Neerav Merchant has joined AQUILAW as head of the disputes practice in the Mumbai office, following a 17-year stint at Majmudar & Partners.
“In the past few years, law in India has been growing, evolving and innovating at an unprecedented speed,” said Merchant on his move.
“Since the middle of last year, I realised that only those law firms amenable to change and evolve with time shall survive the ever-competitive (Indian) legal landscape.
“My concerns got further concretised sometime in April this year, and I started looking for (exciting) opportunities in the Indian law firm circuit which were: not archaic, democratic, and greedy to grow in Mumbai. Upon meeting and chatting with AQUILAW’s founders and senior members, there was an instant synergy and commonality of expectations, which made it easier for me to move.”
Merchant brings more than 27 years of experience in dispute resolution and arbitration. His expertise extends to internal investigations, anti-corruption compliance, government affairs, IT outsourcing, licensing and real estate matters.
He has spent more than 17 years honing his skills in multiple sectors such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, automotive, oil and gas, telecoms, insurance, banking, FMCG, IT and real estate.
As far as amplifying his client base, Merchant told India Business Law Journal, “In attracting new clients, the primary endeavour is to strengthen, deepen, and grow the existing client [base], and invite new clients to work with AQUILAW’s national team of 80 lawyers, each of whom is self-driven, dynamic and responsive.”
Merchant is keen on strengthening the firm’s presence in Mumbai. “AQUILAW has an extremely strong disputes and arbitrations’ practice, especially in New Delhi and Kolkata,” he said.
“My joining in Mumbai, hopefully, will help AQUILAW to deepen its roots in Mumbai/Western India. Also, having someone at my level to head the firm’s Mumbai office, gives a reasonable comfort to existing and new clients when it comes to maturity, deliverables, supervision and sophistication.
“It also helps AQUILAW in convincingly promoting itself as a one-stop shop for disputes, arbitrations, or criminal law matters, in a mammoth country like India. My experience and background of managing international clients for over a decade and a half, is a positive for AQUILAW, and will assist us to grow our cross-border practices among various new foreign markets.”
AQUILAW’s current disputes, arbitration, and criminal law practice groups comprise around 46 fee earners, including partners and associate partners, operating across India.
