A R Gupta & Associates

IBLJ analysis:

Real estate is a core practice area of AR Gupta & Associates owing to the vast years of end-to-end expertise the firm and its leadership has in the area. Over the years, the firm has actively participated in large-scale discussions and projects in real estate that have established its name firmly among this year¡¯s winners. The firm is led by AR Gupta, and includes Neeta Pandit, Aditya Gupta, Mohit Gupta along with many others, and has been operating for more than 30 years.

Aarambh Legal

IBLJ analysis:

In the past year, Aarambh Legal has received notable recognition for expertise in practice areas such as private equity, M&A and venture capital, with many of its team members also receiving independent accolades.

Aarambh is a boutique law firm focusing on private equity, venture capital, M&A, corporate and commercial law, regulatory advisory, and employment law. The firm¡¯s notable work in the past year includes transactions involving Altum Credo Home Finance, Sea Turtle (Zouk), Charcoal, and Aditya Birla Digital Fashion Ventures.

The firm has sought to enhance its operations by integrating technology into its day-to-day work involving document review, contract comparison, legal research, drafting and due diligence.

Aarna Law

IBLJ analysis:

Aarna Law is actively involved in several arbitration forums across borders, and offers a vast reach for its clients. The firm is also a constant participant in industry dialogues and discussion events related to arbitration and its advocacy.

Aarna has expanded its practice in the past year with additions to its team, diversifying its presence across º¬Ðß²ÝÉçÇø cities. The firm focuses on dispute resolution, intellectual property and corporate advisory, with dedicated expertise in arbitration and mediation, among others. The team is led by Shreyas Jayasimha and Kamala Naganand.

AK Law Chambers

IBLJ analysis:

AK Law Chambers has earned itself many accolades in the past for its excellence in legal practice. Professionals at the firm have also individually been recognised for their expertise and area-specific knowledge. Dispute resolution forms a major part of the firm¡¯s practice. In the past year, the firm was active in matters related to AFCONS Infrastructure, power plant support system provider TecPro Systems, civil engineering company NAPC, and hospitality industry service provider GDBH & R, winning favourable orders for its clients.

The firm¡¯s corporate practice is noteworthy and the firm has assisted Happilo International on a INR4 billion (USD46.9 million) fundraise in 2024. It has also worked on transactions for Mahindra Logistics, Whizzard, Continental Hospitals, IHH Healthcare, QuickRide, Bacca Bucci, ePlane Company, Confiance Bizsol and Meru Accounting.

AK Law represents its clients before various judicial and quasi-judicial authorities, maintaining a strong focus on diversity and maintaining a gender balance within its teams, with female representation among associates standing at 55%.

AMD LAW INDIA

IBLJ analysis:

AMD Law India specialises in intellectual property and technology-related matters. Some of its noteworthy clients include Clinton Health Access Initiative, Bajaj Electricals, Perkin Elmer, the University of California, Ami Lifescience, Sapo Ventures, Ficus Food Labs, Cremach, and Noble Paints.

With a deep-rooted expertise in patent law, the firm has actively participated in various socially beneficial patents as well, such as air coolers that helped prevent the spread of covid-19. The firm has seen growth since its inception and has multiple tie-ups within the country and abroad to amplify its reach and services. It has a global alliance with San Franciso-based Rimon Law, and ties with firms in the US, EU, UK, China, Canada, Australia, Russia and Guatemala via various partnership and collaboration agreements.

AQUILAW

IBLJ analysis:

AQUILAW¡¯s litigation practice has previously been a part of several landmark judgments that have shaped º¬Ðß²ÝÉçÇø legal landscape. The litigation team of 37 members handles high-stakes constitutional, regulatory, and commercial disputes.

Some notable litigations include:?Alcohol Regulation State of UP v M/S Lalta Prasad Vaish & Sons?(a matter regarding the Uttar Pradesh state¡¯s power to regulate industrial alcohol); and?Electrosteel Castings Limited v Pan Macmillan Publishing India Private Limited & Anr?(defamation).

The firm also played a critical role in drafting the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, against rape and acid attacks. This was unanimously passed by the West Bengal Assembly and serves as a landmark legislation in the state.

Arohana Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Arohana Legal has won awards in the corporate and litigation categories. Some of its noteworthy clients include CIMET Sales, Curexel Technologies, Elfina, Bharti Hexacom, Bharti Airtel Services, and Tata Consultancy Services. They work on Prevention of Sexual Harassment Committee (POSH) compliance, structuring employment frameworks, corporate advisory, investment, patents, fundraising, compliance, and risk management.

