Rising Star Lawyers 2020

A PAT ON THE BACKS OF ALL THOSE WHO BRING NEWNESS TO THIS NOBLE PROFESSION

Legal Era Magazine conducted virtually its 5th Annual "40 Under 40 Rising Star Awards 2020" on the 3rd of October, 2020, continuing its tradition of honouring up-and- coming talent (in-house and external counsel as well as law firms) aged 40 years and below.

Those who graced the occasion included Dr. Lalit Bhasin, President of The Society of Indian Law Firms; Amarjit Singh Chandhiok, President Elect, Bar Association of India; Darius J. Khambata, Senior Counsel – Bombay High Court; Amit Desai, Senior Advocate – Bombay High Court; Dev Bajpai, Executive Director, Legal, Corporate Affairs & Company Secretary – Hindustan Unilever Ltd.; Badrinath Durvasula, Sr. Vice President & Head Legal – Essar, Mumbai; and Hemant Kumar, Group General Counsel – Larsen & Toubro.

WHAT THEY SAID?

Dr. Lalit Bhasin - President Society of Indian Law Firms

"These are the fifth Rising Star Awards. I compliment Legal Era for being the first institution of its kind to have introduced these awards for 40 under 40 outstanding legal professionals. We honor young talent that exemplifies vision, leadership, innovation, and accomplishments within the legal fraternity. Legal Era and the legal media group have instituted these awards to celebrate young achievers, be it in-house lawyers, those working in private practice, external lawyers and law firms. This is an innovation in the sense that when we started practice, there were no such awards and Legal Era was not in existence at the time."

Amarjit Singh Chandhiok - President Elect Bar Association of India

"Today these awards exist and we have those who are 40 or under 40 getting them and participating in these events. This in itself is a proud moment for us. We are seeing these youngsters follow the path that was laid out by our elders. We must recognize the contribution of these youngsters in the development of law in recent times. We must recognize their inputs. That there are 212 entries speaks volumes for the Awards."

Darius Khambatta, Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court

"It is really humbling to be here because we are given the privilege of addressing the future generation of lawyers - the generation that must now carry forward the torch into the future. And I have to tell you three broad things. You have achieved success at a young age but that comes with responsibility. Firstly, you have to be sentinels of freedom, constitutionalism and the rule of law. Secondly, we are now ready for a revolution in the way we practice, akin to the economic revolution that DR MANMOHAN SINGH heralded in 1991. I commend freedom from inefficiency, freedom from slothful practices, and freedom from inertia. Thirdly, you have to broaden your horizons and venture into other fields and interests."

Amit Desai, Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court 

Since I began my practice about 40 years ago, India and the judicial system have changed completely, maybe not as quickly as they are changing right now but changed nonetheless. My words are not to scare you but to remind you of the important place that you hold in our society. Just as much as a transactional lawyer is critical to the economic engine, litigators are critical to upholding the rule of law and maintaining the dignity of courts. These are unprecedented times in the nation's judiciary and legal practice. It is now trite to say that various principles that we grew up assuming as infallible are being worn down. As you receive this award as recognition of your past achievements, I urge you not to forget the reason you became lawyers, to uphold the values that are intrinsic in our profession. The beauty of the legal profession like mathematics is that no matter what the latest developments, certain principles will remain true for all eternity. Do not forget these truths whether the basic structure doctrine or the importance of good faith negotiations and settlements." 

DEV BAJPAI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEGAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS & COMPANY SECRETARY HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.

"Integrity is the most important thing. Create values by playing values and remain relevant for not what you are but for what you do. Do the right things.Right outcomes will follow"

AND THE AWARD GOES TO RISING STAR 2020  

Aayushmaan has close to a decade of hands-on experience of working on multi-dimensional and complex litigation and intellectual property matters in India.

He has advised clients ranging from multinational corporations to start-up companies, software developers, fashion brands, and production houses in the media and entertainment industry in a wide variety of matters relating to intellectual property enforcement, prosecution, brand protection and anti-counterfeiting strategies specific to the South Asian region.

Aayushmaan has significantly grown as a counsel and as a strategist during his tenure with the firm. He has argued notable cases before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court and district courts at Delhi pertaining to trademarks, patents, copyrights and industrial designs. Aayushmaan regularly writes on various contentious subjects in the IP arena and is also working on a book on the interplay between Design and Copyright Laws in India. Being a true IP enthusiast, he has taken the firm to great heights since his association with the firm.

