Souvik Roy and Kanishka Bajpai, former partners at IC Universal Legal and JSA, respectively, are launching new-age corporate law firm Mantrika Legal in Mumbai on 14 January 2026.
“India’s rapidly changing corporate landscape requires lawyers who think like entrepreneurs,” said Roy in an exclusive to India Business Law Journal.
“We founded Mantrika Legal to bridge the gap between deep expertise and nimble execution. Here, we are not just legal advisers, but also act as strategic partners, who strive to deliver uncluttered advice that turns regulatory complexities into competitive advantages for our clients.”
Mantrika Legal will advise on a wide range of areas, including venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, general corporate advisory, financial, and data privacy. Each matter is handled with direct partner involvement to ensure focused and solution-driven advice.
Bajpai added, “Mantrika Legal was born from our shared passion for reimagining legal advisory in a dynamic market.
“Having represented a wide spectrum of clients over a decade, it’s a natural evolution to launch Mantrika Legal, where we can provide uncompromised, bespoke, commercially astute advice, with each matter receiving hands-on partner attention.”
Roy has more than 14 years of experience in transactions, M&A, financial services and general corporate work. Before co-founding Mantrika Legal, he was a partner at IC Universal Legal from 2018 to 2024, where he specialised in general corporate and transactional practice.
Bajpai has more than 10 years of experience in transactions, M&A and general corporate matters. She most recently was a partner (M&A, PE and transactions) at JSA in Mumbai.
Before that, she was with IC Universal Legal, where she was a partner in the general corporate and transactions practice. Bajpai said the firm would draw on experience gained from advising clients ranging from startups to major institutional investors, with a strong focus on timely and commercially sound advice.
Mantrika Legal is in the process of expanding and hiring junior level talent.
