Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co > New Delhi, India > Firm Profile

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co > The Legal 500 Rankings

India > Antitrust and competition Tier 1

The team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co handles the full spectrum of competition and antitrust matters for domestic and international clients, consistently delivering ‘cutting-edge‘ advice. John Handoll and Pallavi Shroff co-head the practice; Shroff has extensive experience in representing public and private entities, and Handoll has over 40 years’ experience in practicing competition law in India. Shweta Shroff Chopra draws on more than 18 years of experience in advising on corporate and competition matters, resulting in her practice featuring a blend of merger control and enforcement, areas in which Manika Brar is also an expert. In addition, Brar handles abuse of dominance matters alongside Naval Chopra. Harman Singh Sandhu is well versed in defending large multinational companies in high-profile cartel enforcement cases involving elements of leniency, and represents clients in abuse of dominance cases. With ‘unparallelled‘ expertise and ‘deep understanding‘, Yamam Verma handles major investigations into digital markets, cartels, abuse of dominance and enforcement cases.

India > Banking and finance Tier 1

The ‘pro-active, experienced‘ team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co advise global corporates on leveraged, integrated, cross-border, and multi-currency facility financings. Based in Delhi, Shilpa Mankar Ahluwalia is a specialist in structured debt, and often advises on REIT financing deals. Veena Sivaramakrishnan is ‘one of the brightest minds‘ in the market and handles debt and equity matters and restructurings. The team also advises on secured real estate finance and corporate lending, dispensing advice on syndicated and bi-lateral loans. Shubhangi Garg  has considerable experience in advising on foreign currency financing and overseas direct investments.

India > Capital markets Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is home to an impressive capital markets practice, which frequently assists clients with complex, big-ticket transactions. Prashant Gupta leads the team and advises issuers and underwriters on large capital market deals such as buy-backs, pre-IPO private placements and capital restructurings, and Nikhil Naredi assists a host of clients, including issuers, investors and investment banks on equity-linked and debt securities. The team continues to place an emphasis on the provision of debt and equity security offerings, while Manjari Tyagi acts for merchant banks in a myriad of domestic equity capital markets transactions, international high-yield bond transactions and foreign listings. Shubangi Garg remains a key member of the team and focuses on listed non-convertible debenture issuances by InvITs and REITs.

India > Corporate and M&A Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is a go-to for high-value public M&A and private equity investments, advising major corporate buyers as well as PE houses on complex, often cross-border transactions involving significant regulatory and multijurisdictional aspects. Alongside its capabilities in big-ticket transactional work, the firm also regularly handles joint ventures and capital markets issues, alongside cross-border corporate structuring and commercial contracts, and has a particularly strong record in foreign direct investment work. Practice head Shardul Shroff in New Dehli has broad expertise across corporate and financing matters, while Mumbai’s Raghubir Menon is a standout name for cross-border transactions on behalf of private equity funds, and domestic and international companies. Also in New Dehli, Amit Khansaheb is active across the software, logistics, and IT sectors, while Puja Sondhi advises on foreign investment and regulatory issues with a notable growth company and venture capital focus, and Mithun Thanks specialises in private equity deals.

India > Dispute resolution: arbitration Tier 1

Within its wider dispute resolution offering, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co fields a specialised arbitration practice group that is well versed in handling all phases of commercial and treaty arbitrations, covering negotiation strategy, drafting pleadings and conducting arbitration hearings. The team has members in both New Delhi and Mumbai; practice heads Pallavi Shroff and Tejas Karia are based at the former, while Rishab Gupta stands out in Mumbai for his strength in investment treaty arbitration. Binsy Susan comes with strong client recommendation for her ‘poise in high-stakes arbitration‘.

India > Insurance Tier 1

The team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is renowned for advising on corporate and regulatory issues in the insurance space, covering the formation and licensing of insurance companies, structuring of insurance joint ventures, and withdrawals from the market. Shailaja Lall heads the practice, drawing on over 20 years’ experience practicing insurance law. Samarth Gupta focuses on regulatory and transactional matters, and often advises clients on setting up and restructuring life and health insurance joint ventures, while Alina Arora uses her vast knowledge of corporate matters to advise on large M&A transactions and regulatory matters in the insurance sector. Ashish Teni regularly advises domestic and overseas insurers and insurance brokers, and has extensive experience in drafting policies for life insurance companies.

India > Private client Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co‘s experienced private client practice, based in New Delhi, works on diverse assignments for HNWIs. Department head Divi Dutta brings a wealth of experience in trusts, wills, succession and estate planning for both domestic and international clients. She has expanded the practice with an increased handling of family dispute matters relating to asset protection and maintenance. Furthermore, the team assists some of the most high-profile multinational corporations in India, operating across a range of sectors, in family settlements and the creation of wills and private trusts. Representing clients in more contentious matters where there has been a misallocation and misapplication of assets under a trust has also been an area of growth for the firm.

India > Projects and energy Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co fields one of the market’s strongest project finance practices in the energy and infrastructure sphere. The team can regularly be found advising major asset managers that focus on investments into steel plants, railway constructions, hospitality expansions, transmission projects and wind farms. Heading the practice, Jatin Aneja leads on high-value transactions with an impact on the airport and railway sectors in India. Deepto Roy advises international asset management firms on equity investments into renewable assets of multinational renewable energy companies. Siddhartha Sen works on cross-border acquisitions involving FDI in the road, airport, real estate, and oil and gas sectors. Further bolstering the firm’s project finance expertise, Debashree Dutta and Anurag Dwivedi handle external commercial borrowing, domestic and bilateral loans, and leveraged finance.

