Phoenix Legal > NEW DELHI, India > Firm Profile
Phoenix Legal Offices
PHOENIX HOUSE 254
OKHLA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
PHASE III
110020
India
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Phoenix Legal > The Legal 500 Rankings
India > Banking and finance Tier 2
The team at Phoenix Legal utilises its ‘deep level of knowledge‘ to provide comprehensive advice to domestic and overseas banks, non-banking financial companies, and micro finance institutions. Leading from Mumbai, Sawant Singh has ample experience in project finance, as well as domestic and external commercial borrowing. Abhishek Saxena supports the team from New Delhi and focuses on cross-border deals across a number of sectors, including oil and gas, automotive, and infrastructure; and Aditya Bhargava has extensive knowledge of syndicated rupee lending and project finance matters, often advising lenders and financial institutions.Practice head(s):
Sawant Singh; Abhishek Saxena; Aditya Bhargava
Testimonials
‘Highly detail-oriented. Proactive in foreseeing potential problems arising in the course of transactions, and in solving them. Their deep level of knowledge and awareness of relevant legislation is clear. Very precise communicators, both when explaining the impact of relevant legislation, and when giving their input into transactions.’
‘Aditya Bhargava is very personable, highly efficient, brings invaluable project management skills to transactions.’
Key clients
United States International Development Finance Corporation
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO)
Swedfund International AB (SwedFund)
Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Limited (Finnfund)
Calvert Impact Capital, Inc.
Symbiotics (acting through its fund AAV Sarl and Masala Investments Sarl)
BlueOrchard Finance
Creation Investments Capital Management, LLC
Triodos
MicroVest Capital Management LLC
TripleJump B.V.
Magallanes Impacto FIL (advised by GAWA Capital)
CredAvenue Private Limited
Vivriti Capital Private Limited
Kogta Financial (India) Limited
A.K. Capital Services Limited
Northern Arc Capital Limited
InCred Financial Services Limited
Fourdegreewater Capital Private Limited (d/b/a Wint Wealth)
State Bank of India
HDFC Bank Limited
SBI Capital Markets Limited
Work highlights
- Advising Northern Arc Capital Limited on a pooled bond issuance of non-convertible debentures by six issuers, subscribed by CDC Group plc., a foreign portfolio investor under the “voluntary retention route” of the Reserve Bank of India.
- Advising Vivriti Capital Private Limited on a listed invoice-backed securitisation undertaken by an entity engaged in providing agricultural supply chain solutions. This financing was undertaken with Origo Commodities India Private Limited (Origo). The receivables arising out of these contracts were securitised by Origo in favour of the Vivrti-Origo Agro 08 2020 trust, and the trust issued SDIs in favour of the investors for this transaction.
- Advising CredAvenue Private Limited on the issuance of covered non-convertible debentures of up to INR 750,000,000 issued by Vivriti Capital Private Limited, a non-banking financial company registered with the Reserve Bank of India.
India > Corporate and M&A Tier 2
Phoenix Legal offers diverse sector expertise, able to advise on domestic and cross-border transactions in a number of key industries including financial services, automotives, tech, energy, and retail, handling public and private M&A, joint ventures, business restructurings, and private equity deals alongside associated regulatory and foreign investment issues. The team includes a number of key senior practitioners, including the ‘responsive and dependable‘ Manjula Chawla, Saket Shukla, highly experienced dealmaker Abhishek Saxena, Mumbai-based Sawant Singh and Sriram Ramachandran, noted for their combination of M&A, financing, and private equity expertise, disputes-focused Pranav Srivastava, and Ritika Ganju, who handles regulated industry deals, including accompanying regulatory and competition issues. Akshay Sachthey offers broad cross-border corporate and transactional support, while managing associate Nikhil Pareek remains a key emerging player, advising on deals in a wide range of industries and foreign exchange regulations. Lawyers are in New Dehli unless otherwise stated.Practice head(s):
Manjula Chawla; Saket Shukla; Abhishek Saxena; Sawant Singh; Sriram Ramachandran; Pranav Srivastava; Ritika Ganju
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Phoenix Legal has consistently provided legal services that are consistently on par with top international law firms. The lawyers at Phoenix Legal are responsive and provide high quality work product at competitive rates.’
‘Phoenix Legal will serve the purpose of someone new to India, or someone who has been doing business in India for a long time. It is because they understand the needs of each client and adapt to the maturity level of the clients. They have subject matter experts in most areas of laws to become a one go to firm for companies.’
‘Manjula Chawla is a founding partner of Phoenix Legal and her experience dealing with non-Indian clients is enormous. She can also offer her network of professionals to support our business. She is personable, responsive and dependable.’
‘Phoenix Legal has the ability to put together teams who work out the best solutions for our collaborations. Their experience across the country gives them the advantage of having worked with most of the top law firms in the country. This makes working on deals and agreements with different legal teams smoother than i have experienced otherwise where it can get prickly and rough. Other than experience, the temperament and understanding media space also gives them an added advantage.’
