Extension Lecture Series

Mr. Rishi is a corporate and commercial lawyer based in New Delhi. He specializes in private equity / venture capital investments, mergers & acquisitions, takeover and joint ventures. He has significant experience in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investments, joint ventures, general corporate, restructuring and reorganisations, with a particular focus on complex, high-end corporate transactions. He advices both buy side and sell side in strategic sale transactions in India as well as financial investor stake sales.

Having worked for leading firms in Singapore, China and India, Mr. Rishi brings a unique mix of international and entrepreneurial experience into his practice. As a Partner in the Firm’s General Corporate Practice, he is noted for his skill in navigating the intricacies of complex issues with his commercial approach as well as his proven ability to efficiently manage deals from start to finish. He brings to the table his vast experience working with foreign clients as well as international counsel structuring complex private equity deals, mergers and acquisitions spanning several jurisdictions, advising clients on Indian acquisition strategies, foreign exchange control regulations and other regulatory aspects. He represents both private equity funds as well as several large Indian corporates in connection with investments into companies engaged in business in various sectors in India. His work experience ranges across various sectors including real estate and infrastructure, technology, retail and e-commerce, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, defence and education, to name a few.

In addition to his corporate practice, Mr. Rishi is Visiting Faculty at Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA, where he teaches a course on Mergers and Acquisition. His merit and leadership was recently endorsed by Legal Era (India’s leading magazine on business and legal world), which awarded him the ‘Rising Stars Award 2016’.

Mr. Rishi has graduated from Symbiosis International University, Pune, India and has completed LL.M from National University of Singapore (NUS). 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 25, 2018
Speaker: Prof. Christopher Lingle
Topic: Legislation & Public Policy versus the Rule of Law

Prof. Christopher Lingle earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Georgia in 1977. Since then, he has been employed at universities in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and USA. Currently, he is Visiting Professor of Economics in the Escuela de Negocios at Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala (since 1998), Adjunct Scholar at the Centre for Independent Studies (Sydney), Research Scholar at the Centre for Civil Society (New Delhi), International Political Economic Advisor for the Asian Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA – Kathmandu), Member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Globalization Institute (Brussels) & Senior Fellow, Advocata (Colombo, Sri Lanka).

Dr. Lingle’s research interests are in the areas of Political Economy and International Economics with a focus on emerging market economies and public policy reform in East and Central Europe, East Asia, Latin America, and Southern Africa.

Dr. Lingle’s work has appeared as chapters in books, the international media, and scholarly journals, including the American Economic Review, Foreign Affairs, Journal for Studies in Economics and Econometrics, Kyklos, and Pacific Review. His book on the political economy of Singapore’s development was entitled, Singapore’s Authoritarian Capitalism: Asian Values, Free Market Illusions, and Political Dependency (1996). He is widely credited with anticipating the turmoil in the East Asian economies that began in 1997 (The Rise and Decline of the ‘Asian Century’: False Starts on the Road to the ‘Global Millennium’, May 1997).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 13, 2018
Speaker: Ms. Namita Bahri, Partner, JSA Advocates and Solicitors
Topic: E-Commerce and Related Laws

Ms. Namita’s practice covers diverse areas of Corporate Commercial with a specific focus on Mergers & Acquisitions, Joint Ventures and Corporate Commercial Advisory.

Ms. Namita’s scope of work includes conducting legal Due Diligence and drafting and vetting of various commercial agreements including guarantee agreements, services agreements, confidentiality and non disclosure agreements, collaboration agreements, lease deeds and transaction documents such as joint venture agreements and share purchase agreements.

Ms. Namita has advised clients on various issues under Company Law and FEMA (including Foreign Direct Investment Policy) and sector specific laws relating to across various sectors including retail and franchising, real estate, FMCG sector and the pharmaceutical sector.

Ms. Namita has advised international entities in setting up their presence in India and has also assisted in rendering tax advice for structuring of inbound and outbound investment.

Prior to joining J. Sagar Associates in 2009, Ms.Namita was working with Khaitan & Co. from 2007 – 2009. She is alumnus of Symbiosis Law School, Pune (2002).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 06, 2018
Speaker: Mr. Vishal Kumar, Director – Cyber Education & Services, Quick Heal Technologies Limited
Topic: Blockchain, Dark Web and Cyber Crime – Are we ready?

Mr. Vishal is alumnus Symbiosis Law School, Pune and is presently working as Director – Cyber Education & Services with Quick Heal Technologies Limited.

A specialist in cyber law and legal aspects of cyber security, Mr. Vishal has gained diverse knowledge through his assignments with Government organizations, Corporates and education institutions.

In the year 2002, Mr. Vishal engineered Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Hon’ble High Court of Bombay for appointment of adjudicating officers to decide the fate of multi crore cybercrime cases in India. The PIL also resulted in the appointment of Chairman and the establishment of Cyber Appellate Tribunal at New Delhi.