Along with this, they also focus on commercial litigation, white-collar crime, regulatory matters, corporate transactional advisory, contracts, intellectual property, gaming, technology and healthcare. The firm refers to itself as a tier 1 city law firm and says it possess the agility and accessibility of a ¡°regional powerhouse¡±.

Ashlar Law

IBLJ analysis:

This decade-old firm has primarily focused its operations in corporate advisory for well-known companies such as Merck, PwC Actuarial, Diageo, Tata Sons, Hindustan Unilever, Standard Chartered Bank, Tata Capital, National Payments Corporation of India, Swiggy, Accor, and Teamlease.

Some of the highlights of the firm¡¯s work in the past year include: advising Subhashree Projects in their cross-border joint venture with a German company, Cuculus GmbH; advised Jupiter Wagons, a listed Indian company, in establishing a joint venture with a European railway infrastructure company; advising Jupiter Electric Mobility in their joint venture to enter the electric vehicle sector and consequent funding rounds; advising Peak XV Partners and InfoEdge Ventures with their investment in Attentive Inc.

Bengaluru-based Somshubhro Pal Choudhury, co-founder and partner at Bharat Innovation Fund, says the firm does ¡°not just think like lawyers, but thinks as entrepreneurs and businesspeople, and tries to solve the legal aspects many times suggesting compromises and taking into consideration the best interests for both parties¡±.

This sentiment is shared by Ankita Tandon, co-founder at Infinyte Club, Bengaluru. ¡°We have found Ashlar to be efficient, competent and business friendly, and ideal for a growth stage company. Their approach tends to be solution-oriented while being extremely efficient at dispute avoidance and regulatory risk mitigation.¡±

She recommends co-founder and partner, Pingal Khan, remarking that he is ¡°a perfect partner to our business and ¡­ more akin to a co-founder than an external service provider¡±.

Soumyadip Roy Choudhury, a Kolkata-based associate partner at business service outsourcing company BDO India, recommends partner Souvik Bhadra: ¡°He is particularly good in anticipating potential risk and negotiating the terms in favour of the client, all the while maintaining a collaborative attitude.¡±

Ashlar also advises across borders in Dubai, the US, British Virgin Islands and Singapore.

Boolean Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Founded in March 2024, the firm is relatively new but has established and known professionals under its wing. Notably, the firm was founded by Lalu John Philip, a former?JSA?partner.

The firm has a dedicated focus on AI and data protection, and implements a technology-driven, process-optimised service delivery model. Despite being a new entrant in the legal market, it has made remarkable strides in the VC & PE space in less than a year, with deal value cumulatively at more than INR7 billion.

Some of the firm¡¯s achievements in the past year include: advising Peak XV Partners and InfoEdge Ventures with their investment in Attentive Inc, an AI-based SaaS firm; and providing legal support to an AI-powered ed-tech company, focusing on structuring commercial contracts for their AI learning solutions.

The firm also designed ESOP schemes to attract and retain AI talent, and navigated the evolving regulatory landscape for educational technology utilising machine learning algorithms. It worked on the sale of PopReach Technologies, a live operations games studio to Phoenix Games Holdings UK, at a cost of USD9.8 million. The firm provided legal counsel to Marvix.ai, an SaaS company delivering AI-generated clinical notes to healthcare providers, assisting the company with complex regulatory compliance, data privacy, and intellectual property requirements in AI application in the healthcare technology space.

Calibre Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Calibre Legal?has accumulated several accolades to its name over the years. The firm provides access to the south Indian market for its clients, with regulatory and judicial assistance to matters. Some noteworthy professional achievements in the past year include providing patent and related regulatory assistance to Sri Vidhyut, a company manufacturing electric vehicle retrofit kit for 3 wheelers; trademark registration and assistance to various entities such as air pollution control company GSE Filter for its products Vayufil and Atlantic+, and to Suit Lounge for their mark ¡°THE SUIT LOUNGE¡±.

In addition to IP, the firm is active in other practice areas, including assisting Rami Abudaqqa Management Consultancy, a UAE-based company, for an arbitration dispute under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration. The firm also assisted Dynamic Marketing with their distribution agreement with Schock Germany for the supply of quartz sinks in south India.