India > Real estate and construction Tier 1

As advisors to leading domestic private equity investment funds and real estate developers on mergers, acquisitions and financing, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co regularly works on high-value and large-scale matters. Mrinal Kumar, the lead partner in New Delhi, works on landmark acquisitions in the construction and industrial real estate areas, advising multinational construction companies on acquiring large domestic engineering companies. Mumbai-based duo Mithun V. Thanks and Akshay Chudasama support leading real estate developers on expanding their presence and platform in the real estate segment across India through mergers and joint ventures. Bhoumick Vaidya assists investors in security matters in their debt investments in real estate-focused companies, and Chennai-based partner Dorothy Thomas‘s recent highlight matters include advising on the sale of shares in large-scale warehousing assets in southern India to a joint venture.

India > Restructuring and insolvency Tier 1

The highly experienced team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co handles the gamut of bankruptcy, insolvency and restructuring matters, from restructuring to mitigate distress in large companies, to liquidation and resolution processes. The team regularly handles cross-border contentious and non-contentious restructurings, out-of-court settlements and insolvencies. Shardul Shroff heads the practice, which includes Saurav Panda, who has a combination of in-house experience from ICICI Bank and experience within the firm, and regularly represents strategic and financial investors, resolution professionals and banks on resolution processes. Misha uses her 15 years of experience in dispute resolution, bankruptcy and insolvency law to represent clients before the Supreme Court, High Court and the NCLAT.

India > Tax Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is a popular choice for tax advice on significant inbound investments, M&A and structural reorganisations. Its practitioners are also well versed in litigation in both the indirect and direct tax spaces, and provide clients with support in active or prospective investigations by the tax authority in India. Reflecting its strength in transactional tax, one of the firm’s new client additions in 2021, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, looked to Amit Singhania and Gouri Puri for assistance through its $318m acquisition of OQ's stake in Bharat Oman Refinery. Puri has a focus on international tax planning matters and digital taxation, while Singhania is noted for advising on the tax elements of cross-border investments and financial services matters. For direct taxation, Abhay Sharma stands out as an expert, and for indirect tax matters, Rajat Bose is the lead lawyer. Managing partner Pallavi Shroff oversees the department.

India > TMT Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co has a long-standing involvement in the technology, media and telecommunications industries, representing media and entertainment businesses, technology giants and major telecommunications players. A specialist in dispute resolution and information technology laws, Tejas Karia regularly advises a spectrum of clients in the media and tech sectors on data protection, privacy and confidentiality. Karia is routinely supported by a sizeable team of partners and associates. The firm’s technology expertise spans the gamut of regulatory and transactional matters, including commercial agreements (such as M&A deals), intellectual property, corporate finance and litigation.

India > White-collar crime Tier 1

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co handles a wide range of white-collar crime cases, including money laundering, corruption, bribery, procurement malpractices and other business crimes. The team assists with all stages of the investigation, from the discoveriy of  the offence to pursuing it to its end before a court. Pallavi Shroff heads the practice and her experience assists clients from all industries, including telecommunications, energy, consumer goods, construction, finance, and manufacturing. Alina Arora has extensive experience of leading complex multi-jurisdictional internal investigations involving bribery, fraud, money laundering, books and records irregularities. Nishant Joshi and Samarth Gupta are other key contacts.

India > Dispute resolution: litigation Tier 2

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co‘s team of senior litigators is particularly strong in the banking and finance field, but the firm’s sizeable dispute resolution practice also represents clients in an array of fields, in courts across India. Leading names in financial services, electronics manufacturing and insurance are among those to instruct the team, whose expertise covers a range of matters from corporate fraud to shareholder disputes and insolvencies. Pallavi Shroff heads the department and has a particularly impressive track record representing clients in competition-related cases. Manu Nair counts JP Morgan India among his recent clients, while another key contact Ajit Warrier had a busy 2021, including multiple appearances at the Supreme Court. Angad Kochhar is another of the deep bench of experienced litigators who regularly appear at all levels of court.

India > Labour and employment Tier 2

The employment and labour law practice of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co offers comprehensive advice on all employment law matters in conjunction with its other practice areas to provide litigation advice and specialised assistance in industry-specific matters. Pooja Ramchandani heads the team and advises various multinationals and large corporations on employee matters related to closures, stock options, mergers, business transfers, and industrial disputes. Rising star Kriti Kaushik specialises in issues related to entry and exit strategies, contract labour, and engagement and compensation structures of senior management. Suruchi Kumar focuses on closure of establishments and severance pay, while Suryansh Gupta advises on employment agreements, restrictive covenants, HR policies and immigration.

India > Private equity and investment funds Tier 2

The team at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co provide blue chip investment funds and domestic conglomerates with ‘high quality’ advice on strategic transactions and investments. Shardul Shroff heads the practice, and Iqbal Khan advises global strategic investors on investments and foreign investment legal regimes. Raghubir Menon has substantial experience in advising sovereign wealth and private equity funds, as well as corporates on a range of domestic and overseas transactions.

Intellectual property Tier 3

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co‘s intellectual property department stands out for its assistance in transactions with key IP issues. The firm also offers a robust IP litigation practice with practitioners well-versed in patent litigation. Practice head Dev Robinson assists both international and domestic clients, providing advice on patent searches, prosecution matters and strategies in relation to competitors. Muzammil Husain is another patent-focused partner to note, while J.V. Abhay advises on the full range of trademark, domain name, copyright, design and breach of confidence issues. He is based in Mumbai where Mukul Baveja heads the IP group. Robinson and Husain are based in New Delhi.