Vishal was a member of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012 -17) Government of India – Working Group on Cyber Laws and Legal Framework and Working Group on Cyber Security. Vishal chaired the subgroup which was constituted under the main working group responsible for suggesting the emerging legal framework towards issues on the Internet, intellectual property law and Internet governance. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 26, 2017
Speaker: Mr. Abhijit Narayan, Foreign Lawyer, Hengeler Mueller, Frankfurt-Germany
Topic: Legal Profession: Opportunities for Studying and Working Abroad

Mr. Abhijit Narayan is an Indian corporate lawyer based in Europe. He completed his LL.B. from University of Delhi and LL.M. in corporate law from New York University. After working in India with a top tier corporate law firm for a few years, in 2012, Abhijit moved to Germany. He works with a top ranked European corporate law firm. In 2016, he also did a secondment with a magic circle law firm in London for six months.

As a member of the firm's India Desk, Mr. Abhijit advises Indian companies on their business activities in Germany and throughout Europe and in accompanying foreign companies to India. Abhijit regularly visits India to meet corporates, law firms, banks and auditors and also to attend conferences based on different topics like IT and foreign investment in India.

Mr. Abhijit has been included in the category "Leaders in their Field" by Chambers Global 2015 and Chambers Global 2015 (Chambers and Partners).

Mr. Abhijit is also passionate about writing and in his free time, writes poetry and short stories. His poems have been published by the Poetry Society of India and many national and international magazines. His short stories have also been included in a number of anthologies. He has just completed his first novel (fiction).

Mr. Abhijit also enjoys travelling and has visited more than 25 countries.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: March 25, 2017
Speaker: Ms. Sakshi Vijay, Advocate and Consultant, Law Commission of India
Topic: Alternative Careers in Law

Ms. Sakshi Vijay, is a Disputes Resolution Facilitator who passed out of ILS Law College, Pune University in 2013.

Qualified as an Advocate in India, Ms. Sakshi Vijay worked as an in-house counsel in the first two years of her professional life in an Oil and Gas exploration company, Government of Gujarat. Having received exposure in International Commercial Arbitration , she went on to pursue her Masters in International Disputes Resolution from the University of Melbourne and completed it in May, 2016. She was trained as a Mediator in Australia and then as a Tribunal Secretary in Hong Kong. After her Masters, she worked at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre as a case managing intern and participated in the business development activities of the Institution in India.

Ms. Sakshi Vijay has been working as a Consultant with the Law Commission of India for the last 6 months and gaining experience in the field of Public Policy. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 04, 2017
Speaker: Mr. Philip McConnaughay, Dean and Professor of Law, School of Transnational Law and Vice Chancellor, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School
Topic: China's Impact on the Western Legal Tradition: A Preview from the Pearl River Delta

Mr. Philip McConnaughay is Dean and Professor of Law of STL and a Vice Chancellor of Peking University’s Shenzhen Graduate School. Before joining STL, he was Founding Dean of Penn State University’s law school and School of International Affairs. Prior to joining Penn State, he was a Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and before that a partner of the international law firm, Morrison & Foerster, resident for almost ten years in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Dean McConnaughay is the author of numerous scholarly articles and edited books concerning international commercial dispute resolution, the regulation of international commerce, and the role of arbitration in economic development. He serves on the editorial board of the Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law. As a practicing lawyer, Dean McConnaughay was involved in some of the major antitrust and intellectual property disputes of the day, including representing Fujitsu Limited of Japan in the celebrated multi-billion dollar IBM/Fujitsu Arbitration. He has served as an advisor to the Government of Indonesia with respect to the drafting of a new national arbitration law, and has been active throughout his career in a variety of public interest and pro bono matters.

Mr. Philip McConnaughay has several publications to his name including: The Role of Arbitration in Economic Development and the Creation of Transnational Legal Principlesem>, 1 Peking University Transnational Law Review 9 (2013); The Risks and Virtues of Lawlessness: A “Second Look” at International Commercial Arbitrationem>, 93 Northwestern University Law Review 453. This 1999 article was republished in full in 2009, along with articles by Soia Mentschikoff, Andrei Schleifer, Alan Schwartz, Lisa Bernstein, Orley Ashenfelt, and others, as one of “the most important articles on arbitration,” in ECONOMICS OF COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (O. Ashenfelter, Princeton, and R. Iyengar, LSE, eds, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., London, 2009), of the series, ECONOMIC APPROACHES TO LAW (Richard A. Posner and Francesco Parisi, senior eds); Forewordem>, DISPUTE SETTLEMENT IN CHINA-AFRICA ECONOMIC RELATIONS, Won Kidane (Kluwer Law International, 2011); The Scope of Autonomy in International Contracts and its Relation to Economic Regulation and Developmentem>, 39 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 595 (2001); Rethinking the Role of Law and Contracts in East-West Commercial Relationsem>, 41 Virginia Journal of International Law 427 (2001); Reviving the Public Law Taboo in International Conflict of Lawsem>, 35 Stanford Journal of International Law 255 (1999); DEFINING VALUES FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY: THE UNIVERSITY’S CHANGING ROLE (William T. Greenough, P. McConnaughay and Jay Kesan, eds.,em> 2007, Rowman & Littlefield). This volume explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasingly economic role of major research universities and includes papers by several prominent international figures, including M.S. Swaminathan (World Food Prize Winner), Erich Bloch (Former Director, NSF), Jack Gibbons (Former U.S. National Science Advisor), Lord Meghnad Desai (London School of Economics and United Nations), Timothy Reeves (Director General, CIMMYT), and others; INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION IN ASIA (P. McConnaughay and Tom Ginsburg, eds.,em> Juris Press, New York, 2002; second edition 2005). This volume includes detailed assessments by local scholars and practitioners of international commercial dispute resolution practices in all major East Asian jurisdictions; HUMAN RIGHTS, THE RULE OF LAW, AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA (Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and P. McConnaughay, eds.,em> University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004). This volume includes papers by several prominent African jurists, human rights activities, and government officials.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 21, 2017
Speaker: Mr. Rajesh Mukhija, Vice President - General Counsel & Company Secretary, JCB India Ltd.
Topic: 1. Role Profile of and Expectation from a General Counsel in a Corporate set up; 2. Key Issues in Legal Governance, Risk Management and Compliance