Abhishek Sharma is a Partner with Link Legal India Law Services and has over 13 years of experience. He is the Addnl. Joint Secretary of the NCLT and NCLAT Bar Association and a former Board Member of Global law (a worldwide network of more than 100 independent law firms).

He has substantial experience in handling disputes concerning the aviation sector (including airports) and in handling civil and commercial disputes in various fora including the Supreme Court of India. He routinely acts for clients in arbitration proceedings, both domestic as well as international. Abhishek is a regular practitioner before the various benches of the NCLT as well as the NCLAT in a large number of insolvency and company law matters.

Abhishek Sinha is a dual qualified (England & Wales and India) corporate lawyer with post-qualification experience of more than 14 years. He has attained specialized certificates in law relating to Mergers & Acquisitions, Cyber Laws, Consumer Protection Laws, etc.

Abhishek has been involved in various acquisition matters (both domestic and cross-border), contract negotiations, and has regularly advised his clients on investment strategies, joint ventures, strategic alliances, regulatory compliances, exit options and general corporate matters.

With a vision to bridge the gap between academia and industry; and to provide quality legal education, he founded NotJustLex (NJL) in late 2019.

Aditya Chopra is the Managing Partner at Victoriam Legalis - Advocates & Solicitors, a specialized, full-service law firm with a multi-jurisdictional practice stationed at Mumbai.

Aditya is an experienced professional with exceptional skills in handling all areas of legal practices being corporate & commercial, dispute resolution and business transactions etc. With over 8 years of experience, he has developed an in-depth knowledge of drafting & negotiating commercial and corporate agreements.

Aditya represents promoters of some of the major corporate groups and companies. He advises some of India's award-winning production houses and one of India's largest entertainment conglomerates operating in the motion pictures and television arena.

Amit Kumar is the General Manager with One97 Communications Ltd. (Paytm), managing litigation for all group companies. Having vast experience in Litigation, Fraud Risk Management, Banking Compliance, and representing matters in the NCLT, CCI and document review in consonance with current ecommerce and banking policies, he has earned accolades working in the Telecom Industry from 2007 to 2017.

Amit is a skilled litigator having vast experience in representing companies in matters whether civil or criminal in the telecom sector; ecommerce fraud and resolution; Banking and fraud investigation.

His experience lies in driving teams through business legal strategy, risk analysis & mitigation, litigation, arbitration, mediation and trial administration for high-profile cases in telecom, ecommerce, utility and banking sector.

Amit Mishra heads the Dispute Resolution Practice at P&A Law Offices. His practice focuses on international arbitration and investment treaty arbitration.

Amit has represented several Indian, U.S., European and Asia-Pacific corporations in cases before the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Delhi, and other tribunals including the NCLT.

Amit regularly advises the Government of India and other Public Sector Undertakings on their dispute strategies. Amit is a visiting faculty (seminar courses) at the National Law University Delhi and Jindal Global Law School.

Aniket has over 11 years of experience and specializes in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, joint venture, strategic collaboration, debt financing transactions, corporate restructuring transactions, establishment of new business operations, general corporate, commercial contracts and intellectual property.

Aniket has been involved in transactions focused on equity/debt financings in e-commerce, education, health care, manufacturing and telecom sectors, as well as cross border acquisitions and joint ventures. His transactional practice includes advise to investee companies and various strategic and financial investors on structuring of transactions; drafting, vetting, negotiation and finalization of transaction documents; entry and exit strategies; and foreign exchange regulations.

Anshuman Kashyap has wide legal experience of approximately 9 years. He has worked with multinationals like E.I.DuPont India Service centre in Hyderabad as a Legal and Compliance Associate. He has also worked with Samsung India Electronics Ltd as Senior Executive and Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd. as an Assistant Manager.

Presently, Anshuman is working as a Legal Counsel with Royal Enfield (Eicher Motors) handling the Company's Intellectual Property Rights (India), litigation (including but not limited to MACT, IPR, Legal Metrology and Consumer) and compliances.

Ayush A. Mehrotra is a Partner with the Indirect Tax, Customs and International Trade practice group of Khaitan & Co LLP's New Delhi office.

His expertise lies in matters relating (but not restricted to) GST, Excise, Customs & International Trade and regulatory laws. He is frequently consulted on tax controversies; revenue investigations and resolution of operational issues Having successfully represented clients across sectors like civil aviation, renewable energy, heavy engineering, real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, e-commerce etc.

