisition of Satyam, Schneider Electric’s acquisition of Luminous Power, acquisitions by HCL Technologies, Rediff. com and Tech Mahindra of entities outside India, and the sale of eTouch in the US to Virtusa Corporation and of Global Edge Software to Altran Technologies. He has successfully represented clients in international arbitrations, including Daiichi Sankyo in a Singapore-based arbitration and then in an appeal of the arbitral award in the Singapore Supreme Court. He is currently representing the government-appointed board of the IL&FS in the sale of IL&FS assets and the government of India in several bilateral investment treaty arbitrations.

He was presented with the National Law Day Award in 2005 by the prime minister of India for his unique contribution in the field of corporate law and for bringing foreign investments intothe country. He has received several awards for M&A and competition law, including Best M&A Lawyer in India for every year from 2008 to 2018, and India – Competition Lawyer of the Year for every year from 2013 to 2021. In 2020, Anand received the Indian Lawyer of the Decade Award.

Anand has an LLB and MA from the University of Cambridge, England, and an LLM and MA in international and development economics from Yale University. He has worked at the European Court of Justice, Luxembourg, and in the Competition Division of the Legal Service in the European Commission, Brussels. He was a member of a committee constituted by the Indian government in 2018 for reviewing Indian competition laws and an adviser to the Competition Commission of India.

Bhakta Patnaik

	Bhakta Patnaik Trilegal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Capital markets

Shiraz Patodia

Shiraz Patodia
Dua Associates
India

Tel: +91 11 4155 1161
Email: shiraz@duaassociates.com
Key practice areas: Intellectual property; international trade & bilateral investment treaties; litigation; white-collar crime

As senior solicitor at Dua Associates, Shiraz Patodia is a highly regarded advocate, with a proven track record of more than 35 years in her practice areas of dispute resolution – litigation and arbitration, international trade and white-collar crime. In her legal career spanning over three decades, she has worked on a broad range of civil and criminal matters and is a recognised authority on World Trade Organisation agreements. Shiraz also heads a specialist practice group at the firm on anti-corruption and white-collar crimes, under which she has handled advisory as well as litigation assignments pan-India.

As a celebrated woman in the legal profession, Shiraz has been bestowed the Women in Law Excellence Award, apart from being recognised as an outstanding individual by several leading global ranking guides. She has been named as a litigation star for commercial and transactions, intellectual property disputes, and included in the 2021 Asia Super 50 Dispute Lawyers list.

Anand Prasad

	Anand Prasad AP and Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; white-collar crime

Saikrishna Rajagopal

	Saikrishna Rajagopal Saikrishna & Associates Noida
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust; intellectual property; technology, media and telecommunications

Raghavan Ramabadran

	Raghavan Ramabadran Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Chennai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; litigation; taxation

Vikrant Rana

Vikrant Rana
S.S. Rana & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4012 3000
Email: vikrant@ssrana.com
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; intellectual property; licensing & franchising

Vikrant Rana is managing partner of SS Rana & Co, a premier IP and corporate law firm in India. He has been consistently ranked in the silver band for trademark prosecution and strategy and as a “highly recommended individual” by WTR 1000 2020. He has also been ranked in the Top 100 A-list Lawyers in India by India Business Law Journal 2017, 2019 and 2021, and as one of India’s IP Stars. He has been recognised as a Top Managing Law Firm Partner by Forbes’ Legal Powerlist 2020.

He advises several Fortune 500 and national and international companies on IP, and corporate matters in India and around the world.

Vikrant has been a member of INTA for 23 years and is actively involved in leading advocacy for various issues within INTA. He has been chair of the MEASA Sub-committee of the Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee and presently serves as co-chair of INTA’s IGAC. He is a regular panellist and speaker at various national and international events and is an active member of several international organisations, including ECTA, the APAA, AIPPI, AIPLA, IACC, IBA and IPBA.

Anirudh Rastogi

	Anirudh Rastogi Ikigai Law New Delhi
Key practice areas: Data protection; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; technology, media and telecommunications

Ashwath Rau

Ashwath Rau
AZB & Partners
Mumbai

Tel: +91 98 2005 8533
Email: ashwath.rau@azbpartners.com
Key practice areas: Corporate governance; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds

Ashwath Rau is a senior partner of AZB and a member of its management committee with over 22 years of experience. He is recognised globally by Chambers and Partners, IFLR1000, ALB, Asialaw, India Business Law Journal and Who’s Who Legal as a leading M&A, private equity and funds practitioner in India. Chambers has consistently rated him in Band 1 for both Corporate/M&A and private equity.