Mr. Rajesh Mukhija is a corporate legal professional with over 25 years of leadership experience in large organizations. He has domain expertise in legal, corporate governance, risk management and compliance functions.

Mr. Mukhija holds bachelor degrees in commerce and law from Delhi University. He is also a qualified company secretary and an MBA.

Mr. Mukhija is currently working as Vice President – General Counsel and Company Secretary in JCB India Ltd., which is part of the JCB Group, UK and the largest construction equipment company in India.

Mr. Mukhija has also worked overseas for two years in Asahi Glass Group at its HQ in Brussels. He stays with his family in Delhi. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 10, 2017
Speaker: Mr. Justice P S Narayana, Former Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Member, Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal
Topic: Mr. Justice Koka Rao: A Judicial Personality To Be Remembered

Mr. Justice P S Narayana is Former Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Member, Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.

Mr. Justice P S Narayana hails from Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. He had his law degree from Sri Venkateswara University apart from his Post Graduation in Public Administration. He was sworn in as High Court Judge on June 25, 2001.

Mr. Justice P S Narayana was the editor of Andhra Law Times, and Author of several law Books like Law of Partnership, Law of Adverse Possession, Law of Limitation, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Civil Compendium, Criminal Compendium, Pleadings & Practice (Civil & Criminal), Law of Benami, Law of Appeals, Law of Injunctions, Law of Easement, Intellectual Property Law in India.

Mr. Justice P S Narayana has been delivering several lectures on different topics relating to law in Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy and also in several academic institutions of national and international repute.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 07, 2017
Speaker: Mr. S. Ramaswamy, Former, EVP-Group General Counsel, Escorts Ltd and Founder, Medha Advisors
Topic: Role of General Counsel & Inputs on Corporate Governance

Mr. S. Ramaswamy [B.Com (Hons), LL.B, FCS, PGDBA] is former General Counsel & Company Secretary and a Certified Corporate Director. He is a result oriented professional and effective business enabler with over 30 years of professional experience, proven ability and effectiveness in Board & Senior Management Business Strategy & Advisory, legal, Intellectual Property, corporate governance, compliance, Internal Audit and secretarial domain amongst others.

Prior to founding Medhaadvisors, a Business Consultancy and Advisory firm in October 2015, Mr. S. Ramaswamy have been associated with some of the most respected MNC’s and Fortune 500 Companies & Indian Conglomerate in various capacities as Director, Group General Counsel, Head Of Legal, Intellectual Property Advisor, Company Secretary & Head Internal Audit/ Corporate Affairs during my overall Professional career.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy is involved with various Institutions in capacities such as Chairman of the General Counsel Section of Indian National Bar Association (INBA) ; Member Institute of Directors (IOD) ,Past President Indian Corporate Counsel Association, a professional organization for In-House Counsel; Co Chairman of Law & Justice Committee of PHDCCI, Member of Institute of Internal Auditors, Florida, USA/India, Vice President – North of India International ADR Association.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy had been associated with ASSOCHAM in varied capacities including Expert Committee on Company Affairs (2005-06&2006-07), Member of ASSOCHAM, National Council of Legal Affairs 2014, Legal Affairs & IPR Council - Nomination on Expert Council (2011), Honorary Member of Society of Indian Law Firms (2005-06), ASSOCHAM Expert Committee on IPR-2011).