Capstone Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Capstone Legal has been in operation for more than a decade and focuses on corporate advisory and litigation, along with an emphasis on the renewable energy sector. The team regularly represents clients before the Rajasthan High Court, commercial, civil and criminal courts and other judicial authorities for cases related to GST, central excise, customs and arbitration.

The firm is also adept at providing legal opinions and advice to clients facing investigations from the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation, in addition to the state police, anti-corruption bureau and other authorities in Rajasthan.

Capstone also advises clients on M&A, due diligence and real estate. Its clients include Hindustan Copper, Mayo College Ajmer, Rajasthan Seeds Corporation, Corporation Bank, Balnath Turnings, New Age Hotels and Resorts, Binani Cement (Ultratech Nathdwara), ACC Limited (Holcim Lafarge ¨C Swiss Cement Company), Jai Balaji Industries, Philips, Metso (Finnish industrial machinery company), Relais & Ch?teaux hotel, Emaar (º¬Ðß²ÝÉçÇø leading real estate company), Jaipur Literature Festival (world¡¯s largest free literary festival), the royal family of Kota, the royal family of Diggi house, Century Metals (º¬Ðß²ÝÉçÇø leading aluminium scrap importer) among others.

Fox & Mandal

IBLJ analysis:

Fox & Mandal is an established Indian law firm that provides a broad spectrum of legal services. The firm recently advised Crestia Polytech¡¯s Topline and four other subsidiaries in a significant transaction where HIL, a flagship company in the CK Birla Group, acquired the pipe, fitting and water tank enterprises for INR2.65 billion (USD32 million).

The firm¡¯s team, led by managing partners?Debanjan Mandal?and Arindam Sarkar, advise on structuring, deal documentation, negotiation and general legal matters, with additional support from its consulting solutions team for financial and tax advisory services. Fox & Mandal is recognised for its expertise in corporate transactions, structuring, negotiation, and general legal advisory.

Frontline Law Partners

IBLJ analysis:

The firm is helmed by Sneha Nagaraj and Gautham Gururaj, who have more than 35 years of combined experience. Frontline provides services to clients in India and internationally. In this regard, the firm has added international counsel Illarion Igorevich Girs, who has more than 20 years of experience in cross-border and international matters.

Nagaraj is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a UK-trained arbitrator and mediator with a background in complex litigation. The firm has a special focus on dispute resolution, arbitration, real estate, transactional work and corporate advisory.

Gandhi Law Associates

IBLJ analysis:

Gandhi Law Associates has had a busy year with multiple achievements including office expansions, hosting prestigious legal conferences, in collaboration with Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) among others, and strengthening the team.

A major matter was its representation of the petitioners in?Ajay Madhusudhan Patel and ors v Jyotrindra S Patel and Ors, in which the court laid down the scope of section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and affirmed that the referral court can refer disputes even pertaining to non-signatories to the arbitration agreement.

The firm is actively involved in creating dialogue and awareness about arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution methods among scholars, students and professionals alike.

The firm has been a part of notable judgments such as: the labour law dispute of?Kalptaru Projects International Limited v State of Gujarat; and court process irregularities in?Gujarat Operational Creditors Association Acting Through Ms Priti Chaudhary v Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India Ltd,?among others.

The firm also has a prominent real estate practice and represented Synthesis Spacelinks in a land transaction that set a new benchmark for real estate acquisitions in Ahmedabad.

The firm boasts clientele such as ArcelorMittal Renewables India, Viviid Renewable, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, Hyatt Centric, EIH Group of Hotels, Gujarat Chemical Port, Indian Oil Corporation, and ITC.

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GM Legal

IBLJ analysis:

In the past year, GM Legal has represented international clients in disputes in Singapore and Australia. The firm is active before the Supreme Court of India on a wide range of criminal and civil litigation matters.

GM has also been involved in social causes, and acted promptly to protect a same-gender couple by filing before the Madras High Court that led to a landmark ruling curbing police oversight, increasing services such as shelters and counselling, and banning conversion therapy.

Chennai-based Swetha Shankar, senior director at International Foundation for Crime Prevention & Victim Care, shares that, ¡°the firm is well connected with the local government and are able to mitigate many of the risks that come up when there is pushback from abusive partners, family and insensitive institutions¡±.