‘Saket Shukla stands out in his ability to put a team together to deal with the matter at hand from within and outside his organization. The teams he has created to deal with our matter have included people from Phoenix and outside to form a complete and diverse set who would be best for the task at hand. His and his team’s alertness and accessibility stand out.’
Key clients
Dell Technologies Inc.
Volaris Group
Pine Labs Limited
Sojitz Corporation
TARC Limited
Suburban Diagnostics (India) Private Limited
Asesorias e Inversiones Benjamin S.A./ South Lake One, LLC.
Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company P.J.S.C
Definitive Healthcare
FirstPay Technologies (Junio)
N. Harris Computer Corporation
Nippon Paint
Höegh LNG AS
Work highlights
- Advised Dell on the sale of Boomi Inc to Bayshore Holdings 2021 L.P.
- Advised Volaris Group in respect of the India leg of the transaction related to the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of a UK-based company having an Indian subsidiary.
- Advised PineLabs on a $600m funding round involving various international investors.
India > Dispute resolution: litigation Tier 2
Phoenix Legal is praised for its ‘deep knowledge of local laws, customs and international practice‘ and handles various corporate, civil and criminal matters before courts, quasi-judicial authorities, and tribunals. Public interest litigation, white-collar crime cases and corporate disputes are all firmly in the wheelhouse of the sizeable team, which works across the firm’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Vasanth Rajasekaran is one of the team’s most active litigators and has acted for a number of Fortune 500 companies at the New Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India. He is based in New Delhi, while in Mumbai Gautam Bhatikar is the name to note; vastly experienced in Indian dispute resolution, Bhatikar is qualified in India and England and Wales, and strong in representing EPC contractors, banks, shipowners, oil companies and insurers.Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Professional team, fast response to requests, deep knowledge of local laws, customs and international practice.’
Key clients
OOO (Limited Liability Company) M-Shipping
Samsung Engineering Co. Ltd.
UAB Garant Service
Shipowners Protection Limited
M.V. Nordlake
MS Nordlake GmbH
Mersen SA
Work highlights
- Advised M.V. Nordlake and MS Nordlake on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the UOI in 2012 and succeeded in seeking an interim relief for release of the arrested vessel M.V. Nordlake.
India > Insurance Tier 2
The team at Phoenix Legal handles a variety of contentious and non-contentious matters for large insured companies and domestic and overseas resinsurers, and is particularly known for its maritime expertise. In New Delhi, Saket Shukla provides strategic advice, utilising over 20 years of experience advising clients across a number of sectors, including insurance. The team typically assists clients in insurance and reinsurance claims, regulatory matters, and insurance start-up issues. In the Mumbai office, Sriram Ramachandran is an expert in M&A, private equity and corporate transactional deals, in addition to restructuring, early and late-stage investments, and private placements; and Gautam Bhatikar handles litigious matters.Practice head(s):
Saket Shukla; Sriram Ramachandran; Gautam Bhatikar
Key clients
Apis Partners LLP
India > Life sciences and healthcare Tier 2
Phoenix Legal has a strong focus on commercial and regulatory advice, working with pharma and medical devices clients throughout R&D, drug development, and approval matters, as well as handling sector-specific M&A and private equity investments. The firm also handles intellectual property issues as well as related disputes, and has a client base comprising major domestic healthcare providers, pharma and medical devices companies, alongside international players and investors. The team is overseen by Manjula Chawla and Abhishek Saxena , both heavily focused on transactional work, alongside regulatory and corporate crime specialist Saket Shukla . Focused on regulatory and sector-specific advice, Pranav Srivastava devotes a large proportion of his practice to work in the life sciences space. All lawyers mentioned are in New Dehli. Ritika Ganju is no longer at the firm.Practice head(s):
Abhishek Saxena; Manjula Chawla; Saket Shukla
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘They always give a very impartial practical advice keeping clients interest in mind. A lot of time they think out of the box for solutions.‘
Key clients
Intervet India Private Limited
Suburban Diagnostics (India) Private Limited
B Medical Systems India Private Limited
India > Projects and energy Tier 2
Onshore and offshore oil and gas project advisory is a specialism of Phoenix Legal‘s projects and energy team. Co-founding partner Abhishek Saxena is based in the Delhi office, from which he leads on a variety of cross-border deals in the aviation, industrial and LNG production sectors, operating notably on project finance and EPC contract matters. Likewise, Harsh Arora, a banking and finance specialist, counsels domestic and international commercial banks and multilateral agencies on debt and equity investments in Indian energy companies. Alongside Saxena, Pranav Srivastava leads on contractual and transactional design, procurement and construction matters in the oil sector and is a key contact for contentious matters, regularly representing clients in domestic and international commercial arbitration.Practice head(s):
Abhishek Saxena; Harsh Arora; Pranav Srivastava
Testimonials
‘Excellent domain knowledge. Significant international transaction experience. Intensive partner involvement. Value for money.’
‘Abhishek Saxena is knowledgeable, analytical and has excellent judgement on issues because of his experience. He has an excellent commercial understanding which distinguishes him from others.’
‘Pranav Srivastava is competent and logical.’