Girish Rawat is a Partner with the law firm Dhir & Dhir Associates. A qualified lawyer and company secretary, he spearheads the corporate advisory team of the Firm. He is a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association and has extensive experience of over fourteen years.

Girish has been involved in numerous complex and high profile transactions. His area of specialization includes Banking & Finance, Corporate Finance, Project Finance, Structured Finance, Capital Market, Project & Infrastructure, Real Estate and Construction, Insolvency and Bankruptcy and General Corporate Advisory.

Girish actively advises clients on project finance, project development and implementation particularly in Infrastructure, Energy and Real Estate sector, buyback of listed securities, issue and listing of the securities in India, private equity and M&A transactions in Infrastructure and Energy Sector and setting up of alternative investment funds in India.

Joginder is a registered Indian patent agent and heads the Engineering Patent Practice at LexOrbis IP attorneys. He has over 12+ years of rich experience in patent services. He has substantial exposure in the handling of both contentious and non-contentious patent matters. He works closely with several national and international clients for managing their patent portfolio.

Joginder drafts and prosecutes patent applications before the Indian Patent Office and he also assists in the prosecution of foreign patent applications. Further, he provides technical support during patent litigations and oppositions using his search and analytics skillsets. His clients recognize him for the expert he is and for the significant value that he adds to their patent matters. Joginder also represents LexOrbis at several national and International IP conferences and events throughout the year. Also, he regularly speaks at various seminars/webinars, conducts patent workshops, and actively publishes several articles on various topics related to patents.

Kanika Shah Wadhwa joined GSK in March 2018 as General Manager, Legal. She took over as the Head of Legal for the consumer healthcare division of GSK in the Indian Subcontinent, post divestment of the nutritional business to Hindustan Unilever. Over the past year, Kanika has been involved in leading certain complex transactions.

Her leadership, ability to carry the team with her tenacity and calm disposition during the most stressful times during the entire transaction has been recognized at global platforms within the GSK system. Kanika was successful in quickly gaining the support and confidence of all internal and external stakeholders. She managed to work with multiple stakeholders in different jurisdictions and time zones, during the lockdown.

Kanika has also been instrumental in breaking stereotypes within the company. Her team has successfully put in place a competition law compliance program in the Indian Subcontinent, in accordance with the local laws. With the aim of providing more agility, the legal team is undertaking activities and putting in place structures to simplify existing processes.

Kartik is an associate partner in the Dispute Resolution practice group of DSK Legal and has vast experience in representing domestic and international clients in commercial, contractual disputes, technology, telecom, media and entertainment related disputes, regulatory issues pertaining to India as also international arbitration and white-collar crimes.

He also advises the ministries and institutions under the Government of India extensively. He appears regularly before various fora, including the Supreme Court of India, High Courts and Tribunals all across India.

He has extensively advised and represented large industrial houses, engaged in various sectors. Kartik has undertaken key white-collar crimes' prosecution, investigation and defence assignments, which involve a deep understanding of the regulatory and judicial framework on criminal law, corporate governance and economic regulations associated with doing business in India by Foreign companies and Non-Resident Indians.

A graduate of the National Academy of Legal Studies & Research, Hyderabad, Ketan Mukhija has over 13 years' experience in corporate commercial laws and mergers and acquisitions. Ketan has an invaluable perspective on the business requirements of clients, having been the General Counsel of SREI Group, one of the largest infrastructure financing conglomerates in India. He also understands the nuances of cross-border transactions, having worked with foreign law firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills in their mergers & acquisitions and capital markets departments. Ketan is a qualified solicitor of England and Wales. He specializes in the areas of banking & finance, energy & infrastructure, corporate restructuring, private equity, and capital markets, both domestic and cross border. Ketan is also a registered Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP).

Kunal is an M&A and Competition Partner at Dua Associates with over 15 years of experience as a seasoned M&A lawyer including 5 years of rich experience as a competition/antitrust lawyer with an extensive experience in the areas of mergers and de-mergers including cross border mergers, acquisitions, private equity transactions, general corporate advisory, drafting and negotiating transaction documents including share purchase agreements, shareholders agreements, joint venture agreements, business transfer agreements, etc.

Kunal has also advised clients on foreign direct investment structures and entry level strategies as well as several legal and regulatory issues.