K Sethuraman, EVP ¨C legal at The Sanmar Group in Chennai, notes how GM Legal assisted him to close a case that was pending at a lower court for 12 years. ¡°They ensured that the lower court judge in an obscure place like Mettur understood the law and passed the orders in our favour. This was a really excellent piece of advocacy, which stood out and exceeded our expectations itself.¡±

Juris Arena

IBLJ analysis:

Juris Arena has a niche corporate practice focusing on two segments ¨C corporate commercial and corporate finance. The firm regularly appears before the?, Reserve Bank of India, Registrar of Companies, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Securities & Exchange Board of India and other regulatory bodies.

Among its work, the firm set up a watertight structure for investors funding a biochar production plant. The client, ASQI, a tech-enabled agriculture and sustainability platform, was an adviser for the plant and was assisted by the firm in finalising a multi-party collaboration agreement involving investors, ASQI and local farmer co-operatives.

Commenting on their contributions, Palak Nanjani, the Mumbai-based co-founder and COO at ASQI, says: ¡°We have found their understanding of the agritech and sustainability sector especially valuable, given the evolving regulatory frameworks in which we operate.¡±

Juris Prime Law Services

IBLJ analysis:

Juris Prime Law Services was founded in 2005 by VVSN Raju. Over time, the firm has grown in size and now has six partners and 25-plus lawyers. It has evolved into a full-fledged firm with practice areas spanning arbitration, banking, commercial, corporate, finance, insolvency and bankruptcy, labour, litigation, real estate, and technology. The firm regularly appears before the?, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, High Court of Telangana and Supreme Court.

Kamendu Joshi and Associates

IBLJ analysis:

Kamendu Joshi and Associates may be regionally located but has amplified its reach across borders with the establishment of an associated office in central London. The firm in the past year has been active in multiple high-stake legal proceedings, representing German electrical insulation company ELANTAS Beck¡¯s India arm to ensure its operations are compliant with statutory requirements.

Kamendu has also provided legal services to Aditya Birla Group for Novel Jewel Showrooms in Gujarat and Maharashtra, for matters related to commercial leases, franchise agreements, real estate transactions and regulatory compliance to ensure a smooth rollout of these showrooms.

The firm also boasts of expertise in real estate, and performed land due diligence for BYK India, a chemical supplier company, including title searches, verifying land ownership, checking encumbrances, assessing land use rights, and evaluating potential legal issues related to the property.

The firm also conducted due diligence for real estate transactions for Hild Energy concerning a solar park project in Bhachunda, Kutch, in Gujarat. This allowed Hild Energy¡¯s parent organisation, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), to proceed with its large-scale solar energy project, ensuring that the land acquisition process was legally compliant and free from disputes.

Keystone Partners

IBLJ analysis:

In the past year, Keystone Partners has been active in multiple disputes, and has worked on?Larsen and Toubro Ltd and Outotec GmbH & Co KG v Steel Authority of India Limited?for the execution of an arbitral award relating to the mining industry. It was successful in obtaining an award for more than 70% of the claims made.

Keystone¡¯s expertise is not limited to arbitration and expands to disputes related to intellectual property. The firm was able to get a John Doe injunction order in favour of its clients, Gameskraft Technologies and Rummytime Technologies, against various known and unknown defendants for trademark and copyrights violation.

The firm also took on the might of Tata Starbucks to protect the registered trademark of its client, Koinonia Coffee, in a suit that involved complex topics of breach of confidentiality and unauthorised sharing of trade secrets.

Keystone was also successful in securing a temporary injunction against an eatery in Hosur Tamil Nadu called Caf¨¦ Toit for its client, PH4 Foods and Beverages, which owns a chain of restaurants and microbreweries named Toit. The case involves both trademark infringement and passing off. Caf¨¦ Toit has since shut its business.

Kria Law

IBLJ analysis:

Founded by MS Bharath, a former senior partner at?Anand and Anand, Kria Law is a specialised IP firm with a team strength of 18 lawyers and 12 support staff. The firm is active before the Madras High Court and among its prominent work has secured the trade dress protection for Britannia Industries for its product Good Day Butter Cookies, and also acted as counsel to Godrej for its defence against disparaging advertisements targeting its brand, Goodknight.

Kria has also worked on trademark infringement matters for Junior Kuppanna, Veda Corporate Advisors, Bharat Matrimony, Saint-Gobain, TIL Healthcare and Texmo Industries. Its patent department is headed by Sachin Manocha, a seasoned professional who previously served at Gulde & Partner in Berlin, practising before the European Patent Office.