Key clients
State Bank of India
HDFC Bank Limited
SBI Capital Market Limited
Höegh LNG AS
TARC Limited
Work highlights
- Advised Höegh LNG on the LNG import terminal in Jaigarh, Maharashtra, India.
- Advised SBI Capital Market on the structuring of a procurement transaction.
- Advised State Bank of India on formulating and finalising drafts of financing and security documents in connection with the financing of a city gas distribution project.
India > Shipping Tier 2
With one of the larger teams in the market in the field of shipping, Phoenix Legal offers expertise on a range of admiralty matters, from contract agreements to arrest disputes to supporting P&I clubs. Mumbai-based partner Gautam Bhatikar stands out as a specialist in maritime law, with experience acting for global shipping companies in joint venture international arbitration disputes, offshore maritime EPC contracts, insurance and international trade matters. Several key partners are based in the New Delhi office, including Abhishek Saxena, Manjula Chawla, Pranav Srivastava and Ritika Ganju.Practice head(s):
Gautam Bhatikar
Testimonials
‘A Professional team with a deep knowledge of local laws and customs, who promptly respond to client requests.’
‘The team is very good, giving patient advice and time.’
‘Provides clear advice.’
Key clients
BWO Offshore
The Shipowners’ Club / Papaa Shipping
OOO (Limited Liability Company) M-Shipping
A.G. Shipping Pte
L&T Hydrocarbon & Engineering Ltd (LTHE)
UAB Garant Service
Höegh LNG AS
M.V. Nordlake
MS Nordlake GmbH
India > Labour and employment Tier 3
Phoenix Legal regularly advises clients on both contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, including employment law issues arising from M&A, business transfers, and reorganisation transactions. The firm has a strong presence in the manufacturing and services sectors, including software and outsourcing companies. The team is jointly led by Manjula Chawla, Saket Shukla, Abhishek Saxena, Sawant Singh, Vasanth Rajasekaran, and Pranav Srivastava.Practice head(s):
Manjula Chawla; Saket Shukla; Abhishek Saxena; Sawant Singh; Vasanth Rajasekaran; Pranav Srivastava
Key clients
Hogan Lovells International LLP
Monster Energy Company
Dell Technologies Inc
India > Real estate and construction Tier 3
Phoenix Legal‘s real estate team has experience in advising various participants in the real estate sector, including investors, developers, sellers and lessees. Saket Shukla focusses on strategic advisory work and the sale of commercial assets such as warehousing units. Abhishek Saxena supports Indian manufacturers in moving into new industrial spaces, reviewing, negotiating and finalising leave and license agreements, stamp duty issues and other ancillary documents. Siddharth Hariani handles the financial aspects of real estate deals, counselling investors on their lending to real estate developers across commercial and large-scale residential projects. Hariani also has vast experience in dealing with developers and engineering companies, working on the development, licensing and sale of land. Manjula Chawla‘s practice has a particular emphasis on leasing mandates such as assignments and restructuring deeds.Practice head(s):
Saket Shukla; Siddharth Hariani; Abhishek Saxena; Manjula Chawla
Key clients
TARC Limited
Intervet India Private Limited
Linamar India Private Limited
India > Restructuring and insolvency Tier 3
The team at Phoenix Legal regularly assists operational creditors and corporate debtors with voluntary liquidation processes, company dissolutions, and proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Gautam Bhatikar and Abhishek Saxena can often be found advising resolution professionals on navigating corporate insolvency resolution processes before the National Company Law Tribunal. The team takes a multi-sectoral approach, combining its lawyers' expertise across the mining and natural resources, oil and gas, telecoms and hospitality sectors.Practice head(s):
Sawant Singh; Abhishek Saxena; Saket Shukla; Manjula Chawla; Vasanth Rajasekaran; Sriram Ramachandran; Gautam Bhatikar; Pranav Srivastava
Key clients
Vardex Tooling Pvt. Ltd.
Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited
Deutsche India Private Limited
India > Tax Tier 3
Phoenix Legal supports its prestigious client base of both international and domestic heavyweights in the full suite of tax advisory matters. India’s relatively recent GST laws have continued to keep the team busy, and in direct tax, the implications of business restructurings are a further strength. Abhishek Saxena is the main contact for direct tax, while Jatin Arora is the lead lawyer for indirect tax. They jointly lead the department alongside Pranav Srivastava, who has a transactional focus.Practice head(s):
Abhishek Saxena; Jatin Arora; Pranav Srivastava
India > TMT Tier 3
Phoenix Legal provides legal services across the technology, media and telecommunications spaces, handling both contentious and non-contentious matters. Manjula Chawla remains a key contact for strategic investments, working on internal restructurings for acquisition purposes. Delhi-based Pranav Srivastava advises technology clients on transactional work as well as representing them on high-value commercial disputes. Mumbai-based Sriram Ramachandran is a specialist in corporate transactional, M&A and PE work, handling fintech mandates. Co-founding partner in Delhi, Saket Shukla , is the go-to crisis management specialist representing clients across media and telecoms.Practice head(s):
Manjula Chawla; Pranav Srivastava, Sriram Ramachandran; Saket Shukla
Key clients
Dell Technologies Inc.