Mr. S. Ramaswamy has widely travelled to various countries on work including US, UK, Poland, Turkey, UAE, Singapore and Malaysia.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy has wide experience of dealing with global and multi-jurisdictional Legal, Anti Bribery, and Corporate Governance & Compliance matters including good networking with Global Legal Professionals, Institutions & Law Firms.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy is presently based out of NCR Delhi, India and working through Think Tank Portal Medhaadvisors, a Business Consultancy and Advisory firm. He also is involved with various “Make in India initiatives” to give back to the country in a small way by providing his expertise to the various initiatives of the Government of India through various bodies mentioned above. He also is acting as Consultant to Zaiwalla & Co., International Law Firm from UK.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy’s recent achievements include completion of orientation as “Director” with Institute of Directors (IOD) through their Master Class for Directors Programme. He visited UK parliament with a delegation for “Make in India” on June 13, 2016 on invite of British Parliamentarian. He also presented Report to Ministry of Law on Opening up of Foreign Legal Services. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: September 10, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Gaurang Kanth, Managing Partner, Kanth and Associates
Topic: Insider’s Perspective of Legal Profession

Mr. Gaurang Kanth has wide experience both in the Indian as well as the American legal system. In the United States, he worked with a San Diego based law firm of O'Connell & Zuffoletto LLP, the law firm of A. Quinn, and as a legal intern with the Plotkin Law Group, PC, Denver, Colorado.

Mr. Gaurang has extensive experience in Corporate and Commercial laws. He has assisted clients ranging from start-up companies to some of the largest multinational companies in the world. He represents buyers and sellers in all aspects of public and private company, mergers and acquisitions including conducting due diligence investigations, asset and business acquisition through contractual arrangement and legal processes, negotiating and drafting transaction documents and coordinating closings.

Mr. Gaurang advises domestic as well as foreign clients on the laws and procedures for incorporating funds in India and also guides the clients on the required governmental approvals from the various regulatory agencies in India. He also acts as legal advisor to renowned corporate houses including players in the export houses, manufacturers and industrial players in the Real Estate, Media, Construction, Fashion and Education sectors. He also renders his expert advice in area of Competition Laws.

Mr. Gaurang has an expertise in areas of real estate, infrastructure and construction projects, project finance and power sector. Some of the important transactions include: Representation of a public outsourcing company in connection with the sale of its supply chain management division; Representation of a large energy Corporation in connection with the spin-off of its subsidiary, and subsequent merger with Holding Company; M&A counsel to a seller of telecommunications assets, including video, voice and data distribution systems; Negotiating and documenting roll-up of several limited liability companies holding oil and natural gas properties in the western United States; Representing a natural gas exploration and production company in connection with obtaining a $30 million production loan from a large multinational bank; Legal advice to US clients on setting up of 100% STPI Company in India and Worked on a merger deal for an educational institute in Belgium.

Mr. Gaurang’s educational qualifications include Bachelor of Arts (History) Hindu College, University of Delhi; LL.B. from the University of Delhi, India; and LL.M. (magna cum laude graduate) from the University of Denver, School of Law, USA

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 23, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Amit Mohaan Meharia, Managing Partner, MCO Legal
Topic: Arbitration, No More Frustration

Mr. Amit Mohaan Meharia, LLB (Hons) King’s College, Solicitor (Supreme Court of England and Wales), is Managing Partner, MCO Legal.

Mr Meharia has been representing a variety of clients ranging across individuals, Public Sector Undertaking and top multinational companies, global giants and Fortune 500 Companies, both domestic and international- in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, Calcutta High Court, and various Tribunals.

 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 17, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Eric Gonzalez, Head, ProView (Professional & Academic Grade eBook Platform) Business Development Across GGO (Thomson Reuters’ emerging markets)
Topic: How Law Universities are Moving Paper-less

Eric Gonzalez is responsible for ProView (Professional & Academic Grade eBook Platform) Business Development Across GGO (Thomson Reuters’ emerging markets). Eric started his career in Strategy Consulting, developing projects in a wide array of industries. At Thomson Reuters, Eric assumed different roles in areas such as Sales, Strategy, Marketing and Product Development, launching ProView in Spain back in 2012 and in Brazil in 2014, as well as developing Westlaw Spain in the last couple of years. Nowadays Eric is partnering with local teams across Thomson Reuters to launch ProView in regions such as LatAm, South Africa, MENA, Russia, India, China and ANA. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 06, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Rajeev Nair, Associate General Counsel, Hewlett-Packard
Topic: In House Counsel's Perspective on Large Corporate Transactions

Mr. Rajeev Nair is the Associate General Counsel supporting HP’s businesses and global delivery centers in India. He also holds the additional responsibility for providing legal support to HP’s Personal Systems Business Unit for the Asia Pacific and Japan region. He has been with HP since January 2012 and led legal support for HP’s Separation in India in the year 2015. Mr. Rajeev started his career as a practicing counsel before the High Court of Kerala, and thereafter worked with the legal teams of Hindustan Unilever Limited, ING Group and HSBC, prior to joining HP. He has over 20 years of experience spread over various areas of law including corporate, commercial, compliance, IP, contracting and litigation. He has also been a speaker at various domestic and international events, covering a wide range of subjects.