Bharath had assisted the three-judge intellectual property committee set up by the Madras High Court to formulate procedures in relation to the functioning of the Intellectual Property Division, which is dedicated to handling intellectual property matters.

Law Square

IBLJ analysis:

This 16-year-old law firm specialises in dispute resolution, IP rights, insolvency and bankruptcy, and real estate. In the past 12 months, the firm has successfully handled a diverse range of complex disputes and secured favourable outcomes for clients across industries.

Notably, the firm represented GKD Consumer Care in a decade-long trademark battle against Marico Limited (Parachute) in Delhi High Court. The dispute, which had left GKD¡¯s GKD Premium brand unregistered for years, was successfully resolved within 12 months through litigation and strategic negotiations, allowing GKD to secure its trademark and expand its market presence.

The firm successfully represented Mahaveer Swamy Varshitap Charitable Trust and resolved a 33-year-old real estate dispute that had been contested since 1991 and reached the Supreme Court. The firm represents high-profile clients such as National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Aster DM and Grant Thornton, among others.

LegaLogic

IBLJ analysis:

LegaLogic has 65 professionals focused on practice areas such as corporate, commercial, M&A, intellectual property, labour, real estate, dispute resolution and litigation.

Recently, the firm advised Infinite Uptime on its acquisition of Covacsis Technologies, which focuses on AI-driven advanced analytics and real-time industrial diagnostics, helping plant leaders with maintenance and operations of teams across the world.

The firm has also advised InfraCloud Technologies, a leading kubernates-focused B2B company, in its acquisition by digital services provider Improving, where the firm acted as the sole legal counsel for InfraCloud and advised on review, negotiation and finalisation of deal documentation and closing of the transaction.

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Lex Aeterna Practices

IBLJ analysis:

Lex Aeterna Practices has many accolades to its name as a team, and by its professionals in their individual capacities. The firm¡¯s focus areas include banking and finance, corporate and commercial contracts, dispute resolution, infrastructure, insolvency and bankruptcy, probate matters, project finance, and real estate.

The firm regularly appears before civil and commercial courts, the??and high courts among other judicial and quasi-judicial authorities.

The co-founding partners of the firm ¨C Babu Sivaprakasam, Aditya Khadria, Yogesh Pirthani and Dhrupad Vaghani ¨C are very knowledgeable in their respective fields, and many of the accolades under the firm¡¯s banner have been brought in through their individual talent.

Nanavati Associates

IBLJ analysis:

Nanavati Associates is a seasoned law firm with close to 50 years of operations, officially naming itself as a law firm in 1995 after erstwhile founder KS Nanavati was designated a senior advocate by the Gujarat High Court. The firm regularly appears before different high courts, the Supreme Court of India, different tribunals, forums and other judicial and quasi-judicial authorities. The firm has expanded over the years and its reach includes work in the US, EU, Japan, Curacao and Cameroon.

The firm¡¯s civil and commercial disputes team undertakes arbitration matters for individual clients as well as corporate entities. This includes both arbitration proceedings and court proceedings for the execution of the award or its challenge.

NovoJuris Legal

IBLJ analysis:

NovoJuris Legal¡¯s strengths lie in corporate advisory, technology, corporate law and finance. The firm also has a US office that is overseen by its founder and managing partner, Sharda Balaji.

In the past year, the firm advised Shipway on its 100% acquisition by Unicommerce, ensuring that the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents were precise, detailed and aligned with the client¡¯s commercial objectives. The firm also conducted comprehensive due diligence to identify and address potential legal or regulatory issues, managing all required regulatory filings for compliance with applicable laws. NovoJuris provided comprehensive legal assistance to S3V Vascular Technologies, a medical technology company, in the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents for a deal valued at INR1 billion.

Poovayya & Co

IBLJ analysis:

Established in 1996, the firm has had a long, prosperous journey. In addition to the present winning category of real estate, the firm also practises in corporate advisory, technology and media, M&A, e-commerce, intellectual property and dispute resolution. This diverse range of expertise has won the firm many awards as a team, and by the professionals in their individual capacities. In the past year, the firm has been active at multiple events and industry discussions.

In addition to real estate, the firm is also active in intellectual property. The firm represented one of the defendants in?Saregama India Limited v Vels Film International and Ors?before Delhi High Court, which resulted in the protection of copyright of the petitioners over a popular Tamil song.