News Laundry Media Pvt. Ltd.
Pine Labs
Sanctum Wealth Management
Cashfree Inc.
Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company P.J.S.C
Deutsche Bank AG (DB)
3i Infotech Limited (3i)
Peel-Works Private Limited
PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd
Work highlights
- Advised FirstPay Technologies (Junio) on its pre-series A round of funding.
- Advised Dell Technologies Inc on 100% sale of subsidiary Boomi Inc. to Bayshore.
- Acted for Definitive Healthcare on the India leg of the acquisition and assisted in due diligence, drafting, negotiation and finalization of the transaction documents and closing assistance.
India > Private equity and investment funds Tier 5
The team at Phoenix Legal regularly advise domestic and international private equity and venture capital funds on structuring and exit strategies. Based in New Delhi, Pranav Srivastava and Saket Shukla provide strategic advice with a regulatory focus, particularly to corporates relating to fundraising activity. Sriram Ramachandran advises on early and late-stage investments, and deals within the financial services and fintech spaces, supporting the team from Mumbai.Other key lawyers:
Manjula Chawla; Saket Shukla; Sawant Singh; Sriram Ramachandran; Pranav Srivastava
Key clients
Pine Labs Limited
FirstPay Technologies (Junio)
Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company P.J.S.C
Dell Technologies Inc.
Sojitz Corporation
Work highlights
- Advising Pine Labs Limited on a deal involving a mix of primary and secondary transactions with investors. The latest round of fundraising was investment by Invesco Developing Markets Fund by way of primary subscription and share purchase from existing shareholders.
Phoenix Legal > Firm Profile
The firm: Phoenix Legal was founded in 2008 by Ms Manjula Chawla, Mr Saket Shukla, Mr Abhishek Saxena, and Mr Sawant Singh. It is a leading full service/multi-disciplinary Indian law firm offering transactional, regulatory, advisory, dispute resolution, and tax services. With its principal offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, the firm advises a diverse clientele including domestic and international companies, banks and financial institutions, funds, promoter groups, and public sector undertakings.
It is committed to developing strong client relationships, engaging capable and dedicated professionals, and investing in technology. Enthusiasm, energy, and a drive for excellence influence the way the firm works. It invests time in understanding clients’ businesses, which enables it to provide commercially oriented and innovative legal solutions to achieve clients’ goals.
It believes that its lawyers are its greatest resource and its philosophy is to attract and retain quality professionals. It encourages entrepreneurship to enable its people to fully realize their potential. Its belief is that clients will benefit from the success of its people.
A few characteristics which set it apart from a conventional firm are a high degree of partner involvement and availability; top-quality commercially-oriented legal advice; attention to detail; and responsiveness.
Areas of practice: The firm is a full-service Indian law firm offering transactional, regulatory, advisory, dispute resolution, and tax services and has regularly acted on some of the most complex and cutting-edge work in different practice areas. Many of the firm’s deals and transactions have made headlines. The firm has acted on transactions with a value in excess of $1bn nearly every year of its existence. Even the deals and transactions that are not high-value, and therefore may not make headlines, involve complex and innovative structuring and regulatory issues. The firm has significant experience in advising its clients on deals and transactions in heavily regulated sectors, such as insurance, financial services, mining, pharmaceutical, multi-brand retail, infrastructure, and natural resources.
The firm’s clients include some of the largest and well known global corporations including Fortune 100 companies. Apart from the above factors, the firm believes its approach to client service to be superior to its peer firms and makes it stand out and justifies its better ranking. Partners at the firm have substantial or complete involvement in any client work that is undertaken by the firm. Additionally, it is aggressively responsive and always available to clients, provides commercial advice in a language that the client can understand and provides advice that is legally enforceable but without the legalese.
The solutions that we provide to our clients to help them achieve their business objectives have their basis in intense and detailed legal research. While we do keep abreast of market practices applicable to legal interpretation, they are adopted and recommended only if they are supported by a prevailing legal and regulatory framework.
In a sense, we don’t fully believe in a precedent-based approach. While we have a database and do pass the benefit of our experience to our clients, we do tend to tailor our advice to meet our clients’ requirements and do not believe in offering templatized solutions.
