Phoenix Legal

Corporate and commercial (M&As and foreign investment), Antitrust/Competition, Employment, Energy & Infrastructure, IP, IT & Outsourcing, Litigation and Arbitration, Private Equity, Telecommunications.

Co-founding partner.

Manjula Chawla is the co-founding partner of Phoenix Legal. She concentrates in the areas of strategic investments, M&As, corporate finance and restructuring, and general commercial matters.

She was one of the first handful of lawyers who chose to become a corporate lawyer and advise on cross-border transactions soon after the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991 thereby setting a path for many women lawyers looking for an “alternate” but wished to remain in the profession of law.

For over 30 years now, she has assisted many MNCs (including Fortune 500 companies) in establishing their presence in India in a variety of sectors including automobiles, energy, financial services, F&B, healthcare and pharma, IT, oil and gas, ports, transportation and telecom.

She advises on a wide range of issues involving anti‐corruption, competition law, corporate governance, exchange control, data privacy, labour and employment and real estate. She has advised several international non-profit organizations in relation to their activities in India on a pro bono basis.

She has counselled and represented various clients in numerous mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. Some of these include Adient Inc. (formerly part of Johnson Controls Inc), Air Liquide International, Bechtel Corporation, Baxter Corporation, Cooper Standard Automotive Inc., Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Credit Company, Johnson Controls Inc., The Lubrizol Corporation, Dell, Kameda Seika Ltd., (Japan), Monster Energy Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Prayon SA, Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), NTT Communications Corporation, Tokai Rubber Industries Co., Ltd. (now Sumitomo Rikko) and Visteon Corporation.

Her client commitment and consistent delivery of high quality services have been recognized by her clients and peers. She was awarded the National Law Day Award - 2000 by the Union Law Minister for "Excellence in Corporate Law and for unique contribution in bringing foreign exchange into India". She also featured in the recently published book “100 Legal Luminaries of India” which throws light on some of the most illustrious legal minds in India. She has been highly recommended as a Leading Lawyer in Corporate /M&A by Chambers & Partners’ Asia’s Leading Lawyers for Business for last several years.

English, Hindi

CII National Committee on Nuclear Power

Senior Vice President- Society of Indian Law Firms

Membership Committee Vice Chair - International Pacific Bar Association (IPBA)

Member – Legal Task Force of Confederation of Indian Industries

Member – India Working Group of the International Bar Association

Patron Member – Bar Association of India

Council Member – North India Council (NIC) of the Indo- American Chamber of Commerce (IACC)

Treasurer – Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF)

Member – DWEN (Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network) India Community, an initiative by Dell

She has graduated from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.