His recent recognition includes “Lawyer of the Year – M&A” by IFLR1000, one of the “Top 15 M&A Lawyers in India” by ALB and “Dealmaker of the Year” by ALB India Law Awards (all for 2021). He was ranked No. 1 by deal volume for India in the Mergermarket Individual League Tables (2019), ranked No. 2 by deal count globally in the Mergermarket Individual League Tables (2020) and ranked No. 1 of the Top 100 Corporate Deal Makers of the Year in The Legal 50 published by Legally India (2018-19). Notably, the Economic Times in 2016 recognised Ashwath as one of India’s top 40 business leaders and hailed him as an “M&A lawyer par excellence”. He also made it to the Asian Legal Business (Thomson Reuters) 2016 list of 40 under 40 top lawyers in Asia.

Recent deals that he led work on: (a) USD4.7 billion sale by Visa of its stake in BillDesk to PayU (2021) (the largest deal in India’s booming Fintech sector); (b) USD2.5 billion investment by Total SA in Adani Green Energy (2021); (c) USD20.6 billion investment by 13 globally reputed strategic and financial investors in Jio Platforms Ltd in India’s largest FDI yet (2020); and (d) USD1.5 billion first successful hostile bid in India by Larsen & Toubro to acquire a controlling stake in Mindtree Ltd, a listed IT services/consulting company (2019).

Anoop Rawat

Anoop Rawat
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 99 5822 2018
Email: anoop.rawat@amsshardul.com
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; bankruptcy & insolvency; infrastructure; restructuring & insolvency

Anoop Rawat is a partner with Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co with over 18 years of experience.

His areas of specialization include insolvency and bankruptcy, projects, and banking and finance. In the field of insolvency and bankruptcy, Anoop has represented clients across various capacities, including resolution professionals, committee of creditors and resolution applicants. He has advised variety of clients in relation to resolution of stressed assets and also acquisition of stressed assets in India.

Anoop has advised on marquee deals in the IBC space including advise to lenders of Bhushan Steel Ltd in the successful insolvency resolution of the company, which resulted in the takeover of Bhushan Steel by Tata Steel at an aggregate consideration of ₹352 billion. He leads the firm’s legal advisory team involved in insolvency resolution process of large telecom companies such as Aircel and Reliance Communications Ltd. Presently Anoop is advising lenders on the insolvency resolution of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited and Srei Equipment Finance Limited, both of which are covered under a special regime for corporate insolvency resolution for financial services providers under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Additionally, Anoop has worked extensively in the railways, real estate, mining, power and airport sector projects in addition to advising on financing and setting up public private partnership projects. He also has advised banks and financial institutions in marquee financing transactions, including advising the consortium led by Power Finance Corporation Ltd on a ₹40.50 billion deal for the resolution of debt of Rattan India Power Limited under the RBI’s Prudential Framework for resolution of stressed assets.

He has been recognized by IFLR1000 as a ‘Notable Practitioner’ for Banking, Project Development, Project Finance and Restructuring & Insolvency by IFLR1000, 2019-22and has been ranked by Chambers and Partners for his experience and standing as insolvency and restructuring lawyer.

Jyoti Sagar

	Jyoti Sagar JSA Gurugram
Key practice areas: Inbound investment; intellectual property; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions

Gautam Saha

	Gautam Saha TT&A New Delhi
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; technology, media and telecommunications

Hemant Sahai

	Hemant Sahai HSA Advocates New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; infrastructure; power & energy

Anuradha Salhotra

	Anuradha Salhotra Rahul Chaudhry & Partners Gurugram
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; intellectual property; litigation

Vijay Sambamurthi

Vijay Sambamurthi
Lexygen
Bengaluru

Tel: +91 98 8679 0664
Email: vijay@lexygen.law
Key practice areas: Infrastructure projects; international commercial arbitration; private equity, venture capital and funds; mergers & acquisitions; securities litigation

Vijay Sambamurthi is the founder and managing partner of Lexygen (www.lexygen.law), a leading Indian law firm headquartered in Bengaluru, with pan-India coverage and international offices in Singapore.