Towards this end, we continue to grow our team of qualified professionals with experience in diverse areas of law and the capability to provide fully integrated services to support all our client’s legal needs.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ms. Manjula Chawla | manjula.chawla@phoenixlegal.in | +911149830000 | |
| Mr. Saket Shukla | saket.shukla@phoenixlegal.in | +911149830000 | |
| Mr. Abhishek Saxena | abhishek.saxena@phoenixlegal.in | +911149830000 | |
| Mr. Sawant Singh | sawant.singh@phoenixlegal.in | +912243408500 |
Lawyer Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
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Jatin Arora | Jatin is partner based in Mumbai and is a qualified lawyer in… | View Profile |
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Harsh Arora | Harsh Arora is part of the Banking & Finance practice group and… | View Profile |
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Mr Aman Avinav | Aman is a partner based in the Delhi office of Phoenix Legal.… | View Profile |
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Ms Pallavi Bedi | Pallavi is a Partner of Phoenix Legal who specializes in the area… | View Profile |
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Mr Aditya Bhargava | Aditya is a partner based in the Mumbai Office of the Firm… | View Profile |
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Mithila Bhati | Mithila is an associate partner with the Mumbai office of Phoenix Legal. | View Profile |
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Gautam Bhatikar | Gautam is a partner based in Mumbai and is dual-qualified in India… | View Profile |
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Ms Manjula Chawla | Manjula is the co-founding partner of Phoenix Legal and concentrates in the… | View Profile |
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Mrs Chandni Chawla | Chandni Chawla is an Associate Partner with the New Delhi office of… | View Profile |
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Mr Zoeb S. Cutlerywala | Zoeb Cutlerywala is an Associate Partner with Phoenix Legal at their Mumbai… | View Profile |
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Gaurav Dudeja | Gaurav is a Partner based in the New Delhi office of Phoenix… | View Profile |
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Neha Naik | Neha Naik is an Associate Partner with the Mumbai office of Phoenix… | View Profile |
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Akshay Sachthey | Akshay is an Associate Partner with the New Delhi office of Phoenix… | View Profile |
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Mr Abhishek Saxena | Abhishek Saxena is a co-founding partner based out of New Delhi office… | View Profile |
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Aditi Sharma | Aditi is an Associate Partner with the New Delhi office of Phoenix… | View Profile |
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Mr Saket Shukla | Saket Shukla’s practice specialises in M&A, JVs, private equity and complex corporate… | View Profile |
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Mr Sawant Singh | Sawant Singh is a co-founding partner based in the Mumbai office. His… | View Profile |
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Mr Pranav Srivastava | Pranav is a partner based in the New Delhi office of the… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Number of lawyers : 85 at this office : 45Languages
English Hindi TamilDiversity
- Phoenix Legal represents Newslaundry Media (newslaundry.com) in all its corporate, litigation, tax and other legal work consisted with its objective of promoting and supporting media rights which are critical for any vibrant democracy. News laundry Online Media organization which works on a public sourced funded and powered, unlike conventional media which works on AD based model. The recent work done by Phoenix Legal includes representing News Laundry in proceedings before Delhi High Court challenging income tax. Surveys and consequents notices issued by income tax authorities for re-assessment of income filed successfully defending Newslaundry in a suit for copy right infringement and defamation filed by India Today group, defending Newslaundry reporter in a criminal defamation matter and corporate investment transactions.
- Barefoot college, advised on protection of intellectual property and trademark prosecution.
- “We have advised and assisted ‘The Education Alliance’ which is a non-profit organization, established with the aim of building an ecosystem where governments can strategically partner with mission-aligned organizations to overhaul the public education system, with the drafting of a service agreement for HRMS Solution and related services and a non-disclosure agreement.”
DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVENESS
We believe in creating an environment that encourages out of the box thinking, teamwork, and trust which contribute towards ensuring that we provide top quality services to our clients. Therefore, as one of the core founding principles of our firm, we place a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusiveness. We believe that this approach encourages different perspectives towards work, leadership styles, view points and equips our lawyers to provide novel and innovative solutions for our clients.
As a top Indian Law Firm in a country that itself is so diverse and inclusive – in terms of geography, people, language, culture and religion, and in so many other ways, we believe that Inclusion is an ongoing process and requires us to create a culture where everyone is valued and contributes to their true potential.
Our Management Committee under the leadership of our Founders and particularly, Ms. Manjula Chawla (Co-Founder) undertakes various initiatives to ensure we employ, groom, and retain a diverse pipeline of talent. A culture of Diversity & Inclusiveness is an inherent part of the firm’s value system, right from the hiring stage. This is a key part of not just our recruitment processes but also our internship and traineeship programmes through which we provide equal opportunity regardless of financial, cultural or other backgrounds. We have been able to put together a diverse team of young and committed professionals through this approach.
Our team comprises a set of lawyers from varied cultural and regional backgrounds. We have a particularly strong gender diversity ratio with an incredibly talented pool of women lawyers and staff that constitute almost equal male/female of our overall strength. We are sensitive towards the need for a flexible working environment conducive to the growth of our women lawyers.
As a socially responsible law firm, our Diversity & Inclusiveness Policy creates an environment that emphasizes on supporting social issues that promote diversity and inclusiveness free from any forms of prejudices whether towards gender, ethnicity or religious beliefs.
This has helped us build a cohesive and strong team over the years with a strong commitment to create a liberal and an equal society.
Client Testimonials
CLIENT: In-house Counsel of a French MNC
COMPANY/FIRM:
TESTIMONIAL: Manjula Chawla from Phoenix Legal comes across as a highly experienced advisor in navigating the Indian legal regime – she offers an effective combination of a solid legal advisory role on the legal and regulatory issues with a very pragmatic approach to some of the practical issues faced by the clients, which comes from a long experience of focussed and customised legal assistance to their clients. We have had the benefit of working closely with Phoenix Legal and Manjula on some of the restructuring and M&A topics in the region.