Mr. Rajeev likes to adopt a risk-based approach while providing legal support to the business, and is a strong believer in partnering with the business teams to facilitate achievement of their goals.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: July 23, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Manish Modak, Managing Partner, ASTREA Legal Associates LLP
Topic: New Opportunities in Legal Industry and How to Prepare for New Challenges

Mr. Manish is the Managing partner at ASTREA Legal Associates, full service law firm, since 2006. His areas of interest are Banking, Real Estate, Credit, Retail and Revenue.

Prior to establishing ASTREA Legal Associates LLP in 2006, Mr. Manish has been practicing at Bombay High, Nagpur Bench since 2002 at Writ & Appellate side. He also practices before CAT, MAT and State Consumer Forum.

Mr. Manish’s educational qualifications include B.A, B. P. Ed. (Amravati University) and LL.B.(Symbiosis International University) (1999 – 2002).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: July 16, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Anupam Sharan, Director – Legal, Regulatory and Compliance at American Express
Topic: Contact Management, Compliance and Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption

Mr. Anupam Sharan, Director – Legal, Regulatory and Compliance at American Express, is a senior attorney managing strategic legal, contractual and commercial programs globally for over $4 Billion per annum. He has extensive legal and contractual experience in drafting, negotiation, IPR, corporate, commercial including International law, M&A, government affairs, risk, governance, change, compliance and privacy matters. He seeks to channelize business and operational insights to provide thought leadership within the industry and contribute to shape laws, regulations and public policies. He brings experience across multiple industries such as consulting, banking and financial services, telecom, outsourcing, IT, ITES, steel, power and construction. He has good experience in working closely with Operations / stakeholder functions and helping build appreciation to the contractual obligations and commitments.

Mr. Anupam Sharan is a regular speaker at various conferences, with many articles and white paper published to his name. He has dual qualification of Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering (B.E.) and Bachelor in Legislative Law (LL.B.) with Masters in Business and IPR Law (LL.M) added with various certifications. He also serves as the Editorial Board member at IACCM (International Association for Contract and Commercial Management), USA.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: July 16, 2016
Speaker: Ms. Nayantara A Devaya, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
Topic: (1) Value systems in the legal system- mentors, firms, specialisation and MONEY! & (2) Opportunities in the legal profession in India- the economics of trends!

Ms. Nayantara A Devaya pursued her childhood dream of becoming an advocate of the Indian legal system. She completed her education in law from Symbiosis Law School, Pune in 2009. Her passion and drive for corporate and transaction law secured her a position in AZB & Partners, NOIDA in the year of recession. She spent over two years doing some of the biggest mergers and acquisition deals in Asia, under the mentorship of the best business transaction lawyers in the country. During these two years she was also a research and drafting assistant to the team framing India’s first competition law legislation, a welcome substitute for the archaic MRTP. In 2011 she wanted to contribute to the aid of the client side of legal recourse and joined the Reliance Group. She together with her mentor drives the legal team for Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited for Delhi NCR.

Nayantara is driven by looking into the law for solutions. Her passion for life and her work is learning and moving a step forward at every minute.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: July 09, 2016
Speaker: Ms. Gauri Rasgotra, Partner and Deputy Head, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Delhi
Topic: Introduction to Legal Profession

Ms. Gauri Rasgotra joined Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in 2015 as a Partner and is the Deputy Head of the Delhi Office.

Ms. Gauri has a rare combination of advisory and litigation experience of 22 years in both academic and corporate settings. She managed the litigation of some landmark cases such as the right of citizens to fly the national flag and reviving Satyam under new management after the largest ever corporate scam in India. She has been working on privacy issues for international firms planning operations in India and has also addressed international conferences on issues of relevance to international law firms with respect to Indian legal framework. Her areas of interest cover dispute resolution, commercial laws and other emerging areas such as data privacy and food safety laws.

Ms. Gauri also worked in the US at the George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C. where she was selected to be the first Director of the school’s newly established India Studies Center between 2007 & 2009. In this position she was responsible for developing and managing the Center’s portfolio of India related activities, which ranged from conferences and seminars on legal issues pertaining to India and the US to producing reports on current issues of law.
Ms. Gauri is an independent director on the Boards of three prominent public listed companies in India.

Ms. Gauri’s areas of interest are Dispute Resolution; Commercial Litigation and Arbitration. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: June 14, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Chris Parsons, Chairman, India Practice, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Topic: Herbert Smith Freehills – Is it for you?

Mr. Chris has been with the firm for over 30 years and for the past 10 years has been the Chairman of the firm's India Practice. He was based in Hong Kong in the 1980's and from 2001 spent 3 years in Singapore as Managing Partner, SE Asia. For most of his career he has been based in London working on cross border deals.

Apart from time with clients, Mr. Chris lectures at a number of Law Schools in India which includes a joint programme with Oxford University, now in its fifth year. Mr. Chris also helps guide the firm's social initiatives in India, which includes HSF Bridge, a project that links law students with local causes.