Vijay graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru in 1997, and has over 24 years of experience advising blue-chip funds, exciting start-ups, and high-growth corporations on their legal needs and growth strategy. Vijay regularly advises some of the market-leading names in industry on their Indian transactions and operations.

Vijay enjoys a sterling reputation in the market for his chosen areas of practice, and has advised on a number of India’s complex and first-of-kind transactions, including on the following:

The country’s first greenfield international airport project on a PPP basis
A couple of India’s earliest and largest successful leveraged buyouts
The first private equity secondaries transaction involving a portfolio of Indian companies
Drafting of India’s first state legislation focused on facilitation of infrastructure projects
The first venture capital deal in the cryptocurrency space

In addition to his contributions as a leading transactional lawyer, Vijay is the co-founder and secretary of The Indus Entrepreneurs Guwahati (TiE Guwahati) and a long-standing charter member of TiE Bangalore, and a mentor on the panel of NASSCOM 10,000 Startups Programme, and as such, regularly mentors several Indian and non-Indian startups. He is also a regular speaker at prestigious annual conferences such as The Horasis India Meeting, The Horasis Asia Meeting, Indonesia Economic Forum, and so on.

In 2020, Vijay was appointed to the Chief Minister’s Special Economic Task Force for a post-covid Meghalaya in the Working Group on Infrastructure and Labour. Vijay has been appointed as Adjunct Faculty of Law at National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam.

Seetharaman Sampath

	Seetharaman Sampath Sarvada Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency; competition & antitrust; international trade & bilateral investment treaties; litigation

Mohit Saraf

	Mohit Saraf Saraf & Partners New Delhi
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; bankruptcy & insolvency; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds

Abhishek Saxena

	Abhishek Saxena Phoenix Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; power & energy; restructuring & insolvency

Rajat Sethi

	Rajat Sethi S&R Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; restructuring & insolvency

Fereshte Sethna

	Fereshte Sethna DMD Advocates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; e-commerce, fintech, blockchain & cryptos; international trade & bilateral investment treaties; mergers & acquisitions

Anup S Shah

	Anup S Shah ASLF Law Offices Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Real estate

Siddharth Shah

	Siddharth Shah Khaitan & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Inbound investment; mergers & acquisitions; private equity; venture capital & funds; real estate

Atul Sharma

	Atul Sharma Link Legal New Delhi
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; aviation; infrastructure; litigation

Cyril Shroff

Cyril Shroff
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 2496 4455
Email: cyril.shroff@cyrilshroff.com
Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency; corporate & commercial; corporate governance; mergers & acquisitions

Cyril Shroff has over 39 years of experience in a wide range of practice areas including corporate and securities law, disputes, banking, bankruptcy, infrastructure.

Over the years his passion for a just world blended with a keen sense of fairness and empathy has helped CAM firmly establish itself as a trusted adviser to its clients. He is consistently ranked as “star practitioner” in India by Chambers Global. A thought leader and visionary, he is known for advising many first of its kind transactions in India and is regularly recognised as an award-winning professional across various practices.

He is chairman of FICCI’s Corporate Laws Committee, member of CII National Council and Financial Markets, a member of the committee of the IMC International ADR Centre and task force member of the Society of Insolvency Practitioners of India.

He was a member of the SEBI-constituted Committee on Corporate Governance and Insider Trading.

Pallavi Shroff

Pallavi Shroff
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4161 4093
Email: pallavi.shroff@AMSShardul.com
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; competition & antitrust; litigation; white-collar crime

Pallavi S Shroff is the managing partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM & Co), heads the dispute resolution practice and is also the chief mentor for the competition law practice in the firm.

Pallavi has been a driving force in further enhancing the positioning of SAM & Co as India’s premier full-service law firm ever since she took over as managing partner in 2015. Under her guidance, the firm has exponentially grown from 60 partners in 2015 to 144 partners as of December 2021, with diversified practice offerings and an accelerated pan-India presence across seven countrywide offices. She has been instrumental in the firm’s advanced technology initiatives and transformation and enhancement of the firm’s client service delivery.