CLIENT: Anil Arora
COMPANY/FIRM: Print Packaging
TESTIMONIAL: It has been a good experience to work with Phoenix Legal team on corporate transactions and advisory. We are happy with the professional, competent and consistent responsiveness of Ritika and her team and highly recommend her for corporate transaction and advisory support.
CLIENT: Kevin McCormick
COMPANY/FIRM: Groupon
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal has provided responsive and sound legal advice to Groupon over many years in support of its operations in Chennai and Bangalore. Their attorneys have a wide array of expertise on a number of subject matter areas critical for foreign companies looking to operate in India.
CLIENT: Clarios
COMPANY/FIRM: Phoenix Legal
TESTIMONIAL: Manjula Chawla and her team at Phoenix Legal are our first and only stop across almost all practice areas in India. Manjula is not only an expert, her devotion to her client’s and her willingness to ALWAYS go above and beyond, are hallmarks of what separates Phoenix Legal from all other Tier 1 firms in India.
CLIENT: Celia Wu
COMPANY/FIRM: Visteon
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal has very solid legal professional team with expertise in various areas, and provides high quality legal services to help our business and operation in India. Their experience and work in corporate matters, merger & acquisitions, labour related advice, in particular, are tremendous. Phoenix legal is an accountable firm, and we very much enjoy working with Manjula Chawla, partner of Phoenix legal.
CLIENT: Visteon Corporation
COMPANY/FIRM: Phoenix Legal
TESTIMONIAL: The Phoenix team, and in particular our lead contact Manjula Chawla, is great to work with. Not only does Manjula and the rest of the team provide pragmatic advice regarding our general corporate and commercial needs in India but they do so in a very efficient and cost effective manner.
CLIENT: Kimberly Van Bockstael*
COMPANY/FIRM:Keppel Seghers
TESTIMONIAL: We are very satisfied with the support of Phoenix Legal during contract negotiations and execution of our projects. Phoenix Legal’s team (which included Ritika Ganju) provides concise advice, is solutions-oriented and responds on short notice.
CLIENT: Amit
COMPANY/FIRM:FCI-CCM
TESTIMONIAL: “We have always found your advise (and Phoenix Legal’ advise) and deliverables fast, accurate and painfully detailed….but we understand it is always in our interest….Excellent work always….”
CLIENT: Freek Kortekaas
COMPANY/FIRM: Triple Jump
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal has been assisting our company for a number of years to great satisfaction. Their advice is concise, to the point and highly valuable. Most importantly, Phoenix Legal staff, including the Partners respond in a very timely fashion and are available for off-the-clock consultation. I can highly recommend their services to anyway doing business in India.
CLIENT: SAMHI Hotels Limited
COMPANY/FIRM: COMPANY
TESTIMONIAL: We always turn to Phoenix Legal for their commercially sage advice. Saket and his team are through and solution oriented, and can be counted on to deliver in a timely manner. A unique combination of agility and legal and business acumen.
CLIENT: Rajive Ranjan, Managing Director
COMPANY/FIRM: Techno Design GmbH (Germany) / s.Oliver India Fashions Ltd.
TESTIMONIAL: I have known Mr. Saket Shukla and Phoenix Legal for over 10 years and hold him as well as his law firm in the highest regard. He has been continuously providing sound legal solutions, without losing focus on commercial aspects of the business. He has been a valuable strategic advisor in various matters, particularly in the area of Corporate Law and M&A. Saket is a man of high integrity and good character. He is one of the most qualified attorneys I have known and worked with and would highly recommend Saket and Phoenix Legal.
CLIENT: Newslaundry
COMPANY/FIRM: News Laundry Media Pvt Ltd.
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix legal has been not just a legal representative and consultant but a partner in the growth of our organization. Being a news media company our work inevitably provokes powerful interests into taking us to court or looking for weaknesses to hamper or inconvenience us. Phoenix Legal has demonstrated repeatedly that not only can we trust them for their commitment to our interests but their excellent ability and area expertise in doing the job well.
CLIENT: REPUBLIC MEDIA NETWORK
COMPANY/FIRM: ARG OUTLIER MEDIA Pvt. LTD.
TESTIMONIAL: Republic is a TV and Digital News Network setup by a career journalist and the most popular News Television face in India. The Year 2020-21 has been a year of constant litigation challenges for the Company and Team Phoenix Legal has spearheaded the legal defence of the Company over the course of the 12 months through numerous matters, with over 200 Police First Information Reports (FIRs) mostly, from remote areas, a Television Rating Points (TRP) related complaint and then proceedings involving the arrest and grant of bail to a key managerial personnel, in the reopening of a closed 2018 abetment to suicide case, before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and Supreme Court which culminated in the Supreme Court intervening to enforce the legal process. Over the 12 months period, Phoenix Legal has been the dynamo helping and guiding the Network to take the right legal defence and protect its interests. Very often, the reaction time was few hours to at best a few days; no deadline was missed, no representation was delayed and overall, Phoenix Legal has helped the Network hold its ground on pure legal merit.