Mr. Chris is the relationship partner for a number of Indian companies and has been involved on some leading deals including (i) Bharti's acquisition of Zain Africa, (ii) Godrej's joint venture with the Darling Group across Africa (iii) Essar's arrangements with Vodafone, (iv) the investment by Diageo in United Spirits and (v) the Strides disposal to Mylan. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: April 16, 2016
Speaker: Adv. Niraj Kumar Singh, Advocate, High Court of Delhi
Topic: Evidences with respect to Financial frauds

Mr. Niraj Kumar Singh, after having completed graduation in Law (LL.B) from University of Delhi, started his career in law under the tutelage of M/s. Desai & Savla, a Law Firm, hailing from Mumbai. Before he went independent in 2000. He has successfully handled different genres of cases, ranging from Civil to Criminal to Constitutional to Intellectual Property to Corporate.

Mr. Niraj Kumar Singh’s areas of interest include Corporate Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Information Technology Law, and Arbitration Law.


 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: April 02, 2016
Speaker: Mr. J. P. Mishra, Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance, Government of India
Topic: The Regulatory Framework of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)

Mr. J. P Mishra is Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Mr. J. P. Mishra joined Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance, Government of India in the year 1983. The organization was mandated to implement the provisions of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (FERA) which has since been repealed. Twin legislations i.e. Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) came into existence and the same are being implemented by the Directorate of Enforcement. Besides pending cases of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) adjudication and invoking provisions of Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA) are also being dealt with.

Mr. J. P. Mishra holds more than 32 years of experience of investigation, under all the three acts- FERA, COFEPOSA, PMLA and adjudicating FEMA cases. He held the position of Assistant Enforcement Officer (A.E.O.) from 1983- 1996 stationed at Agra; Enforcement Officer (E.O.) (1997 -2011); Assistant Director (A.D.) and Head of Jammu & Kashmir, stationed in Srinagar from September (2011 – 2013). He is currently posted in Delhi Zonal Office as Deputy Director since June 2013. He was Member of Manual Committee responsible for drafting allied rules under FEMA & PMLA from 2004 to 2007.

Mr. J. P. Mishra has been invited as resource person to conduct lectures/training sessions at Police Training College and Income Tax Training Centre at Chandigarh and Srinagar.

Mr. J. P. Mishra graduated from Allahabad University in 1980 and pursued his post- graduation with his service from 1986- 1988.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: March 12, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Rahul Goel, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Topic: Competition Law Issues in Public Procurement

Mr. Rahul Goel is a Partner at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and based out of New Delhi offices. His practice focuses on Competition/ anti-trust laws.

M. Rahul is a member of Supreme Court Bar Association (India) and was also elected as a fellow of Royal Society of Arts (RSA), UK.

Mr. Rahul completed his Masters of Laws (LL.M) in Information Technology, Media and E- commerce laws (with emphasis on Competition and TMT laws) at University of Essex, United Kingdom. He also worked as a research student at the University of Essex under the guidance of Prof. Steve Anderman (Competition law) and Prof. Rohan Kariyawasam (Telecom law).

Mr. Rahul advises clients on all issues relating to Competition law including behavioural/ enforcement matters (cartels, bid-rigging, anti-competitive agreements, dominance) and merger control provisions. He also advises and assists companies/ stakeholders in Competition law compliance, audit and training. He assists and represents clients before the Supreme Court of India, High Courts (Writ Jurisdiction), Competition Appellate Tribunal and Competition Commission of India. He also advises and assists companies in auditing their existing agreements/ practices and forming compliance programmes/ procedures (including Do’s and Don’ts Policies) in accordance with Competition law.

Subsequent to notification of Competition law in India on May 20, 2009, Mr. Rahul advised Builders Association of India (in August 2009) and successfully represented Builders Association of India (Informant) in the cement cartel matter before the CCI; wherein the CCI imposed highest ever penalty on companies involved in cartel activity.

Mr. Rahul has been continuously working towards developing jurisprudence in Competition law space. He was selected (nominated) as finalist at the Global Competition Review Annual Awards at Washington DC, USA in 2013 for obtaining the landmark order from the CCI in the cement cartel matter. He was again selected (nominated) as finalist at Global Competition Review Annual Awards at Washington DC, USA in 2014 for obtaining landmark judgment on recognition of “Relevant Turnover” in Aluminium Phosphide cartel matter from Competition Appellate Tribunal. Also, Aluminium Phosphide Cartel matter was awarded 'Deal of the Year' by India Business Law Journal (IBLJ) 2013. Rahul is the only Competition law practitioner from India who has been selected among the finalists twice (for two consecutive years) for the prestigious GCR Annual Award.

