Indian Law Firm Awards - India Business Law Journal

Indian Law Firm Awards
transfer pricing, WTO safeguards and anti-dumping. Legal
luminaries in this field include founder and managing
partner V Lakshmi Kumaran, and partners Madhav Rao
AR, Nambirajan R, Shivadass G, Seetharaman S and K
Swaminathan. The firm recently poached a seven-member
team from Khaitan & Co for its corporate law division.
Taxation is an integral part of DM Harish & Co’s practice.
Founded in 1957, in the area of domestic tax the firm
offers advice on litigation strategies, appeals before the
Commissioner of Income Tax and the ITAT, search and
seizure, and transfer pricing issues. On the international
tax front, it offers guidance on double taxation avoidance
agreements, court cases and the structure of cross-border
transactions. Partners Anil Harish and Shobha Jagtiani are
key advisers at the firm.
Taxation is also an essential pillar at Nishith Desai
Associates. The firm offered legal and tax advice to
Siemens Project Ventures on the transfer of its 14% stake
in Bangalore International Airport to Bangalore Airport and
Infrastructure Developers, one of the GVK group’s entities.
The transaction was valued at US$125 million.
Technology, media and telecommunications
Nishith Desai Associates collects its final award for
its premier technology, media and telecommunications
(TMT) practice. The firm was engaged by Reliance Group’s
Reliance Broadcast Network on the setting up of its
50-50 joint venture with RTL Group – part of Germany’s
Bertelsmann group. The joint venture was formed to launch
two English-language TV channels: a reality channel with
international content, mainly from RTL Group production
arm FremantleMedia, and a channel with action-oriented
content primarily targeted at male viewers.
Sharing this award are ALMT Legal, AZB & Partners, DSK
Legal, Naik Naik & Co and Seth Dua & Associates.
Hitesh Jain runs ALMT Legal’s entertainment law practice
in addition to its dispute resolution and real estate
practices. His experience in sports law gave him an opportunity
to act on matters pertaining to the Commonwealth
Games, the Indian Olympic Authority, the Board of Control
for Cricket in India and Hockey India. Garima Bharati Basu
joined ALMT Legal last year to bolster the firm’s presence
in London following the departure of some of ALMT’s partners
and the end of its relationship with Clyde & Co. Prior to
joining the firm as a partner, Basu ran her own firm, LCGB,
in London and Delhi.
Senior partner Sunil Seth at Seth Dua & Associates is well
respected for his knowledge of telecom laws. The firm is an
established leader in this area and its winning combination
of legal, tax and dispute resolution capabilities continues to
attract high-profile clients from India and internationally.
Consistently in the limelight for its vibrant media practice
is Naik Naik & Co. A glance at the firm’s client portfolio
says it all: Reliance Big Entertainment, Reliance
Mediaworks, Shringar Films, Sahara, Warner Bros and
Kwan Entertainment & Marketing Solutions. The firm won
a landmark victory last year on behalf of Bollywood producer-director
Prakash Jha in relation to his film Aarakshan.
Jha filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging
three state governments for banning or suspending the
exhibition of the film. The Supreme Court affirmed that
once a film has been certified as fit for public exhibition by
the Central Board for Film Certification, state governments
would not be able to ban or suspend its exhibition.
February 2012
Intelligence report
“I work with Naik Naik & Co primarily because of their
deep understanding and experience in the copyright and
filmed entertainment fields in India,” says Madhu Mantena,
director at Kwan. “I have worked with various firms in the
past but I feel Naik Naik & Co is the best in the country in
this field. I have also seen that their response to any query
or requirement has been the quickest in the industry. [Our
experience has been] extremely satisfactory with a 90%
success in our litigation matters alone.”
In December, Naik Naik & Co opened a new office in
Delhi with a focus on corporate law. It also strengthened
its financial markets and securities regulatory capability
through a strategic alliance with PR Ramesh and Yogesh
Chande of Prism Partners.
Rohit Dave, general counsel at SRS Investment Advisors,
has worked with Naik Naik & Co for the past three years
and says Ameet Naik is “very accessible, committed, passionate,
offers practical advice and is well-networked. We
were pretty impressed.”
Dave has also consulted DSK Legal and is an admirer
of partner Satish Kishanchandani’s work. “Satish is very
practical,” he says. “He’s very good with negotiations and
a very hands-on guy.” The firm has an impressive media
practice advising celebrities, production houses and entertainment
and media companies on brand management,
film financing, broadcasting rights, movie sponsorship and
product endorsement agreements, IP management, content
regulations, litigation and arbitration.
Best new firm
The award for best new firm goes to Clasis Law. With
operations in full swing for less than a year, the firm is
already wowing peers and clients alike. Its professionalism,
vision and ambition are factors that could likely earn
the firm a place among India’s top legal establishments.
Admittedly, the firm’s partners are already established
legal professionals in India and overseas. Clasis Law
is the brainchild of five former ALMT Legal partners:
Shalini Agarwal and Sakate Khaitan in London, Vineet
Aneja in New Delhi, and Ishtiaq Ali and Renu Parekh in
Mumbai. Joined by several associates, they launched
Clasis last April, soon after severing ties with ALMT.
Clyde & Co, ALMT Legal’s former best friend, transferred
Sakate Khaitan and Shalini
Agarwal [at Clasis Law] have
given excellent advice
over a long period
David Dannreuther
Partner
Withers
India Business Law Journal 51