With over 39 years of extensive and highly regarded experience, Pallavi’s expertise spans across dispute resolution, competition law and white-collar crime. Pallavi frequently advises and counsels some of the largest and most challenging litigation and arbitration matters in the areas of energy, infrastructure, natural resources, mergers and acquisitions, legislative and policy related matters. She regularly appears in the Supreme Court and the high courts of India, arbitrations, mediations and international legal disputes. She is an alternate member (India) at the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Court of Arbitration.

Under Pallavi’s leadership, the firm has been regularly engaging with FICCI and CII and representing the entire Indian Industry in the Presidential Reference proceedings (Special Reference 1 of 2012) being heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. The judgment passed by the Constitution Bench is one of the most famous and compelling rulings in India on methods of disposal of natural resources in India.

Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Pallavi as an ‘Eminent Practitioner’ for Competition/Antitrust and a ‘Star Individual’ for Dispute Resolution. They have called Pallavi, “a widely acknowledged stalwart in the field of competition law best known for her handling of cartel, abuse of dominance and other contentious issues, but increasingly active providing strategic oversight on very large-scale, multi-jurisdictional merger control mandates” while Who’s Who Legal of Commercial Arbitrators has rated Pallavi, “as one of three leading practitioners involved with arbitration”. She has been recognised in Fortune India’s most Powerful Women in business, 2020 and 2021 and among Top 50 Managing Partners and Top 100 lawyers in the Forbes India Legal Power list 2020.

Shardul Shroff

Shardul Shroff
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4161 4094
Email: shardul.shroff@amsshardul.com
Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency; capital markets; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Shardul S Shroff is the founder and executive chairman of the firm and also heads the firm’s insolvency and bankruptcy practice.

Shardul’s four decades of experience spans across a wide spectrum, including expertise in insolvency and bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions, securities law, government regulations, disinvestment, capital markets and debt recovery.

In a short span of three-and-a-half years since the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was introduced by the Government of India in December 2015, the practice established by Shardul in this domain has built a leadership position. Under his mentorship, the firm was recognized as the Best in Insolvency at the Asialaw’s Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution Awards, 2018.

Shardul has been consistently rated as a leading lawyer by several international fora and publications, including the Who’s Who Legal, AsiaLaw, Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 and Euromoney etc.

International Financial Law Review (IFLR) 1000, 2022 – The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms notes Shardul as a market leader in the areas of Mergers and Acquisitions, Restructuring and Insolvency, Energy and Infrastructure, Project Development, Banking, Project Finance, Capital Markets: Debt, while Chambers and Partners, 2022 views Shardul as an Eminent Practitioners in B&F & Restructuring/Insolvency and & Star Individual in Corporate & M&A space who is known for his long-standing experience handling joint ventures, takeovers, divestments and commercial contracts.

He has been a member of the Insolvency Law Committee, formed by the Government of India to review the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. He was also a member of the high-powered committee to review decriminalization of offences under the Companies Act and the Committee on Cross-Border Insolvency; The ET India Leadership Council; Esteemed member of CII National Council on Services 2020-21; Counsellor to the President of the UIA (International Association of Lawyers), Jorge Martí Moreno; Chairman, FICCI national committee on stressed assets; Member, CII Taskforce on covid-19 vaccine.

Among other numerous recognitions, Shardul is also a recipient of the National Law Day Award from the President of India for his unique contribution to the field of corporate law and leadership in its practice, and for being instrumental in advancement of India’s corporate law practice at international standards. He has been recognised as one of “The Game Changers of India, 2018” by The Economic Times.

Vikram Shroff

	Vikram Shroff Nishith Desai Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Labour & employment

Amarjit Singh

	Amarjit Singh Amarjit & Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Intellectual property

Hemant Singh

Hemant Singh
Inttl Advocare
New Delhi

Tel: +91 12 0247 0200
Email: hemant@inttladvocare.com
Key practice areas: Intellectual property

Hemant Singh is an IP litigator, founder and managing partner of IP law firm Inttl Advocare with offices in Delhi and Mumbai. He is also a registered patent agent. He was admitted to the Bar in 1984 and handled over 2,500 IP litigations in various courts around India, involving contentious and complex issues. These include claim construction and coverage vis-à-vis disclosure, inventive step and test of obviousness in the field of patents; concept of prior use vis-à-vis overseas brand owner and Indian prior user; trademark usage vis-à-vis fair use in the field of trademark infringement including the use of trademarks by ancillary industry and in comparative advertising; protection of shape marks, exclusion of functional and utilitarian shape as a trademark; injunction against parallel import of goods; estoppel in respect of prosecution history of trademarks, patents etc. His specialisation includes trademarks, patents, designs, copyright, trade secrets, geographical indications, competition laws, IT laws, etc. With worldwide diverse clientele, he represents several Fortune 100 and 500 companies in the field of pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, liquor, garments, cosmetics, FMCG, fashion accessories, computer software, telecommunications, media, electronics, automobiles, biotechnology etc.