Mr. Rahul, even prior to notification of merger control provisions (in April 2011) under the Competition Act, has advised companies including Areva T&D on merger control provisions and assisted them in creating “Do’s and Don’ts policy” for competing businesses (for India region) of merged entities. Mr. Rahul has actively worked on the issues concerning European Union’s Framework Directive and Competition laws especially Article 101 and 102 of the European Union Treaty. He is also a resource person for the Competition law programs offered by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Mr. Rahul was also invited to speak on competition law issues at International Competition Law Conference in 2010 and 2012 (at New Delhi) jointly organised by the Competition Appellate Tribunal and Competition Law Bar Association.

Mr. Rahul was recently ranked by Indian Lawyer 250 (a publication of Law Business Research, United Kingdom) among leading Indian lawyers under 45 years (40 under 45). He has been recommended by several legal directories (since 2008/ 2009) including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Asia Law & Practice as a leading/ recognised practitioner in Technology, Media & Telecommunications sector.

Mr. Rahul takes part in consultation processes with Government of India and related ministries on policy related issues and submits proposal, papers on required changes in the extant policy. Mr. Rahul writes regularly for international and national journals/ publications (including peer- reviewed) on issues relating to Competition law and also contentious issues relating to Competition law v. Telecom law; Competition law v. Intellectual Property Rights; and Competition law v. International Trade laws (anti-dumping). He has also authored authoritative/ peer reviewed papers on Telecom law, IP and Trade law.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 27, 2016
Speaker: Mr. M G Ramachandran, Head, Ramachandran & Associates, Delhi
Topic: Infrastructure Laws: An Overview

Mr. M G Ramachandran is graduate of Law (LL.B.-1975) and Commerce (B.Com (Hons) – 1972) from Univeristy of Delhi.

Since 1975, Mr. Ramachandran has been practicing as an independent professional. The areas of work include advising on reform and restructuring of industrial and commercial ventures, regulatory controls and measures, disinvestment, property development matters, drafting legislation, subsidiary rules and regulations, notifications, transfer schemes, policy directives, service rules and conditions, collaborations (technical & financial), agreements, advising on arrangements of incorporated companies and bodies including amalgamations/mergers and reconstruction, public issues including American Depository Receipts for Indian companies, advising on intellectual property rights and appearing before Supreme Court, High Courts and Tribunals.

Since 1994 Mr. Ramachandran has been advising on infrastructure reforms mainly in the power sector and also in Gas Sector, Special Economic Zone and port. He has been actively involved in the transformation of State Sector Utilities such as State Electricity Boards to corporate entities. He has been retained by Multilateral funding agencies such as Asian development Bank (ADB), World Bank and DFID, UK as legal, strategy and policy expert to give advice to various State Governments on long term basis for power sector reforms in India and Bangladesh. ADB has recognized Mr. Ramachandran as International Legal Expert for assisting in power sector reforms and had engaged him as Individual Legal and Regulatory Consultant for power sector reforms in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Assam.

Mr. Ramachandran has been actively involved in advising the Central Government and the State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Orissa, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka on the entire gambit of power sector reforms. He had assisted the Central Government in formulating the polices for Electricity Laws Amendment in the year 1998 and drafting the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998. He has assisted the State Government in the power sector reforms from the stage of conceptualizing reform program, preparation of Reform Legislation, Subsidiary Rules, Regulations and other statutory instruments unbundling of the State Electricity Boards, Constitution of the Regulatory Commission, Preparation of Regulations for the conduct of business of Regulatory Commission, Employees Related matters including their transfer to new entities and assisting in courts in defending the reform program and decisions by the Regulatory Commission. The work involved extensive interaction with various departments of the Central and the State Government, correlating the work of different departments, streamlining the reorganization process understanding the issues of different departments and stake holders and formulating strategies for implementation. He had assisted the State government in taking up the matter with the Central Government for Presidential Assent and interacted extensively with the Central and State Government departments in bringing into operation the State Legislation. He has also assisted the State Governments in dealing with the personnel related transfer including their transfer and --permanent absorption in the reorganized companies.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 27, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Rajiv Arora, Chief Legal, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs (Sr. V.P.), Bharti Infratel Ltd.
Topic: Role of In-House Counsel

Mr. Rajiv has been associated with Bharti Group since 2001. Since 2007, Mr. Rajiv is Chief Legal, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs (Sr. V.P.) at Bharti Infratel Ltd. From 2001-2007, he was General Manager, Airtel. He also has been associated with names of national and international important including; Manager Legal, Escorts (1998-2001); Consultant Legal, Capart HQ (1996-1998).

Mr. Rajiv is associated with organisations of national and international important which include; Executive Committee Member & BR Head, Bharti Group; Co-chairman TAIPA Legal Committee; Member, Telecom Committee (FICCI).

Mr. Rajiv’s educational qualifications include BA, LL.B. and DLL. He also has received training in ‘Maximizing Leadership Potential’ from Harvard Business School, USA and ‘Indirect Taxation’ from IIM, Bangalore.