CLIENT: Confidential (various clients)
COMPANY/FIRM: Khushaal Ved, khushaal.ved@hoganlovells.com +65 8726 0207 at Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee RE: Phoenix Legal
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal are the preeminent firm in the India investigations space. Saket Shukla and his team are responsive, nimble to local issues and international demands, and prepare client-accessible advice. They have experience in Indian litigation, local regulator e.g. Police enquiries, and employee misconduct. Saket is a star and should be recognised as such. They have helped advise Fortune 100 and regional entities with navigating Indian issues. Please feel free to contact me for more details.
CLIENT: Jesal Doshi
COMPANY/FIRM: B Medical Systems Sarl
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal is the pre-eminent firm of choice that we use when it comes to any legal matters in India. Not only are they extremely knowledgeable and responsive; but they think very pragmatically by putting themselves in the shoes of the business owner. I find this approach rare in most legal firms and would unflinchingly recommend them for any work across any sector/domain.
CLIENT: Charles Severs
COMPANY/FIRM:DLA PIPER
TESTIMONIAL: I have worked with Saket Shukla and Phoenix Legal on a variety of matters this year and have been delighted with the service. The Phoenix team has always been responsive, commercially aware and cost conscious and that combination is hard to find in any market.
CLIENT: Navis Capital Partners
COMPANY/FIRM: Phoenix Legal
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix is Navis’ “go to” advisor for all India foreign direct investment, banking, regulatory, and general commercial matters. Blessed with a team of first class lawyers in Delhi and Mumbai, Phoenix always deliver and a pleasure to work with even on extremely demanding and complex matters. Notable practitioners include:
- Saket Shukla is brilliant, razor-sharp and hands-on. He knows exactly what clients want and has the innate ability to navigate the myriad of India laws with consummate ease.
- Sawant Singh is recognised as one of the best financing lawyers in India – he impresses with his formidable expertise, solutions-focus approach and impeccable advice.
- Pranav Srivastava is an excellent lawyer who provides sound commercial advice and first class service. He impressed on Navis’ recent divestment of its tertiary education business.
- Aditi Sharma is a rising star and one to watch. She is part of Phoenix’s “A Team” and is highly-regarded for her commercial-mindedness and work ethic.
CLIENT: SHALINI SAXENA
COMPANY/FIRM: PINE LABS
TESTIMONIAL:We have worked with Phoenix for the last couple of years on investment into the company deals and have been very satisfied with the level of expertise and attention provided. The team assigned have maintained utmost professionalism and focused on resolving issues to the interest of all and overall deal. They have all been very insightful and an expert in their field. Truly professional and marvellous individuals.
My experience with the firm was excellent and a large part of it is due to Saket who is someone I go back a long way in the past. Saket has always given us all the time and attention that was needed to be successful in these kinds of deal. He was a calming and confident presence. I very much appreciate the knowledge and support I received from Phoenix.
CLIENT: Rajeev Trehan
COMPANY/FIRM: Anantraj Global
TESTIMONIAL:Phoenix Legal is a preeminent corporate practice, which has some of the most amazing and cohesive lawyers who intensely focus to offer strategic and comprehensive advise. As a corporate practice they have played a pivotal role advising us on matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, investments and takeovers with a focused approach on continuing success.
TARC Limited has been privileged to work with Phoenix Legal for almost a decade and has found them extremely reliable, interactive, insightful and truly professional in resolving certain complex matters. Saket Shukla, Co-founding Partner at Phoenix Legal is a marvelous individual and thought leader and brings to the fore the sophistication that only an extensively experienced professional can. His team of associates, in particular Akshay Sachthey, is outstanding, efficient and turns around pretty fast. We wish Phoenix Legal the very best.
CLIENT: Mohamed Toorani (Partner – Head of Bahrain office of DLA Piper)
COMPANY/FIRM: DLA PIPER MIDDLE EAST LLP
TESTIMONIAL: “It is refreshing to see a seasoned full-service Indian law firm offering transactional, regulatory and advisory services. Phoenix Legal are fully hands on with their work, understand client needs and above all, are transparent with their expertise. They have carried out works for several of our clients without any setbacks or delays. The quality of their deliverables are second to none. They are highly responsive and have assembled the right team with grit and determination. We are proud to work alongside the firm when instructed on advisory matters in India and very much look forward to continue working with them in the near future.”
CLIENT: Vance G. Camisa, Counsel
COMPANY/FIRM: MSD
TESTIMONIAL: Saket Shukla and his team at Phoenix Legal have been working with our in-house team for some time on a very complex and continuously evolving real estate related matter. The Phoenix Legal team has at all times provided excellent support, in terms of local-law/regulatory guidance, business-context guidance, drafting and negotiating. The Phoenix team has worked very collaboratively with our team, and quickly adapted to our particular approach to transactions as well as our hot-button issues. I have been more than happy with the support.