He has been actively participating in the growth of valuable jurisprudence in the field of IP through various amicus briefs as well as through leadership of IP committees at international IP associations globally. He represents INTA as counsel in their first ever amicus brief before the Supreme Court of India in the case involving a parallel Import issue. Under his leadership, Inttl Advocare has won the Asia IP Awards in the category of Trademark Firm of the Year 2017, Best Trade Mark Counsel – Global Award 2014 by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and ranked as a leading IP law firm by several global IP publications.

Hemant is a president of the AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) – India Group. He has served on the board of directors of INTA, also as the chair of INTA ACC South Asia Subcommittee and Co-Chair of INTA India Global Advisory Council. He continues to be a council member of the APAA (Asian Patent Attorneys Association) and a member of the enforcement committees of the AIPPI and INTA as well as a member of Marques.

Karan Singh

	Karan Singh Trilegal Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; banking and finance

Manisha Singh

Manisha Singh
LexOrbis
New Delhi

Tel: +91 98 1116 1518
Email: Manisha@lexorbis.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; intellectual property; litigation; technology, media and telecommunications

Manisha Singh, founder and partner of LexOrbis, is a highly reputable lawyer with more than 24 years of experience in intellectual property laws. She provides practical and business-oriented solutions and has been instrumental in developing global portfolios of patents, designs and trademarks of a vast number of valuable clients. She works closely with key stakeholders and pursues endeavours to strengthen India’s IP protection and enforcement system to align it with the international standards. Manisha is the standing counsel for the Reserve Bank of India at the Delhi High Court and is known for her deep understanding of corporate, banking and financial services laws.

She espouses the cause of equal opportunity, inclusivity and diversity. As a prolific author, she regularly contributes chapters on IP laws to leading publications. Manisha is sincerely revered for her contributions in the Indian IP space. She is an active member of various international and domestic IP organisations.

Manoj K Singh

Manoj K Singh
Singh & Associates
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4666 7000
Email: manoj@singhassociates.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; infrastructure; litigation; power & energy

Manoj K Singh is the founding partner of Singh & Associates, specialising in litigation and ADR practice. He has two decades of experience advising clients on myriad legal issues, has appeared and argued matters before the Supreme Court of India, all High Courts in India and various tribunals. He regularly represents clients in cross-border financial and investment disputes, with a proven record in the infrastructure, power and energy, port/airport, real estate, banking and mining sectors.

He also advises clients on foreign investment in India, offshore commercial borrowings, cross-border taxation, project financing, anti-dumping, energy and natural resources.

Manoj has successfully undertaken and represented clients in many international arbitrations including under the rules of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.

He is the author of Infrastructure Arbitration – A Perspective a book published by Lexis Nexis. He has also penned articles on commercial litigation and arbitration with a special focus on infrastructure, which have been published on platforms including the Economic Times, CNBCTv18.com, Business Today, Business World, Live Law, Bar & Bench, Mondaq, Financial Express etc.

He has many honours including being recognised as one of the Leading Individuals in Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and Dispute Resolution: Litigation in The Legal 500 rankings of 2021, in India Business Law Journal’s 2021-22 A-List, as a Distinguished Leading Lawyer by Legal Era- Legal Media Group in its coffee table book 2019-20, as India’s Top Dispute Lawyers 2020 by Asian Legal Business, as Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year by Indian Legal Awards 2019, Legal Era, as a practitioner – Dispute Resolution, Chambers and Partners 2019, to name a few.

Manoj holds positions as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Bar Council of Delhi; assistant general secretary of the Society of Indian Law Firms; vice chair of the CII Legal Services Task Force and chairman of the Legal and ADR Committee of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. He is the board member of the North India Regional Council of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in addition to other honorary positions. He is an active partner in Advocates for International Development, undertaking pro bono legal work for non-profit organisations addressing poverty in India.

