Maharastra’s capital Mumbai has been India’s hub for the banking and financial sectors for decades. Major financial services and banking regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and the Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority are headquartered in Mumbai. It is also the base of the Reserve Bank of India. However, with the rise of financial tech, Bengaluru is one of the cities fast becoming a favoured choice for fintech companies, especially startups and hence banking and finance companies.

The city is is also home to myriad service and manufacturing industries and is a major global trading center. It is therefore the headquarters of many of India’s major conglomerates and banks as well as being home to well-known non-Indian, global companies. Sectors range from heavy industry and pharmaceuticals to electronics and consumer goods and is also the well-known center of Indian film and TV production. For startups and smaller businesses, The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) plays a role in promoting and assisting such organisations. Despite the toll taken on the country by the pandemic, Mumbai's M&A market, private equity and foreign investment activities are relatively strong. There has also been rapid growth in construction and real estate despite the physical limitations of the the city’s geography.

The competitive and crowded legal market is dominated by the biggest firms such as AZB & Partners, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, IndusLaw, Khaitan & Co LLP, Kochhar & Co. and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, especially in the areas of banking and finance and corporate work, however smaller, specialist firms are present, many of which are Mumbai focused and many are specialists or have a niche focus. This section aims to highlight some of those firms and also lists others that have a potential to be ranked but for whom we had no submission or other sufficient information.

Mansukhlal Hiralal & Co is a full-service firm that has been in existence for more than a hundred years and covers a wide range of commercial, corporate and M&A mandates. More recently, the firm has been working with government organisations such SEBI and ONGC, and represented them before the High Court, Supreme Court and the Appellate Tribunals. Bhushan Shah focuses on securities litigation and co-heads the practice with Shreya Dalal, who specialises in strategic investments, joint ventures, and start-up investments.

Acuity Law LLP provides a wide range of corporate and M&A services, including drafting and negotiating trading arrangements, amalgamations, acquisitions, and divestments. The team works closely with the restructuring, insolvency and disputes practices to provide specialist advice on distress M&A transactions. Souvik Ganguly has more than two decades of experience in handling domestic and cross-border matters across various industries and jointly heads the team with Deni Shah.

The Corporate and M&A team of Agram Legal Consultants advises various multinationals and private equity players on entry strategies in various sectors, including defence, financial services, infrastructure, retail, and healthcare. The team assists with structuring investments, regulatory compliances, exit options, contract negotiations, joint ventures, debt restructuring, and anti-trust laws. The team is led by Vaishali Sharma, who has been involved in many domestic and cross-border high valued acquisitions and complex corporate restructurings.

AJA Legal and Associates provides niche legal services to banks, financial institutions, corporate houses, insolvency resolution professionals and high-net-worth individuals in the field of bankruptcy, debt resolution and security enforcement, and commercial disputes. Founding partner Jyoti A. Singh has over two decades of experience in assisting multinational companies and large corporates with insolvency and distressed financial issues.

The corporate M&A team at Pioneer Legal  is led by Satish Kishanchandani and is active in the education, advertising, healthcare, oil and gas, and financial services sectors, among other areas. The firm handles domestic and cross-border transactions, which are often high value, and also assists clients with post-closing matters and compliance. Kishanchandani counts corporates, private equity funds and investee companies among his clientele and is well versed in transactions and restructurings.

Bombay Law Chambers handles a broad range of corporate work, including M&A, and joint ventures, and inbound and outbound investments. It is particularly active in the IT, financial services, shipping, pharmaceutical and real estate sectors and the team is led by Karan Kalra, Abhinav Harlalka and Dipanshu Singhal. Kalra is experienced in cross-border transactions, regulatory work and day-to-day matters; Harlalka is a name for structured debt transactions; and Singhal handles venture capital and private equity transactions.