CLIENT: Kraftsamla Programme
COMPANY/FIRM: The Swedish Chamber of Commerce India
TESTIMONIAL: The team at Phoneix Legal supports our endeavour to make a positive impact on society and always give clear and researched advise. They make themselves available to answer any question we might have, always with an attitude of wanting to serve and help. We are grateful for their continuous support.
CLIENT: Confidential
COMPANY/FIRM: Confidential
TESTIMONIAL: Phoenix Legal is highly skilled and efficient relating to mining laws and regulations and related commercial agreements including long term purchase and supply contracts. They form a balanced view which helps both parties reaching agreement easily. Phoenix Legal have also successfully helped us settle substantial matters with multinational companies and safeguarded our interests by ensuring that our point of view was seen in the right perspective and risks associated with the manufacturing was properly allocated and accepted by the other parties.
CLIENT: Yamini Roy
COMPANY/FIRM: Bechtel
TESTIMONIAL: “Phoenix Legal has provided us timely and sound advice which was especially appreciated when the Covid-19 related national lockdowns commenced in India. With the constantly changing orders and reading of employment laws that did not support work from home situations, Phoenix Legal’s Saket Shukla and his team assisted with clarifying the uncertainty on labour and employment laws during such time. The team is extremely responsive and provide thoroughly researched, commercially balanced and quality assistance enabling us to shape our contractual asks in contracts, focus on core business needs and develop sound strategies and policies. We continue to look to Saket for his clear, well-rounded and concise legal advice which does not compromise on detailed and thorough research.”
CLIENT: Benchmark Broadcast Systems (S) Pte Ltd
COMPANY/FIRM: Phoenix Legal
TESTIMONIAL: Benchmark has known and worked with Mr Saket Shukla from Phoenix Legal for a number of years for commercial and contractual related matters. Mr Saket Shukla and his highly skilled professional team are experienced, reliable, timely, efficient and friendly. We would recommend them, without any hesitation, to anyone in need of legal counsel.
CLIENT: Elina Teplinsky, Partner
COMPANY/FIRM: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
TESTIMONIAL: I have had the chance to work with Saket Shukla and his colleagues at Phoenix Legal a number of times where I’ve needed advice under Indian law to support my clients on issues such IP protection, liability and insurance. The advice was also extremely timely, comprehensive, and reflected deep knowledge in the subject matter by the attorneys who prepared it. The advice was also much appreciated by clients. I feel confident in consulting with Phoenix law on any matter under Indian law.
CLIENT: Marina De Rosa
COMPANY/FIRM: Merck Animal Health, Intervet USA
TESTIMONIAL: Merck was in a difficult situation moving on a project in India. We have hired Phoenix when another legal firm in India was incapable of helping us or recommending us a feasible solution. Phoenix stepped in, figured out fast what was the status of the projects, assessed all risks and opportunities and suggested a path forward. I’ve been working on this project for 3 years. As soon as Phoenix stepped in, we managed to make a significant breakthrough. We closed the deal just recently with restless support of Phoenix team, that was working with us overclock, and over the weekends.
CLIENT: Arnab Goswami
COMPANY/FIRM: Editor in Chief, Republic Media Network
TESTIMONIAL: It gives me great pleasure in writing a few lines about Phoenix Legal, which has been our law firm for the Republic Media Network since the inception of our media group in December 2017. As a media startup with ambitious plans, we needed to ringfence ourselves legally from legal cases, IP related issues and attacks by competitors in the Indian media space in the first year of operations. Phoenix Legal, and its co-founding partner Saket Shukla, worked around the clock with the top management and editorial team at our network to ensure that the debut of the channel was the most successful ever in the Indian Media space. Phoenix has been part of multiple investment rounds and advised us on issues regarding equity dilution, due diligence of partners and investors, as well as played a major role in the buyback of the majority shares of our first investor which was successfully concluded in January 2020. The share buyback included negotiations with ten other investors who came in, and in that sense was a first in the Indian news media space. In more recent months, as the channel came under attack from vested interests resulting in a large number of criminal cases against employees and management, Phoenix Legal stood behind us like a rock, playing an incredible role in identifying the best lawyers, and ensuring that our litigation needs at multiple forums on a complex range of issues, including constitutional issues, and issues of malafide, were argued in depth and with conviction. Phoenix works very closely with lawyers in our editorial team, and there is a seamlessness between our respective teams that is of the strengths in our corporate and editorial growth story. I expect Phoenix to be a long term partner in our future growth and look forward to working with them as our network expands across India and globally in the future.
CLIENT: Marine Legal Bureau
COMPANY/FIRM: Phoenix Legal, India, Mumbai
TESTIMONIAL: We work in the field of maritime law. Before I met Mr Gautam Bhatikar (Partner of Messrs Phoenix Legal), our company worked with another law firm from India. Often we were not satisfied with speed, quality of services.
But thanks to destiny, I met Gautam and we started to work together in Indian cases – ships arrest cases and huge court cases in the court of Calcutta. These cases need a lot of human resources and professional knowledge.
And I have seen absolutely another result – professional team, professional management by Mr Bhatikar, professional actions with opponents and in the courts, prompt reaction to all our needs and requests.