The Legal 500

Within Legal market overview,

India has remained to some extent shielded from the global economic crisis and law firms are consequently reporting a relatively strong year across the board. Although it has dwindled slightly, international investment is still ongoing and the number of corporate deals is steadily on the rise. Many firms have seen the economic crisis as an opportunity to hire talent from the west, with Srinivas Parthasarathy joining Trilegal from Allen & Overy’s Singapore office; Naval Chopra joining Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co in New Delhi from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; and Manan Lahoty joining Luthra & Luthra from Shearman & Sterling LLP’s London office, to head the capital markets offering.

Within Leading firms in Bangalore, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a third tier firm,

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is recommended for its banking and corporate skills. It advises global banking clients such as Deutsche Bank, ICICI Bank and GE Money.

Within Banking and finance - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

Headline work for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co has included advising International Finance Corporation on its loan of $100m to Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Telecom and the telecom companies forming a part of the Birla Group, investment in their various telecommunication networks across India. Other high-profile clients include Citigroup and JP Morgan.

Within Capital markets - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

Clients of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s ‘excellent’ capital markets practice include Tata Motors, Hindalco Industries and Tata Investment Corporation. Cyril Shroff and Ashwath Rau are highly recommended.

Within Corporate/M&A - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

Highlights for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s ‘top notch’ corporate practice includes acting for JPMorgan AIRRO Fund in relation to a private equity investment in the hospital sector. Other clients include Aditya Birla Telecom and The Walt Disney Company. Managing partner Cyril Shroff is a leading figure in the market.

Within Dispute resolution - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Fielding a team with a ‘wide variety of experience’, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is ‘well tuned ‘to the needs of its clients. It has recently been instructed by clients such as Nestlé, Videocon Power, Coca-Cola, Petrocon India and Daewoo Power. The team specialises in high-profile cases and arbitrations on a domestic and global level.

Within Investment funds - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Cyril Shroff and Ashwath Rau at Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co are respected names in the market.

Within Projects, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

Headline work for the team at Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co includes advising the joint financiers in relation to the development of a container freight station to the value of $68.6m. It also advised a consortium of banks and financial institutions in relation to the financing of a 1200MW pit-head, coal-based power project being developed by Essar Power. Other clients include Asian Development Bank.

Within Real estate - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co advised Standard Chartered Bank, Mumbai in relation to its acquisition of commercial premises at Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Additional clients include JP Morgan Asian IRR Opportunity Fund.

Within Shipping - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

The team at Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co has excellent ship financing experience.

Within Tax - Mumbai, tier 4

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co advises its extensive corporate clientele on the full range of their tax needs.

Within TMT - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is recommended for its corporate, M&A, regulatory and dispute resolution, and is largely instructed by clients within the TMT sector.

Within WTO/international trade - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Economic Laws Practice’s leading international trade team covers trade remedies such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard issues, trade policy and WTO dispute settlements. It was instructed by Hanwha Chemical Corporation in the Sunset Review anti-dumping investigation regarding Caustic Soda exported from Korea RP. Suhail Nathani and Sanjay Notani are singled out for their excellent reputations.

Within WTO/international trade - Mumbai, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is experienced in advising its vast corporate client base in relation to countervailing duty laws, anti-dumping matters and import/export polices.

Within Banking, finance and capital markets - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

With ‘strong consistency’ and ‘wide practice ability’, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co acted for Unitech in a joint venture slum rehabilitation scheme between Lehman Brothers and the company. The practice also obtained a syndicate loan facility worth $120m for India Infrastructure Finance from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and other lenders. Unitech and Satyam Computer Services are other key clients.

Within Corporate/M&A - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co advised on the INR105bn sale of Satyam Computer Services and the induction of a strategic buyer, which completed in April 2009. The practice also acted for Eicher Motors in a joint venture to set up a company with Volvo.

Within Dispute resolution - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

A key instruction for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s two-partner strong dispute resolution practice was defending Satyam Computer Services against allegations of defrauding Company Law Board of INR70bn. Pallavi Schroff leads the practice.

Within Intellectual property - New Delhi, tier 5

Clients of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co include Nikon and Becton Dickinson. Ranjan Negi heads the trade mark and copyright practice, whereas Dev Robinson leads the patents and designs practice group. A key highlight for the practice was acting for Rolex in a suit against Alex Jewellery regarding imitation jewellery, in which an injunction was granted against the defendants.

Within Projects and energy - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a first tier firm,

A highlight for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co in 2008 was acting for Hyderabad Metro Rail and the government of Andhra Pradesh regarding the INR120bn development of an MRTS system in the state. Another major highlight was acting on behalf of DIAL regarding the selection of a developer for an airport Fuel Facility at the IGI Airport, which involved an INR65bn bid.

Within Real estate - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

A highlight for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co in 2008 was acting for TATA Realty & Infrastructure on a 100% share acquisition of subsidiaries of Unitech, including holdings of over 50 acres of land. Also significant was acting for Godrej Properties regarding a joint development of commercial retail space in January 2009, worth INR4.5bn. Inder Mohan Singh heads the New Delhi real estate practice.

Within Tax - New Delhi , Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Aseem Chawla leads Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s tax practice in New Delhi. The practice provided Hutchison Telecommunications with strategic tax advice relating to Vodafone’s $11.1bn buyout. The practice also acted for RABO India Finance regarding tax issues involved in establishing private equity funds of $100m.

Within TMT - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

A highlight for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co’s TMT practice was acting for International Finance Corporation in its investment into telecommunication companies, worth $100m. The practice also acted for Aditya Birla Telecom regarding a private equity investment of $640m in December 2008.

Within WTO/international trade - New Delhi, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is a second tier firm,

Pan-Indian firm, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co is experienced in advising on WTO/international trade matters relating to import-export issues, anti-dumping and duty laws.