Sajai Singh

	Sajai Singh JSA Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; real estate; technology

Sawant Singh

Sawant Singh
Phoenix Legal
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 4340 8500
Email: sawant.singh@phoenixlegal.in
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; Labour & employment; Mergers & acquisitions; Restructuring & insolvency

Sawant Singh is a founding partner of Phoenix Legal and his area of expertise includes private equity, project finance, securitisation, asset reconstruction, consortium banking, domestic and external commercial borrowings, and debt restructuring. He also advises clients on a host of corporate and commercial, labour/employment, and real estate issues including inbound and outbound foreign investment, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.

His services have been widely recognised and he is known for having a “great reputation” in the market. Recognised as a Distinguished Practitioner in banking and finance by Asialaw Profiles, Sawant has been quoted to be “highly respected by peers and much acclaimed by clients”. He also has been referred to, by Chambers and Partners, as one of India’s most in-demand banking practitioners and reported as a “go-to person for tactical solutions” who “always makes himself available.” He has been named in the A-List of India’s Top 100 Lawyers by India Business Law Journal and has been recognised as a Global Leader by Who’s Who Legal.

According to Legal 500, Sawant “is recognised by clients and peers as one of the top financing lawyers in India. He impresses clients with his ability to make difficult transactions seem simple and provides clients with first-class advice and is always on hand to provide the client with quality and practical solutions. He has a very pleasant interactive style which is a big positive”. Clients praise him for his “solution-focused and practical approach” in addition to his “very calm demeanor, which is a huge plus in high stakes negotiations”. They admire him for being “accessible, smart and quick in his responses” and for being “able to see the commercial aspects of the matter”.

Chambers and Partners have also certified Sawant as highly recommended as a leading lawyer in banking and finance and projects, infrastructure and energy. Sawant is described by Chambers as “a very good corporate lawyer, a very well-regarded lawyer on the banking side and a project finance veteran”.

Krrishan Singhania

	Krrishan Singhania K Singhania & Co. Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; aviation; corporate & commercial; intellectual property

Ravi Singhania

Ravi Singhania
Singhania & Partners
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4747 1411
Email: ravi@singhania.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; white-collar crime

Ravi Singhania is the managing partner of Singhania & Partners with offices in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru with clientele spread across the globe. He established Singhania & Partners, more than two decades ago and leads a team of 70 lawyers including 14 partners.

Ravi has been bequeathed with innumerable legal accolades and has been consistently rated as India’s top dispute resolution, corporate/M&A, employment, and project finance lawyer by several international surveys, including those conducted by Legal 500, Asialaw Profiles, India Business Law Journal, Benchmark Litigation and IFLR1000.

Under his leadership and successful track record as a business litigation and international commercial arbitration practitioner, Singhania & Partners features among India’s top dispute resolution (arbitration and litigation) firms.

There are large PSUs, banks and MNCs who trust his legal acumen on antitrust issues, cross-border transactions, compliances under SEBI Takeover Regulations, M&A, investment structuring, corporatisation, debt and equity offerings, and international arbitration. He provides both hands-on legal advice and overall strategic inputs while drafting and negotiating contracts for complex transactions to always reflect the clients’ interest.

He is counted among top legal luminaries of India in independent surveys conducted by Forbes’ Legal Powerlist 2020, Lexis Nexis, and the Indian Corporate Counsels Association.

Ravi has served in board positions in industry associations and Indian subsidiaries of numerous Fortune 500 companies. He is also a charter member of the Delhi chapter of TiE, which is an association to support startups launched by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

He frequently speaks at national and international conferences and seminars. Further, he has to his credit, the following books: Drafting of Contracts, White-collar Crimes, and Employment Laws in India. He also writes in publications in various national and international professional journals and magazines including the American Bar Association and Euro Money.

Priti Suri

Priti Suri
PSA
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4350 0500
Email: p.suri@psalegal.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; labour & employment; litigation; mergers & acquisitions

Priti Suri, the founder and managing partner of PSA, has over 35 years’ experience across three continents in corporate counselling. A first-generation lawyer, she started as a litigator and evolved as a business adviser, who is known for her pragmatic ability to get the deal done and find a resolution to complex issues.