L. Badri Narayanan is an Executive Partner at the firm and practices in the areas of corporate, investment and tax laws. He advises companies on mergers and acquisitions, business transfer agreements (slump sales), joint ventures and share acquisitions, and has been involved in both domestic and cross-border transactions.

Badri has advised and assisted various leading Indian and multinational corporations with transactions pertaining to joint ventures, acquisitions and restructurings. Badri has advised some of the largest e-commerce companies on their India entry and operations, in order to comply with various Indian laws. He has drafted representations for changes in the laws relating to foreign direct investments (FDI) and tax laws relating to e-commerce. He also regularly advises and represents companies in the auto, healthcare and pharma, shipping, liquor and financial sectors.

He also deals in gaming laws and structuring of gaming transactions relating to poker, fantasy games, lottery and other games from the regulatory and tax perspective.

Luv Tanwani is the Legal Leader and Managing Counsel, Power Systems with Cummins India Limited at Pune and is a part of the Leadership Team of Cummins's Power Systems Business Unit in India.

Luv comes with an experience of about 12 years in Legal Operations encompassing Legal Strategy, Litigation, Business Partnering, Advisory, Compliances, Ethics, Risk Mitigation, and Contract Management which includes support to Government relations and Security. His core areas of expertise include litigations, business advisory, contract and compliance management and ethics. He has also partnered with global teams on various key projects related to support on business models, global litigation initiatives, policy implementations etc.

Marisha is a legal professional with over 10 years of experience in offering legal support on all matters related to the Service Industry, Marketing, Human Resources, Intellectual Property Rights, Payment Systems, Employment Sector, Telecom, Media, Technology and Insurance sectors together with a strong litigation and alternative dispute resolution background along with relevant Contract Management experience.

Currently she leads Swiggy's Market Place Legal team with the focus to engineer a robust legal contract, litigation, advisory and compliance system along with supporting the integrated policy advocacy goals. She has experience of working very closely with the Senior Management teams and has contributed to the development and implementation of organizational legal strategies, policies, and practices.

As the AVP Legal and Secretarial, Mehak manages wide-ranging restructuring and fundraising transactions. She undertakes contract drafting & negotiations and provides intense legal support for business projects in India, US and Singapore. She also advises the company on IT/data privacy, regulatory compliances, labor law compliances, FEMA & secretarial compliance.

Mehak is also involved in supervising and strategizing IP issues and litigation work for India and other countries as also advising on setting up manufacturing factories/facilities in India, engaging with government authorities & advising on policy issues pertaining to rules/guidelines governing e-commerce industry, legal metrology etc.; providing legal advise for business arrangements (with distributors, vendors, service providers, brand & website partners etc.), business strategy, commercial transactions, and day-to-day operations (hiring models, employment strategy etc.).

Milind Jha is the Partner of Link Legal India Law Services and has over 14 years of experience in his practice areas of M&A, Projects and Infrastructure, Capital Markets and General Corporate & Commercial. Milind's cross training in different practice areas and a well-rounded understanding of the inter-play of issues and various laws makes him a valuable resource on any transaction.

Milind heads the capital markets' practice of the Firm and has been advising top tier and mid-segment investment banks and issuer companies on equity and debt capital markets issuances and complex takeovers in various sectors.

Milind is a senior member of the Firm's Infrastructure and Mergers and Acquisition teams and has worked on and completed various marquee transactions in varied sectors. He is also a member of the Firm's China desk and regularly advises Chinese clients on various aspects of Indian laws, primarily in infrastructure and M&A practices.

Mini Gautam is recognized as one of the top 40 lawyers in India under the age of 40 by Business World. She is the founder and managing partner of a full service law firm, "Arthavat Law Offices". She comes with over 10 years of experience in M&A, General Corporate, Technology related laws and Data Privacy, Infrastructure and Project Financing, Fund Raising, and other legal advisory. She also conducts training sessions on prevention of sexual harassment and gender sensitization.

Mini has worked as an in-house legal counsel and advisor for some of the top corporates in India including National Stock Exchange, L&T Financial Services, The Srei Group, Magma Fincorp Limited, ITC Ltd, etc. She has been associated with and advised various other companies and start-ups in the food, healthcare, digital marketing, and renewable energy sectors on legal, statutory, regulatory and compliance requirements. She is a mentor with various startups incubation centres and a member of multiple business networks in India and abroad.