Rishabh Gandhi and Advocates

IBLJ analysis:

Rishabh Gandhi and Advocates was founded by former trial court judge Rishabh Gandhi. Since inception, the firm has accumulated multiple accolades. It has established a name to be reckoned with in real estate matters and in the past year the firm advised Dasscon Realty for the development of land parcel with a deal value of INR3 billion.

The firm also undertakes litigation regarding property inheritance and division, partition, possession, and dissolution of partnership matters.

In addition to real estate, Rishabh Gandhi is active in arbitration matters. The firm is representing Sarja Electrical & Engineering Services against Reliance Infrastructure in a matter related to specific performance of contract. It also represented stainless steel DTL Ancillaries in two different matters, one for the execution of an award and one for setting aside of an award, both against SBI General Insurance. The firm represented Start Jump Education, a franchisee of Jumpstart International Kindergarten, in an arbitration case against the action of illegal termination of the franchisor.

RK Dewan & Co

IBLJ analysis:

The firm has been in operation since 1942, making the long journey a legacy in the industry. The firm specialises in intellectual property. With multiple branch offices in India and abroad in China and the US, the firm has represented more than 6,000 corporate and individual clients worldwide including top Indian companies, multinationals and Fortune 500 companies belonging to different domains including but not limited to software, electronics & telecoms, automobile, tools and machinery, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, finance and banking, electrical and power, media and entertainment, hospitality, textile and garments, fast-moving consumer goods, cosmetics, jewellery, and luxury goods.

A noteworthy achievement of the firm in recent times was the permanent injunction granted by Delhi High Court in favour of Sarvatra Technologies in a trademark infringement matter against Bharat Sanchar Nigam, a state-owned telecoms company. The petitioner¡¯s trademark ¡°SARVATRA¡± was being used by the defendant for its wi-fi services.

Samisti Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Samisti Legal has won several awards and accolades over the years, and the present award for the corporate category is yet another feather in its hat. To ensure holistic corporate advisory and services, the firm houses both law professionals and company secretaries. The firm acted as legal counsel to integrated health benefits platform ekincare in connection with its strategic investment by global pharma leader MSD. This investment for ekincare is significant as it endeavours to transform corporate healthcare in India.

Samisti has also acted as legal counsel for Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services in its recent acquisition of stake in Mobileware Technologies. Mobileware is a known entity in the Indian ecosystem of digital payments collaborating with banks, financial services and non-banking financial companies.

The firm is also active in cross-border matters, having acted as counsel for NephroPlus, Asia¡¯s largest dialysis care network, in its acquisition of seven centres in the Philippines.

SC&A Legal

IBLJ analysis:

SC&A legal enjoys a large clientele, ranging from individuals to large body corporates (incorporated within India and abroad) and government authorities. Practice areas of the firm include taxation, arbitration, litigation, insolvency and bankruptcy, corporate advisory, company law matters, project finance, and investments.

The firm regularly appears before the Supreme Court, high courts in Kolkata and Delhi, Customs, the Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, the??(NCLT), and other judicial and quasi-judicial authorities.

The firm¡¯s efforts have led to the successful recovery of dues from entities for its clients. In a notable instance, the firm was part of the complex litigation behind the NCLT case,?Chintan Jhunjhunwala v Mahesh Chand Gupta & Ors, where the firm successfully challenged the illegal constitution of the committee of creditors (CoC) in the corporate insolvency resolution process of Energy Properties by the resolution professional, where a disqualified related party financial creditor was illegally inducted in the CoC under the guise of an operational creditor. The court held such inductions to be illegal.

Singhi & Co

IBLJ analysis:

Singhi & Co?is active before the judicial and quasi-judicial authorities in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi, along with the Supreme Court. The firm also has a dedicated practice focus on non-litigation tasks of conveyancing and transactions. Along with litigation, the firm also deals with commercial and corporate matters.

SMV Chambers

IBLJ analysis:

SMV Chambers deals in matters related to dispute resolution, corporate advisory, infrastructure, energy, insolvency, real estate, and ESG compliance. The firm¡¯s clientele is comprised of large corporations, multinational companies and government bodies. It is adept at representing its clients across various legal forums, tribunals and regulatory authorities. In the past year, it has worked on various deals worth more than USD700 million in total.