After a decade’s work experience in the US and Europe, Priti established her base in India. She developed the firm and represents its international and domestic clients in the full range of cross-border M&A transactions, JVs and restructurings. She counsels on corporate governance, CSR and ethics, and works closely with senior management on the full range of day-to-day operational issues and related dispute resolution. Her representations are over USD16 billion across a spectrum of industries.

Additionally, right from the outset she created a framework to encourage and promote participation by the firm’s lawyers in providing effective pro bono advise so that everyone at PSA realises that giving back is essential and central to what the firm does. It regularly partners with and supports domestic and foreign social impact and not-for-profit organisations across the globe as part of this initiative and counsels them end-to-end on a wide range of matters, including strategy, structuring, foreign contributions and CSR.

With an upbringing strongly grounded in her family’s encouragement for education and financial independence for women, Priti has continued that tradition with a focus on helping other women professionals. At a time when such ideas were nascent, during her education and legal career, Priti has consistently fought for gender-based equality so that more women are in the boardroom or in leadership roles. An active member of the international bar, Priti chaired the India Committee of ABA for two years. In April 2017, she became the first Asian to be honoured with ABA’s prestigious Mayre Rasmussen Award for the Advancement of Women in International Law. She led the Women Business Lawyers’ Committee of the IPBA for four years and is currently an officer of the IPBA, chair of its Publications Committee and a board member of iTechlaw.

Sujjain Talwar

Sujjain Talwar
Economic Laws Practice
Mumbai

Tel: +91 98 2113 1122
Email: sujjaintalwar@elp-in.com
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; infrastructure; power & energy; private equity, venture capital & funds

Sujjain Talwar is a co-founding partner of ELP and responsible mainly for the infrastructure and hospitality practices of the firm. With over 25 years of experience, Sujjain is a qualified solicitor in India as well as England and Wales. His work includes infrastructure projects around the region, including in Yemen, Fujairah, Djibouti and the Maldives.

He also serves as an independent director on boards of some companies. Prior to co-founding ELP, Sujjain worked with Crawford Bayley & Co in Mumbai as well as Pinsent Masons in the UK.

Sameer Tapia

	Sameer Tapia ALMT Legal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; litigation; real estate; shipping

Shardul Thacker

	Shardul Thacker Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; infrastructure; insurance & reinsurance; shipping

Kunal Thakore

	Kunal Thakore Talwar Thakore & Associates Mumbai
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; joint ventures; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds

BC Thiruvengadam

	BC Thiruvengadam Thiru & Thiru Bengaluru
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; intellectual property

Diljeet Titus

	Diljeet Titus Titus & Co New Delhi
Key practice areas: Litigation; real estate; corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions

Abhishek Nath Tripathi

	Abhishek Nath Tripathi Sarthak Advocates & Solicitors New Delhi
Key practice areas: Bankruptcy & insolvency; infrastructure; power & energy; private equity; venture capital & funds

Neeraj Tuli

Neeraj Tuli
Tuli & Co
New Delhi

Tel: +91 11 4593 4000
Email: neeraj.tuli@tuli.co.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & ADR; bankruptcy & insolvency; insurance & reinsurance; litigation

Neeraj Tuli is the senior partner of Tuli & Co. Before setting up Tuli & Co in 2000, Neeraj was a partner with insurance law specialist firm Kennedys in London.

He is widely recognised for his depth of knowledge and understanding of the contentious and non-contentious aspects of the insurance and reinsurance industry. His practice is recommended in various editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners legal directories with market sources describing him as having “remarkable knowledge” (Legal 500), “a name to be reckoned with and an authority” and “one of the leading minds in the space of insurance law” (Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific).

Neeraj regularly assists clients with regulatory advice, product development and insurance coverage issues. His coverage advice for insurers and reinsurers encompasses a wide range of policy lines, including D&O, E&O/professional indemnity, cyber, CGL, product liability, public liability, trade credit, MD, BI, CPM, DSU, ALOP, EAR and CAR.

Neeraj and his team also specialise in litigation and arbitration. They handle ad hoc arbitrations as well as institutional arbitrations, including those conducted under the auspices of the London Court of International Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, Dubai International Arbitration Centre and the Indian Council of Arbitration. Neeraj is currently managing claims on behalf of insurers and reinsurers in India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

He also acts as an arbitrator and was invited to be the first president of the Insurance Law Association of India, which was formed in connection with the British Insurance Law Association. He is also a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s National Committee on Dispute Resolution and a former chairman and current committee member of the Indian Associated Chambers of Commerce Expert Insurance Committee.