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Mithun V Thanks, an Equity Partner with the firm, specializes in Mergers & Acquisitions, with a special focus on Private Equity, along with a strong background in the General Corporate area.

Over the years, Mithun has worked on several marquee transactions and has substantial experience in advising high profile clients on foreign investment laws and their joint ventures, strategic acquisitions, India entry and exit strategies, integration work streams, pre-litigation / arbitration strategic advisory, general corporate advisory etc.

Mithun has worked across various sectors including FMCG, Food and Beverage, Education, Logistics, Manufacturing (Industrial and Consumer Products), Real Estate and Retail and Franchising.

Mithun graduated from the National University of Jurisdical Sciences, Kolkata in 2005. He is enrolled with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and is also admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales. He is also a member of the International Bar Association.

Moinuddin Khan currently leads the civil practice of the firm and also caters to various corporates for criminal law advisory. Moinuddin has dealt with cases relating to cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, cyber-crimes, corporate fraud, negligence, counterfeit currency, offences involving weights and measures, Motor Vehicles Act, Negotiable Instruments Act, Legal Metrology Act, Rules and Enforcement Directorate cases, Central Bureau of Investigation cases; to name a few.

He regularly participates in national as well as international conferences, including conferences organized by the likes of Corporate Counsel Association of India in Dubai and Russia, to name a few.

Natashaa Shroff is a Partner in the M&A and Private Equity practice group of the Firm. She has advised large Indian and international corporate groups, private equity funds, public and private companies on a breadth of intricate domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions and investments as well as the full range of activities in different sectors. Natashaa's varied experience spans the depth and breadth of control and minority acquisitions, public and private M&A, cross-border investments, corporate restructuring, amalgamations, business unit acquisitions, joint ventures to private equity investments.

Natashaa has around 13 years' experience and has advised on some of the largest transactions in India in recent times. Natashaa specializes in investments in the telecom, e-commerce, retail and food and agri sectors in India and has acted on several deals in each of these sectors over the years.

Omesh heads the trademark, design and copyright practice at LexOrbis. He has undertaken a wide array of assignments in prosecution and enforcement of Intellectual Property rights and has significant experience in handling Domain Name disputes before NIXI and WIPO, information technology, advertising and privacy related issues.

Omesh regularly advises on complex commercial and IP transactions and has noteworthy experience in handling both – contentious and non-contentious issues before IP Offices, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board and in the various courts of India. He is responsible for large IP portfolios from various industries including Pharmaceuticals, Foods and Beverages, Computer Software, Fashion, Automobiles and Liquor. His clients praise him for his ability to find pragmatic solutions that meet their needs.

Prasenjit Chakravarti is a Partner in the M&A, Corporate and Commercial Practice Group in the New Delhi office of Khaitan & Co. With over 16 years in the profession, Prasenjit advises domestic and international corporate clients on a range of legal, regulatory and governance related issues concerning foreign investment (both inbound and outbound), joint ventures and strategic alliances, acquisitions and other business transactions, financial and technical collaborations, commercial, corporate and securities laws. Prasenjit is part of the firm's German Desk, which regularly advises on a wide variety of transactions in the Indo-German corridor.

Prashant comes with an experience of 14+ years in the legal fraternity wherein he has worked on diverse positions with various organizations like Aditya Birla Retail Ltd., The MobileStore (Essar Group), Reliance Industries Ltd., Sapphire Foods (KFC & Pizza Hut) and others.

He has successfully acquired 250+ Acres of land for Companies. He has also been involved in Mergers and Acquisitions and has successfully closed numerous litigations as in-House counsel. He has executed and registered 2000+ agreements in various states of India. He has appeared in various courts and registered favorable orders in his own name.

Before joining Sula Wines, he was successfully running his own law firm named "Lexsolve Consultancy LLP" where he personally appeared in various courts and registered favorable orders in his own name.

Priyanka joined Netflix in May 2019 to lead the Intellectual Property vertical in the India legal team of Netflix Entertainment Services India LLP and Los Gatos Production Services India LLP designated as the Director & Senior Counsel.

Priyanka started working in the legal profession as a naive 19 year old in 2006 as an article clerk in a law firm in Mumbai. Before Netflix, she was heading the Legal team of Balaji Telefilms Limited for 2 (two) years.

