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Indian Law
Firm Awards
Amid global economic chaos, 2008 saw some of the most
memorable achievements by Indian lawyers in recent times.
India Business Law Journal is proud to recognize and reward
the country’s top law firms in 15 key practice areas
Vandana Chatlani reports
I
t was the best of times, it was the worst of times. to more than 500 India-focused corporate counsel and
2008 witnessed some of the most challenging market business leaders in India and around the world. A simi-
conditions since India opened its doors to the outside lar questionnaire was sent to partners at more than 200
world in 1991. Yet amid the chaos, the year also saw Indian and international law firms. Respondents were
some of the most memorable corporate deals, law invited to nominate three Indian law firms in each of 15
firm achievements and legal market developments of practice areas. They were also invited to nominate firms
recent times. in the category of best overall law firms. Indian firms that
Reliance Power broke records with its US$2.93 billion participated in the questionnaire were not permitted to
initial public offering; Trilegal announced a tie-up with nominate themselves.
magic circle firm Allen & Overy (to be followed this year
by AZB & Partners’ tie-up with Clifford Chance); Japan’s Rigorous methodology
Daiichi Sankyo pulled off the largest listed-company
deal in India’s history with its acquisition of Ranbaxy; The law firms that scored highly in the survey were sub-
FoxMandal Little opened a London office and completed sequently invited to supply client references, all of whom
yet another law firm merger; Tata acquired British icons (almost 200 in total) were contacted by India Business
Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford; Marezban and Alka Law Journal’s editorial team. Additional interviews were
Bharucha, equity partners at Amarchand Mangaldas, conducted with law firms and corporate counsel, both in
departed with a team of associates to set up their own India and internationally. The feedback and opinions of
firm; the State Bank of India completed a US$4.1 billion all consulted was considered carefully, together with the
equity rights issue; Khaitan & Co bucked international survey results and each law firm’s recent deals, cases and
recruitment trends by poaching the partner in charge of other notable achievements.
the India group at London-based Ashurst; China and India Not surprisingly, India’s largest and best-known general
raced to finalize their competition legislation; and the glo- practice firms were among the top scorers in most of the
bal markets received a severe lashing that left law firms award categories. The achievements and capabilities of
with the enormous task of picking up the pieces. these firms cannot be ignored and all are to be congratu-
In such extraordinary times, the task of judging India lated on the glowing endorsements they received from
Business Law Journal’s Indian Law Firm Awards was far the market.
from straightforward. In reaching its final decisions, the At the same time, a significant number of small and
editorial team used a combination of objective data and medium-sized law firms were repeatedly recommended by
subjective analysis. A detailed questionnaire was sent our respondents, with many receiving scores comparable
We would like to thank all of our clients and international referral partners whose recommendations
and nominations contributed to this tremendous success.
Contact: Vineetha Mg
Indian Law Firm Awards, 2008 Indian Law Firm Awards, 2008 Indian Law Firm Awards, 2008
Winner in the category of: Practice area winner in the Winner in the category of:
following categories:
Indian Law Firm Capital Markets & Corporate Finance Best Overall
of the Year Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firms
Taxation
Corporate & Commercial
The firm is also honoured to have worked on the following transactions, which were identified
by India Business Law Journal as 2008 Deals of the Year
Capital Markets & Finance Mergers & Acquisitions Capital Markets & Finance
Deals of the Year, 2008 Deals of the Year, 2008 Deals of the Year, 2008
Mumbai Office: 116 Mittal Court ‘A’ Wing, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021
Telephone No. +91 22 22842050, 22042954 Fax No.: + 91 22 22874332
Email Address: bhasinco@mtnl.net.in
Notable mention:
Mr. Lalit Bhasin, Managing Partner was awarded Honorary Membership of the IBA in Melbourne in
1994 for outstanding service to the legal profession. He is the President of Society of Indian Law
Firms and Honorary Secretary General of The Bar Association of India.
Kachwaha & Partners is a full service law firm with one of the leading practices
in litigation and arbitration. Partners of the firm are senior professionals with rich
and diverse experience. The firm (and its partners) enjoy the highest ratings from
leading law directories
91.11.41661 333
mail@kaplegal.com
www.kaplegal.com
Established in 1895
Key practice areas Mumbai
Admiralty, Oil & Gas, Ship/Project Finance, Capital Market & Securities, Antidumping, Anti-Trust and Competition, Aviation,
Corporate, Mergers/Demergers & Acquisitions, Foreign Investment, Offshore Investment & Securities, Taxation, I.T, Media Mulla House, 51, M.G. Road,
and Entertainment Law, I.P, Insurance Law, Labour & Industrial Laws, Infrastructure, Privatisation, Real Estate & Property Fort, Mumbai - 400 001, India
Tel: (+91 22) 2204 4960 / 2262 3191
Law, Telecommunications in both contentious and non-contentious areas and Arbitration (Domestic & International).
