Chennai, the capital state of Tamil Nadu, is often called the gateway to the southern part of India. The city benefits from good infrastructure, including three seaports, an international airport, well-established rail and road connectivity and major submarine telecommunication cable networks that have paved the way for its rapid growth. It is a key manufacturing/industrial city in India, hosting globally renowned automobile and electronics manufacturers, including Ford, Caterpillar, Siemens, GE, Samsung, and ABB. The city has also become one of the preferred destinations for big IT companies, such as IBM, Infosys and Cognizant. The city is also attracting startup enterprises. More recently, the area has become home to new projects, especially in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Although the office leasing market has slowed, investment in property of all types continues at a pace.In this region, nationally ranked, full service firms including Anand and Anand, Fox Mandal & Associates, Khaitan & Co LLP, Kochhar & Co., Phoenix Legal, Samvad Partners and Tatva Legal are well established and handle work for national and international clients as well as more local companies, especially in areas such as corporate M&A, dispute resolution, banking and finance and IP. However, the number of smaller and boutique firms has grown considerably, offering an alternative to the larger firms.

Initially set up as a boutique corporate, commercial, tax and dispute resolution law firm, Calibre Legal has expanded its practice areas to cover real estate, intellectual property and employment law. The team is led by the duo of Mohammed Shadaan Saipillai, who has more than two decades of experience in corporate, commercial and dispute resolution, and Arun Kurian Joseph, who specialises in real estate and is a renowned direct and indirect tax law specialist.

Surana & Surana International Attorneys is a highly qualified team of sector-specific, inter-disciplinary professionals, including lawyers, trade mark attorneys and chartered accountants. The team has been established for more than five decades and has a strong focus on dispute resolution, intellectual property, corporate/M&A and real estate matters. Kalyan Jhabakh G heads the dispute resolution practice and has conducted landmark litigations before courts of all levels. Sanjay Mehta leads the corporate and M&A team and specialises in drafting joint venture agreements, due diligence on takeovers and mergers, and incorporation of legal entities. N. Surya Senthil and Lakshmidevi Somanath jointly head the intellectual property team.

Altacit Global assists clients with their M&A, real estate, regulatory compliance, and litigation requirements. Filma Varghese and Geethanjali focus on intellectual property law and advise various leading corporates in India and abroad. Pradeep Bhapatiraju heads the patent department and has rich experience in the entire patent lifecycle from conducting patent searches to patent drafting and litigation. Dharshika Ravi is another key contact.

Eshwars | House of Corporate & IPR Laws offers a comprehensive range of corporate expertise to enterprises of all sizes on a wide range of matters, including real estate laws, dispute resolution, corporate governance, and intellectual property rights. Saisunder N.V is one of the most sought-after attorneys in the areas of intellectual property rights and media and technology law. He jointly heads the team with the managing partner Eshwar Sabapathy, capital markets and foreign investment expert Adit N Bhuva, IP specialist Srividya Sundaresan, and Sri Vidhya Kumar, who regularly provides M&A advisory assistance.

Ganesan and Manuraj Legal LLP is best known for dealing with a wide range of complex and high-value litigation cases, international commercial arbitration, cross-border disputes involving bankruptcy, as well as high stake criminal and civil matters. It also undertakes a significant number of pro-bono cases related to human rights issues. The team is led by Muthupandi Ganesan, who is a dual qualified practising barrister in England and an advocate in India. Manuraj Shunmugasundaram has significant experience in handling civil and criminal cases, specifically ones involving medical negligence. Vadhana Bhaskar, Sachin. S, and Anisha Gupta are other key contacts.

Law Office of Navarre Roy is a full-service firm with a keen focus on intellectual property and media and entertainment laws. The firm is also becoming more active in the private equity space. Founder Navarre Ebenezer Roy works closely with startups through their entire lifecycle of fundraising and commercial interests. Associate Raghul Selvanathan focuses on commercial dispute resolution, while associate Hepitha Priscilla handles the firm’s trademark practice and assists Indian and international clients with the protection and enforcement of trademarks.