Raghavan Ramabadran currently heads the Direct Tax and Indirect Tax practices of the firm at Chennai. He also handles corporate litigation matters before High Courts. Raghavan Ramabadran has worked extensively in both Advisory and Litigation verticals of the firm during the past 15 years. He adopts a solution-driven approach and advises and assists clients on all aspects of tax and allied laws from legal, accounting and business perspectives. He has been extensively involved in handling litigation before various High Courts and Tribunals. He has also led teams in conducting tax compliance reviews and GST Implementation studies for many Navratna companies and Fortune 500 companies.

He advises clients on GST preparedness and efficient handling of litigation matters and also represents them before High Courts and various Tribunals. He also advises and represents clients before various quasi-judicial bodies in complex tax matters.

Rajat Malhotra leads the Commercial Disputes team for Laware Associates – a boutique firm catering to Infrastructure and Real Estate clients. Rajat started as a transactional lawyer with L&L Partners after being called to the Delhi Bar in 2006. Rajat's experience spans all areas of commercial law from contracts to insolvency.

Rajat regularly appears as lead counsel in various arbitration matters, and before most judicial fora and tribunals. Clients swear by his energy, "utmost dedication towards work at hand" and his "eye for the minutest detail".

Sahil is a Partner with the Litigation and Dispute Resolution team at Delhi. He is qualified as an Advocate-on-record of the Supreme Court of India. Sahil has substantial experience in advising and representing domestic and international clients in commercial litigation and arbitration. He has dealt with a broad variety of complex disputes including one of the biggest ever corporate frauds in India, the Satyam scam. He has also worked on numerous shareholder disputes and has represented clients before various forums across India.

Sahil's work ranges from advising on regulatory issues to litigation before the Supreme Court of India, various High Courts and Tribunals in the country. He is currently representing clients in the entertainment and cinema industry across multiple fora.

Sahil has been extensively dealing with emerging areas of law such as food safety, data privacy and insolvency and bankruptcy and has advised various domestic and global clients on issues involved in these areas of law. He has also assisted and appeared before the domestic arbitral tribunals as well as institutional arbitral tribunals constituted under the aegis of SIAC, ICC and LCIA amongst others.

Sakshi Mehra is a Partner heading the General Corporate, Transactional and Banking & Finance practice of the Kolkata office of SAM & Co.

Sakshi specializes in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, financing and other strategic transactions. Over her 15 years of private practice,, she has advised several national and multi-national clients on a broad range of legal issues including general corporate and commercial law matters, foreign investment and entry strategies, securities and takeover laws, joint venture formation, share and asset acquisitions and dispositions and regulatory issues. Sakshi has represented various foreign and Indian corporates across diverse industry sectors. This includes advising strategic and financial investors, Indian promoters and foreign entities interested in establishing collaborations or a foothold in India.

She has particular experience in financing transactions and has advised banks/ financial institutions on general lending, corporate finance, project finance transactions and external commercial borrowings.

Saloni joined DSK Legal in August 2008 and is a part of the firm's real estate practice group. She is also a member of the firm's banking and finance, corporate commercial and M&A practice group. Her broad areas of expertise are equity and financing transactions in real estate and allied sectors including investments in residential / commercial projects, affordable housing projects, retail, townships, SEZs, information technology parks, etc. and REITs.

Saloni has advised various offshore and domestic funds as well as Indian companies on private equity, M&A, disposals, demergers, joint ventures, restructurings, corporate governance and regulatory compliance, with particular focus on FDI transactions in real estate, infrastructure, hospitality and allied sectors. Her practice is focused on all forms of debt funding, mezzanine funding, funding by way of investment in debentures including listed debentures, loans, construction finance, etc. She actively advises clients on formulating, negotiating and implementing structures for private equity and financing transactions and strategic investments in real estate and allied sectors from a legal and regulatory perspective.

Sambit leads the Mergers & Acquisitions and Secretarial vertical in the Company's legal team. He undertakes mergers and acquisition matters for the Company including but not limited to investment matters, entity formation, joint ventures, licensing, sale of businesses – involving structuring of deals, due diligence, conditions precedent and consequent compliances, and other corporate advisory items amongst others and drafting and negotiating transactional documents such as share purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements, share subscription and shareholding agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property licenses and secondment agreements.

Sambit deals with regulatory authorities for corporate laws namely the RoC, Regional Director, RBI and other authorities. He also assists in legal aspects of various policy liaising initiatives including tracking of various government initiatives and policies.