Fax: (+91 22) 2204 0246 / 6634 5497
Total number of partners: 14 Email: info@mullaandmulla.com
Total number of associates: 90+
Languages spoken: English, Hindi & most Indian languages Bangalore
We would like to thank all of our clients and associates who nominated us for this
honour. FML‘s reputation is founded on the simple philosophy of personal, prompt
service and advice relevant to the modern requirements of business. The firm’s
strength is its team of experienced and trained lawyers who treasure the value of
diligence and knowledge as well as creativity and innovation in addressing the
client’s needs.
We look forward to providing you all with the highest standards of legal advice in
2009 and beyond.
Mumbai: 1502, A Wing, Dalamal Towers Delhi: 405-406, World Trade Centre
Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400 021 Barakhamba Lane, New Delhi – 110 001
Tel.: +91 22 6636 7000 Tel.: +91 11 4152 8400
Fax: +91 22 6636 7172 Fax: +91 11 4152 8404
Ahmedabad: 801, Abhijeet III, Mithakali Six Roads Pune: 28, Gera Legend, North Main Road
Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad – 380 006 Koregaon Park, Pune – 411 001
Tel.: +91 79 6605 4480 Tel.: +91 20 6640 8000
Fax: +91 79 6605 4482 Fax: +91 20 6640 7240
Contact:
Rohan Shah, Managing Partner – rohanshah@elp-in.com
Suhail Nathani, Partner – suhailnathani@elp-in.com
Sujjain Talwar, Partner – sujjaintalwar@elp-in.com
Vikram Nankani, Partner – vikramnankani@elp-in.com
Indian Law Firm Awards Intelligence report
Economic Laws Practice, Khaitan & Co, Lakshmikumaran Juris Corp is often brought on
& Sridharan and Nishith Desai Associates.
Originally known for its expertise in indirect taxation, board for transactions involving
Economic Laws Practice has built a flourishing practice derivatives, structured finance,
in all areas of corporate law. The firm’s clients include
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Larsen & Toubro,
capital markets, cross-border
Whirlpool India, Colgate Palmolive, Aditya Birla, Yash Raj lending and equity-backed
Films and Otis Elevators. It recently acted as counsel to loans
Idea Cellular on the US$21 billion demerger and reverse
merger of its tower infrastructure with that of Bharti Airtel Chris Flosi
and Vodafone Essar to form the largest tower company in Regional General Counsel
the world. The firm, which has developed a close relation-
ship with Baker & McKenzie, is also representing India’s
Barclays Capital
largest film production house to create the world’s first
Bollywood theme park. The project is valued at US$1
billion.
New talent
Areas of Practice
CORPORATE: Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Privatizations; Outsourcing; Private Equity and
Venture Capital; Technology Licensing; Infrastructure
BANKING AND FINANCE: Secured and Unsecured Lending; Project Finance and Structured Finance;
Securitizations
Contact Person:
Anand S. Pathak – Partner
Phones: +91-11-4139-3939; +91-11-4139-3900
E-mail: apathak@palawoffices.com
we want, within the timelines we want, even if it means the share of the country’s legal workload.
lawyers have to forego sleep.” Amarchand partner Pallavi Shroff receives particular
Rainer Boehm, a lawyer at German IP firm Eisenführ praise for her work in this area, as do Lalit Bhasin of
Speiser & Partner who consulted Bharucha & Partners on Bhasin & Co, Sumeet Kachwaha of Kachwaha & Partners
corporate and litigation matters, remarks: “I was fortunate and Raian Karanjawala of Karanjawala & Co. They share
to instruct India’s best firm, probably. Both MP Bharucha the top table with the disputes teams at Federal &
and Vivek Vashi are outstanding.” Rashmikant and Mulla & Mulla.
“I rate Bhasin & Co very, very highly as a litigation firm,”
Fair competition says Anand Pathak of P&A Law Offices. “He’s one of the
very best. He has integrity, honesty and commitment to
An integral aspect of any M&A deal is compliance with the law. He’s a damn bloody good litigator!”
national – and sometimes international – competition Bhasin & Co serves clients such as Air India, Indian
legislation. Seemingly innocuous mergers can trigger Airlines and the ITDC hotels group, as well as several
notification requirements in multiple jurisdictions, and leading hotels including the Oberoi and the Taj.
the regulatory environment is set to become even more Kachwaha & Partners also wins critical acclaim for its
complex with the introduction of India’s new competition dispute resolution work. “[We used Kachwaha for] a litiga-
act. tion in the Bombay courts involving an Indian company,
Delhi-based Chitale & Chitale Partners scores highly as well as for Indian law input for concurrent proceedings
for its competition and antitrust work, sharing the top in the Singapore courts,” says Paul Sandosham, a part-
prize with Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, Amarchand ner at Singaporean law firm WongPartnership. “We had a
Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, Dua Associates, and P&A very good working experience and we were very satisfied.