SMV regularly advises both corporates and government authorities. It has previously assisted Tamil Nadu government authorities with real estate due diligence in large-scale energy projects in Tirunelveli, Trichy, Karur, Thoothukudi and Theni in the state. It has also assisted with an undisclosed entity¡¯s greenfield investment worth INR14 billion into the country by conducting real estate related due diligence.

StratJuris Law Partners

IBLJ analysis:

Stratjuris Law Partners is a force in IP matters, with its partners having engineering backgrounds. The firm provides end-to-end support for all things IP to its clients, including advisory, prosecution and enforcement. It has taken on the might of multinational corporations in an attempt to provide the best services to a client in a trademark infringement suit, where the client was the accused and had offered an amicable resolution, only to be met with a suit seeking INR10 million damages and a public apology. The matter ultimately ended with nominal INR25,000 damages and no public apology.

Stride Legal

IBLJ analysis:

With a team of six associates and two partners, Stride Legal has established itself with its achievements. The firm has a client base that includes Volar Alta, Veradigm India, Altera Digital Health, HNB Engineers, Redaptive Services, iCodex Publishing Solutions, Nutriprism Hospitality, Quettabyte Cybersure, MCCIA Electronic Cluster Foundation, Lighthouse Communities Foundation, VATS Filtration Technology, Mastercard (Pune), Brinton Pharmaceuticals, Vowel Learning Solutions, and Rio Innobev, among others.

Stride had an active year where it advised and represented Satvika Bio Foods, which operates the brand Naturally Yours, and Rio Innobev with respect to its latest funding round and investment. It advised Brevitas in relation to its investment in Happy Labs Solutions, and advised ITI growth opportunities fund in relation to investment in Revos Auto Tech and Hexa.

Notably, the firm has also advised Brinton Pharmaceuticals in relation to its funding. The firm was also active as an adviser to HNB Engineers for various contracts regarding Akola Sewerage Scheme Phase 2.

The firm advised Mastercard in what was dubbed the biggest real estate deal in Pune recently, in relation to the development of its new 420,000 square feet office space in a commercial project Bluegrass Business Park from Brookfield Properties in Pune¡¯s Yerwada locality for a long-term tenure of over 20 years.

Pune-based Anuja Pawar, an associate corporate counsel at Altera Digital Health, says that, ¡°as a corporate entity, we require comprehensive legal support across a wide spectrum, from labour law compliance and secretarial tasks to litigation and strategic advisory. Stride Legal has consistently demonstrated unmatched expertise in all these areas.¡±

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Tatva Legal Hyderabad

IBLJ analysis:

With new office expansions, multiple new hires at different levels, and integration of new technology into its everyday operations, Tatva Legal has had a busy year. This is in addition to solidifying its market presence with a series of awards and accolades for the team.

The firm regularly appears before the Telangana High Court, Labour tribunal. In the past year, the firm represented Dell International Services India in a second appeal before the Telangana High Court regarding an employment dispute, obtaining a favourable order. The firm also represents Swedish furniture company IKEA in consumer disputes in the state. Accenture is also a client, for which the firm provides advice on employment and labour law matters, prepares India-wide compliance checklists, and assists them in employment-related litigations in Telangana.

Tatva has also: advised Penna Cement Industries in its acquisition by Ambuja Cements, an Adani Group company, in a deal valued at over INR100 billion; assisted Tishman Speyer in closing a settlement regarding Waverock; represented founders of Eclat, a medical outsourcing company, in the secondary sale of 51% of their shares to a MENA-based private equity firm; advised Apollo Health & Lifestyle on the acquisition of multiple diagnostic and pathology operations, leading negotiations and discussions to structure the deal, mitigate risks and finalise transaction terms.

Tempus Law Associates

IBLJ analysis:

Tempus Law Associates?is led by founder partners P Raviprasad and Sundari Pisupati, who is qualified to practise both in India and New York. They have close to 40 years of expertise in the areas of arbitration, corporate, dispute resolution, IP, litigation, real estate and private equity. The firm regularly appears before the civil courts,?, Registrar of Companies and other tribunals, consumer forums, and different high courts. To ensure the firm is adept with latest available technology for its operations, it has integrated multiple solutions into its operations, ensuring better services.

In the past year, Tempus was active in its arbitration practice, having assisted and represented many reputed clients with operations in India and abroad with arbitration matters, including complexities such as cross-border transactions and rules, outbreaks of war and governmental intervention, and regulatory compliance requirements in the sectors of energy, shipping and maritime.

