India > TMT > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Cyril Shroff heads the practice at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, which has strong corporate expertise and has advised on numerous transactional matters in the TMT space. Clients include Harman International Industries, Equifax and Brightstar.

Stephen Mathias and Suhas Srinivasiah are the leading figures at Kochhar & Co., which handles the full range of contentious and non-contentious TMT issues, including outsourcing and e-commerce. Highlights included assisting Hogan Lovells with privacy-related issues, and advising Alibaba on the setting up of cloud services.

Naik Naik and Company is noted for its expertise in the media sector, and the ‘diligent and conscientious team’ is ‘the preferred counsel of the Indian movie industry’. Highlights included representing Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment in a copyright infringement suit concerning an Indonesian film. Other clients include Warner Bros, Walkwater Media and Phantom Films. Ameet B Naik and Madhu Gadodia are ‘both very proactive and understand the industry well’.

Nishith Desai Associates advises clients on M&A transactions, investment funds, gaming laws and franchising, and the group also has strong litigation expertise in the TMT space. Among recent instructions, Gowree Gokhale advised several online payment providers on various issues including foreign exchange laws. Vaibhav Parikh heads the practice from Bangalore.

Seth Dua & Associates’ client roster includes China Telecom, Global Cloud Xchange and Bharti Airtel; the group advised the latter on various telecoms and competition-related issues. Atul Dua heads the practice.

Shardul Shroff leads the department at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, which provides ‘very practical business advice’. The group recently advised PVR on its $75m acquisition of DLF Utilities’ DT Cinemas chain. Other clients include Vodafone, News Corporation and Facebook.

Trilegal has notable experience in telecoms regulatory matters, and frequently advises on commercial issues and TMT M&A. Rahul Matthan recently assisted Flipkart with its acquisition of FX Mart, a payment services provider.

Key figures at ALMT Legal include Hitesh Jain, Statira Ranina and Junia Sebastian. The group is notably active in the music, motion picture, publishing and distribution sectors. Recent work includes advising an individual on a design, manufacturing and brand franchise agreement with Tanishq, a Tata Group jewellery company.

ARA Law handles TMT-related M&A deals and also advises on regulatory issues. Managing partner Rajesh Begur has significant domestic and cross-border transactional expertise.

AZB & Partners has been active in the media and entertainment space, where News Corporation and Bharti Airtel are among the firm’s clients. Gautam Saha and Srinath Dasari are the key practitioners, while Shuva Mandal left for Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

Rohan Shah heads the group at Economic Laws Practice, which covers all aspects of the TMT sector including transactional, regulatory, tax and contentious issues. Recent highlights include advising Micromax Informatics on matters surrounding its investment into Red Brick Lane Marketing Solutions.

HSA Advocates is active in the media sector, though the firm is experienced in the full range of TMT issues, including M&A and regulatory matters. Anjan Dasgupta is currently advising Lava International on its joint venture with MoreMagic Software Solutions.

J Sagar Associates handles TMT-related transactional work as well as litigation. Notable individuals include Sajai Singh and telecoms expert Amit Kapur. Motorola, Tata Teleservices and Hewlett-Packard India are clients.

The ‘experienced team’ at Khaitan & Co. provides ‘quick responses’, and ‘great value for money’. Rahul Dutt recently joined the firm from Reliance Industries. Other key names include corporate lawyer Sharad Abhyankar, Abhilekh Verma and Ganesh Prasad, who specialises in foreign ventures and strategic investment. Tata Communications, TA Associates and Reliance Communications are clients.

Neerav Merchant’s department at Majmudar & Partners has expertise in technology company M&A, licensing and data protection. The team recently assisted Baidu (Hong Kong) with the establishment of a subsidiary in India.

Advaya Legal’s TMT expertise extends to areas such as e-commerce and data privacy. Clients include Smart Technologies, Fractal Analytics and Freecharge, a Snapdeal subsidiary. Managing partner Ramesh Vaidyanathan is the main contact.

Abhishek Malhotra heads the ‘competent and well-informed’ team at Arthe Law, which includes key figure Kaushik Moitra. The firm recently represented Entertainment Network India in a writ petition concerning policy guidelines.

DH Law Associates* has significant expertise in contentious matters, and continues to advise domestic and international clients in the media and IT sectors. Nusrat Hassan and litigator Sidhartha Srivastava are the key names to note. *DH Law Associates merged with Link Legal India Law Services in January 2017 and the merged entity continues to be known as Link Legal India Law Services.

DSK Legal has considerable IT expertise, and frequently acts for artists in the media and entertainment sectors. Managing partner Anand Desai is the main contact.

Dhir & Dhir Associates has been active in TMT-related litigation, and is currently representing Bharat Sanchar Nigam in various disputes with the government of India. Maneesha Dhir is recommended.

Gagrats assisted Kaiser Media with issues regarding its website, and advised Export Credit Guarantee on software contracts with HCL Technologies. Rustam Gagrat is the main contact.

IndusLaw’s Avik Biswas is ‘a valuable partner, thanks to his experience both in-house and in private practice’; he has ‘a balanced way of approaching issues’. Practice head Suneeth Katarki recently advised i-exceed Technology Solutions on exporting products out of India.

The team at LexCounsel provides ‘practical and relevant advice’, and ‘a strong understanding of client needs’. Dimpy Mohanty recently advised Global One India on regulatory matters, and Alishan Naqvee acted for ASAS Tech Solutions in various commercial and contractual arrangements.

Ravi Varma is the key figure at Link Legal – India Law Services, which has strong experience in the media, technology and telecoms sectors. Delhi Daredevils, DEN Digital and Live 24 Communications are clients.

Technology boutique firm Mani Chengappa & Mathur is headed by founding partners Samuel Mani, Utham Chengappa and Neil Mathur. The team’s expertise extends to outsourcing, privacy and data protection matters.

Manilal Kher Ambalal & Co Advocates, Solicitors and Notary frequently advises prominent Indian entertainers and singers on domestic and cross-border contractual agreements. Vikram Trivedi and Rashid Boatwalla are the leading figures.

TMT specialist firm Pavan Duggal Associates Advocates is noted for its niche expertise in cyber-security. Name partner Pavan Duggal is well regarded.

At Phoenix Legal, Abhishek Saxena handles cross-border M&A transactions, and Manjula Chawla has strong data protection expertise. Clients include Inasra Technology, Bank of New York Mellon and actor John Abraham.

Rodney Ryder is the leading figure at Scriboard. The team’s range of expertise includes procurement and delivery of IT systems, outsourcing, joint ventures and dispute resolution. The firm also advises several advertising and technology companies on the regulatory issues associated with online advertising.