Law Offices. The latter four firms benefit from having rep- Sumeet Kachwaha provided us with very good input on
resentatives on the Competition Commission of India’s Indian laws as well as overall strategy.”
advisory committee, which is drafting the implementing Peter Rosell, legal counsel for Topsoe in Denmark,
regulations for the new act. agrees: “In view of his and his office’s experience and
high standing in India and in London we chose to engage
The problem solvers him [Kachwaha] to assist us in a matter for the MRTP
Commission in New Delhi.
While corporate work may be the flavour of the moment “Their analytical ability and knowledge of the spe-
for up-and-coming Indian lawyers, litigation and other cifics of the relevant law and reference cases was
methods of dispute resolution still account for the lion’s impressive.”
Chitale & Chitale Partners is a full service law firm providing quality legal advice to its clients in matters relating to commercial
law. The approach is result oriented whilst maintaining the highest standards. The main areas in which the firm has expertise
are :
• Corporate and Commercial Law - Negotiation and Draft- • Disinvestments, Corporate and Financial Restructuring and
ing of Commercial Contracts, Joint Ventures, Technol- Acquisitions
ogy Transfer Agreements, Due Diligence, Regulatory • Banking and Finance – Project Financing, Documentation,
filings & advise, Corporate Restructuring, Mergers & Restructuring of Debt, Bond issues, Due Diligence.
Acquisitions.
• Intellectual Property Rights – filings, registration, opposition
• Dispute Resolution – Litigation, Arbitration, Mediation & and litigation
Conciliation.
• Real Estate & Construction
• Competition Law, Anti-Trust and Trade Law
• Media & Internet
• Infrastructure Projects – Roads, Rails, Power, Urban
• Employment Law
Infrastructure, Ports.
• Taxation – advisory and litigation
• Aviation & Defence
Contacts:
Suchitra Chitale & K.A. Sivaram
C-83, Neeti Bagh,
New Delhi - 110049
Telephone: +91-11- 41642965, 41642966, 41642967
Facsimile: +91-1141642964
E-mail: suchitra@chitales.com ; kasivaram@chitales.com
Trilegal is a full service law firm with over 100 lawyers across offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore
and Hyderabad. Operating at the forefront of the Indian market, Trilegal advises on some of the largest,
most complex and cutting edge domestic and cross border transactions across most practice areas. The
firm's strength lies in the combination of its international experience with an intimate knowledge of issues
unique to the Indian context. The main practice areas of the firm include:
B-1/ F-2, The Sapphire, 23, Madhuli, 149, Richmond Park, Harmony Plaza, 2nd
Mohan Cooperative Dr.Annie Besant Road, Bangalore- 560025 Floor, 3-6-387/ C,
Industrial Estate, Worli, Mumbai-400018 Tel: +91 80 4151 5252 Himayat Nagar,
Mathura Road, New Tel:+91 22 4079 1000 Fax:+91 80 4151 5210 Hyderabad-560028
Delhi, 110044 Fax +91 22 4079 1098 bangalore@trilegal.com Tel: +91 40 6641 5056
Tel: +91 11 4163 9393 mumbai@trilegal.com Fax:+91 40 6641 5057
Fax:+91 11 4163 9292 hyderabad@trilegal.com
delhi@trilegal.com
with our company has been most beneficial to us,” says Ranchoddas & Co, Nathani & Associates and Trustman
RC Daga, the company secretary at ITD Cementation. “We & Co were highly commended. Singhania & Partners and
would recommend the founding partners, Darius Udwadia Titus & Co narrowly missed the top list for their work in
and Dilip Udeshi for their vast and eclectic experience on energy, projects and infrastructure. g
a variety of legal issues gained over several decades ... We
have found their advice most reliable and dependable.”
In dispute resolution, prominent runners-up included
Advani & Co, Khaitan & Partners (not to be confused India Business Law Journal would like to thank all the corporate
with Khaitan & Co or OP Khaitan & Co), PH Parekh & Co executives, in-house counsel and private practitioners who generously
and Titus & Co, while for labour and employment, Malvi participated in the research for the Indian Law Firm Awards.
Winners at a glance
The full results of India Business Law Journal’s 2008 Indian Law Firm Awards
Khaitan & Co
Firms in the above tables are listed alphabetically, not in rank order. All winners in each category are of equal standing.
The methodology behind the awards is described on page 45.