Shabbeer Ahmed is a Partner in the Hyderabad office of Indus Law. He heads the litigation and IBC practice of the firm in its Hyderabad office. His practice primarily involves civil and commercial litigation and insolvency matters. He has more than 12 years of experience in advising various multinational clients on a variety of complex litigation issues and has also been involved by clients in formulating and advising on risk mitigating strategies.

Shabbeer has represented various clients before the High Court, NCLT, Civil Courts, Consumer Forums and Commissions, Arbitration Tribunals, DRT, Labour Courts and other quasi-judicial forums & authorities which include clients from diverse sectors such as, banking & finance, projects & infrastructure, real estate etc.

In a career of over 13 years, Shashank has advised clients on diverse competition, corporate and Insolvency law matters.

Shashank has represented clients from diverse industry sectors in cartel defence, abuse of dominance, and merger control matters before the Competition Commission of India, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court. He has also conducted intensive competition law compliance programs for various corporations.

Shashank is also a mergers & acquisitions and Insolvency lawyer and has significant experience in domestic and cross-border acquisitions, insolvency resolution, foreign direct investment in India, fund investment, joint-ventures, asset and slump sale transactions.

Shubham is an experienced, intellectually curious and impact oriented legal professional with a proven track record of accomplishment and success in leading transactions and litigations, both as an in-house and external counsel.

Shubham is the founding member of the legal team at Piramal Capital (financial services vertical of a global conglomerate, Piramal Group), engaged in providing sector specific financing solutions across the capital stack in Real Estate, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy along with sector agnostic Corporate Lending. He co-heads the transactional portfolio across India (except Bengaluru and Hyderabad) and has successfully completed more than 250 investment transactions across sectors aggregating to USD 2 Billion.

Shubham has been successful in ensuring multiple private equity exit transactions (regular & stressed) in the real estate & healthcare sectors and has been involved in incorporation & setting up of funds and cross border lending platforms.

Sidharth Sethi is an Advocate-on-Record with the Supreme Court of India and is a Disputes Partner at J. Sagar Associates, New Delhi.

Sidharth's practice covers diverse areas of corporate commercial litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. He has considerable expertise in shareholders' disputes and has, over the last several years, represented various clients in these disputes before company courts, High Courts and the Supreme Court.

He also regularly represents various clients in international arbitrations (seated in and out of India, and institutional as also ad hoc), arising out of Shareholders' Agreements, Share Purchase Agreements, Concession Agreements, EPC contracts and various other commercial contracts.

He is advising and acting for various clients in insolvency proceedings, product liability litigations, constitutional & administrative law litigation, proceedings relating to penal laws, white-collar crimes and corporate and forensic investigation.

Sudip Mahapatra represents private equity funds and companies in a variety of business transactions, including domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, growth capital investments, buyouts and joint ventures.

Sudip has been recognized as a leading lawyer by the RSG India Report for Corporate and Restructuring.

Sudip has previously worked with Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York from 2010 to 2012. He has represented Credit Suisse as a financial advisor to Bharat Financial Inclusion in relation to its acquisition by IndusInd Bank; Standard Chartered Private Equity in an investment in InterGlobe Technology Quotient; ArcelorMittal S.A. in various M&A matters including its joint acquisition with Nippon Steel of Essar Steel India Limited under the IBC 2016; and many more.

He has handled compliances, operational contracts and has been driving 45+ M&A deals for an approximate aggregate value of US$613 MN across 12+ countries including India, USA, Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Canada. He played a significant role in the sale of Strides' injectable businesses for US$ 1.75 billion– a transaction spanning multiple geographies.

Vinod also handled high-value arbitration under LCIA and SIAC both with a successful outcome. He has also handled environmental matters at the National Green Tribunal with a successful outcome and a landmark judgment; Vinod has handled Commercial Disputes in India, USA, UK and Africa. He also handles labor, Trade Union and POSH related matters and also Brand Protection, trade-mark infringement, cease and desist, and copyright matters in 80+ countries. He has also negotiated IP In-licensing and Out-licensing deals with an aggregate value of approximately US$200mn.

Vinod currently, heads the legal team at Arco Lab Private Limited (a shared business services organization) with a team of 8 lawyers serving 65+ entities across various business groups.

Vinod is a graduate in Commerce (from Madras University in 2002) and Law (from Bangalore University in 2005).

Legal Era thank the Jury for selecting the 40 young achievers and also Congratulate all you Rising Star 2020

To know about the submissions process for 2021, please write to us on info@legalera.in