Neeraj is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales (1990) and a member of the Bar Council of Delhi (2000).

Nisha Uberoi

	Nisha Uberoi Trilegal Mumbai
Key practice areas: Competition & antitrust

Shailesh Vaidya

	Shailesh Vaidya Kanga & Co Mumbai
Key practice areas: Real estate

Vinay Vaish

	Vinay Vaish Vaish Associates New Delhi
Key practice areas: Corporate & commercial; mergers & acquisitions; inbound-outbound investments; real estate; litigation

Bahram Vakil

	Bahram Vakil AZB & Partners Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; infrastructure; power & energy; restructuring & insolvency

Nimish Vakil

	Nimish Vakil Tyabji Dayabhai Mumbai
Key practice areas: Aviation

Vivek Vashi

Vivek Vashi
Vashi and Vashi
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 6268 3333
Email: vivek@vashi.in
Key practice areas: Arbitration & alternative dispute resolution; intellectual property; litigation; real estate

Vivek Vashi is recognised as a leading dispute resolution practitioner in India. He commenced his career in law as a trainee in 1999 with the erstwhile Amarchand & Mangaldas and was subsequently retained as an associate in 2002; and as a senior associate after he qualified as a solicitor in 2004. In 2008, Vivek co-founded Bharucha & Partners.

Vashi and Vashi was founded in 2017 by Vivek, after he parted ways with his former firm along with his entire team of 17 associates in order to set up an independent practice in Mumbai.

Following a spectacular run over the past years, Vashi and Vashi now handle complex and high-stakes disputes across India. This includes litigation before all tribunals (NCLT, NCLAT, NGT etc.), courts including high courts, the Supreme Court; domestic and international arbitrations including LCIA, SIAC arbitrations.

Vivek has always dealt with intricate disputes and multifaceted litigations and has made his mark as the forerunner for dispute resolution in Mumbai. His hands-on approach coupled with innovative thinking has allowed him to offer pertinent advice and representation for his clients across a broad gamut of matters, such as company disputes, construction disputes, family disputes, economic offences, white-collar crimes, bankruptcy and insolvency and renewable energy, reforms in various sectors such as telecom, infrastructure, real estate, bankruptcy and insolvency etc. Vivek also guides his clients when negotiating on large transactions to thwart and/or insulate themselves from potential disputes. Vivek is retained as advisors by family offices in relation to their investments, succession and other matters.

Vivek has been recognised by Chambers and Partners repeatedly; and has been ranked in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of top 100 Indian lawyers for several years consecutively. He has also been commended by Asialaw, Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal. His hands on and personal approach has earned him the adulation of clients and the respect of his opponents.

L Viswanathan

	L Viswanathan Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; bankruptcy & insolvency; infrastructure; project finance

Dhaval Vussonji

Dhaval Vussonji
Dhaval Vussonji & Associates
Mumbai

Tel: +91 22 6174 9000
Email: dhaval@dvassociates.co.in
Key practice areas: Real estate; banking & finance; bankruptcy & insolvency

Dhaval Vussonji is a practising advocate and solicitor based in Mumbai. He is also a qualified chartered accountant, enabling him to provide a bird’s eye view on tax liabilities and implications to clients.

Dhaval enjoys a reputation for being an astute lawyer with diverse and rich experiences across real estate, banking and finance, corporate restructuring, private equity and mergers & acquisitions.

Described as a “sound, very hands-on lawyer who understands the issues”, Dhaval is consistently honoured as a recommended lawyer for the APAC region, by well-recognised global legal publications.

Dhaval plays trusted advisor to real estate companies, banks, funds, asset reconstruction companies, high net-worth individuals, major conglomerates and business houses.

He spearheads the firm, DVA, a full-service dynamic law firm which has made remarkable progress owing to unparalleled commitment to quality.

Dhaval firmly believes that technology must be embraced for the benefit of both lawyers and clients alike. He is a tech ambassador, investing in legal tech to suit and serve effective practice development and management for the firm.

Dina Wadia

	Dina Wadia JSA Mumbai
Key practice areas: Banking & finance; bankruptcy & insolvency; mergers & acquisitions; private equity, venture capital & funds

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