The firm has an active litigation team that has represented corporates in the pharmaceutical, infrastructure, financial, publishing, public sector undertakings, banking and hospitality areas. Its real estate team is active in all areas that are needed by a real estate entity ¨C regulatory compliances, due diligence, arbitration proceedings, insolvency and bankruptcy petitions, impugning waqf notifications, and filing required applications and petitions before high courts.

Trine Partners

IBLJ analysis:

Trine Partners is active in practice areas of employment law, intellectual property, corporate law, transaction advisory, litigation and dispute resolution.

The firm has represented Phthalo Colours & Chemicals, a flagship chemical manufacturing company of the Nanavati Group, in a 100% acquisition by Gujarat Polysol Chemicals. It represented Ayati Devices, a medical device manufacturing company and its founder, in its investment round led by Mumbai Angels Network and the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, assisting its client with structuring of the tranche-wise transaction, documentation and negotiation in both transactions.

Trine also assisted Latambarcem Brewers in developing an alliance with Akasa Air (SNV Aviation) for the sale of inflight beverages. It has assisted many IT companies with drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements including but not limited to master service agreements, reseller agreements, and sub-contractor agreements with leading MNCs.

Triumvir law

IBLJ analysis:

Triumvir Law has had a busy year with new partner appointments, expanding to newer locations and offices, working on the integration and adoption of technology solutions to everyday practice and operations. The firm¡¯s various practice areas include arbitration, ADR, dispute resolution, civil and criminal litigation, corporate law, regulatory compliance, consumer disputes, litigation, M&A, taxation, securities, and technology.

Notably, the firm advised Wubba Lubba Dub Dub, a leading meme marketing company, on its INR200 million acquisition of intellectual property from ScoopWhoop Media, closing this all-cash, all-asset deal within a month. The firm has also worked as legal counsel for Disruptive Fashion, facilitating the acquisition of business undertaking ¡®7-10¡¯ from SEPL, a prominent manufacturer in the footwear sector in India.

Triumvir has an active dispute resolution team active in both arbitration and litigation. Some of the noteworthy matters include their past appearance at the London Court of International Arbitration for recovery of USD2 million from an eminent UAE entity. The firm has represented various clients in high-stakes disputes such Rajsons Impex, a manufacturer of silver jewellery and fashion accessories supplying to brands like Swarovski. The firm also represented Cranes Software India in proceedings facing criminal proceedings under criminal and corporate law for alleged delay in payment of a declared dividend filed by the Securities Exchange Board of India before the Supreme Court of India. The outcome was in the favour of the firm¡¯s client, quashing the criminal proceedings.

Viranca Legal

IBLJ analysis:

Viranca Legal has modern highly integrated technology practices and a no-paper policy. The firm is active in civil, criminal, corporate, banking and finance, asset reconstruction, and due diligence.

In the past year, the firm led the legal closure for numerous corporate debt transactions for a prominent NBFC based in Pune. It also facilitated more than 100 such transactions, ranging from term loans to debentures issues, pass through certificates and others. The firm also assisted banks like the Central Bank of India and Cosmos Co-operative Bank for their debt recovery proceedings and loan sanctions. The team represented the banks in arbitration proceedings for swift resolution of disputes to expedite recovery.

Viranca also works as the empanelled counsel for an asset reconstruction company, which further amplified its reach to other cities. The firm has handled due diligence for its clients related to a redevelopment project that was complex due to overlapping rights held by various parties over a period of more than 80 years.

Speaking about the precision with which the firm works, Thane-based Suvarna Kulkarni, MD of Cnergee Technologies, says that the firm ¡°has received on-the-dot suggestions on some large deal contracts, which has helped us to close high - value engagements.¡±

YJ Trivedi & Co

IBLJ analysis:

Established in 1970, YJ Trivedi & Co has maintained a longstanding reputation in the industry for being an expert in patent, trademark and subsequently technology matters, so much so that the firm has been entrusted by the federal government to exclusively protect the brand of ¡°Khadi¡±, a heritage of Indian culture. The firm has also extended advisory to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Gujarat State Plastics Manufacturers¡¯ Association, and Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries Association.

The firm has won multiple awards over the years, including having its lawyers represented on?IBLJ¡¯s A-List for the year 2022-23.