His role at the company involves Litigation; Major contracts, Acquisition, Taxation, Regulatory & Compliances, Corporate Affairs, Advisory.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 06, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Sumit Attri, Partner and Advocate on Record with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, AOR, New Delhi
Topic: What it takes to become an Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India

Sumit is an Advocate on Record (AOR) of the Supreme Court of India and has filed and appeared in varied litigation before the Supreme Court of India. Sumit is a Partner and AOR with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, AOR, New Delhi. He is alumnus of Symbiosis Society’s Law College, Pune, having graduated in 2002. (B.B.A, L.L.B, D.L.L&L.W.)

Sumit is a member of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCORA)

Sumit’s core expertise is in the fields of dispute resolution, arbitration & conciliation and corporate litigation, and he is actively involved in litigation drafting, strategy and advisory.

Sumit has conducted Arbitration matters for Government of India opposing transfer of Government’s shareholding in Public Sector Undertaking(s) to Private Sector. Advised, Drafted and appeared in Schemes of Amalgamation before the Delhi High Court under the Companies Act. Negotiating and drafting the scheme, handling court proceedings and implementation of scheme. Defended and filed various Winding Up Petitions for and against Real Estate Companies. Drafted and Appeared in Winding Up Petitions and successfully secured and recovered the money due to Clients. Advising, Drafting and appearing on behalf of Aviation companies before National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi and State Commission, Delhi in various consumer related matters. Advised and Appeared on behalf of various Public Sector Undertaking’s in various Arbitration matters relating to disputes in road projects defending the claims made by contractors, disputes relating to Public Premises Act, advising on issue of tenders and vetting the tender documents. Advised, Drafted and Appeared in Criminal Matters relating to offences under the Indian Penal Code and Negotiable Instruments Act. Advised, Drafted and Appeared on behalf of various banks and individuals in matters relating to Recovery of Corporate Debt before Debt Recovery Tribunals and Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunals and under Securitization Act (SARFAESI).  

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 30, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Ajay Shaw, Partner, DSK Legal, Mumbai
Topic:

Ajay joined DSK Legal in June 2002 and has diverse experience in the areas of Energy and Infrastructure, Corporate & Commercial Laws, Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Services and Intellectual Property.

Ajay’s relevent experience in the filed includes: Advising clients on various legal and commercial issues pertaining to energy and infrastructure projects including preparing and negotiating documentation with respect to bidding process for PPP/PFI deals, consortium arrangement, project equity, project debt, EPC, O&M, Supply Contracts.; Advising clients on structuring, documenting and negotiating commercial transactions in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, reorganization, strategic alliances and joint ventures; Advising clients on matters pertaining to raising debt, acquisition of NPAs, debt restructuring, external commercial borrowings, securitization and asset reconstruction.; Conducting legal due diligence for various clients on large public and private companies in diversified fields; Assisting clients in preparing and negotiating diverse documents including inter alia documents for private equity deals, joint venture agreements, business/share acquisition documents, documentation related to capital markets, documents for raising debt and security documents, technology and intellectual property license agreements, services agreements, marketing and distributorship agreements, manufacturing agreements, confidentiality agreements, non-compete agreements, voting trust agreements, escrow agreements; Providing advice on diverse corporate and other laws including, corporate law, exchange control regulations, securities law, and competition law; Advising on matters pertaining to FIIs, mutual funds, venture capital funds and NBFCs; Advising on strategies pertaining to creation, exploitation and protection of IP, including global strategy for protecting and managing IP/ Brands for enhanced valuation.

Ajay has various publications on diverse subjects to his credit including publications in the Economic Times, Hindu Business Line, international journals and websites.

Ajay has been lecturing at various fora including University of Pune, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Centre for Civil Society (CCS); Xaviers Institute of Management, Mumbai.

Ajay is alumunus of ILS Law College, Pune. His professional membership includes the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.  

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 23, 2016
Speaker: Mr. Rajiv Choubey, Vice President & Company Secretary of Vedanta Limited
Topic: Practical aspects of Laws affecting Mining and Metal companies

Mr. Rajiv Choubey is Vice President and Company Secretary of Vedanta Limited. In the past, he has worked for Companies including Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Tin Works Ltd., U.P. Export Corporation Ltd., and Delton Cables Ltd. New Delhi.

Mr. Rajiv has been working for last 18 years in various capacities including In-House Legal Counsel and Company Secretary in field of Corporate Laws, Mergers & Acquisitions, Securities Laws, Corporate Governance, Commercial Laws, International Trade Laws, Joint Ventures, Environment related laws, Electricity related issues, Industrial & Labour Laws, Economic laws-Excise & Customs, FDI Policy, Foreign Trade Policy, in bound & out bound investment laws of India. 


Mr. Rajiv’s educational and professional qualification include LLB from University of Delhi; LL.M. from Kurukshetra University, Company Secretarship (ACS) from Institute of Companies Secretaries of India, Diploma in International Trade & Business Laws from Indian Society of International 
Law, New Delhi, Diploma in Corporate Laws & Management from Indian Law Institute, New Delhi 
and B.Com from University of Allahabad.


Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 23, 2016
Speaker: Ms. Shukla Wassan, Executive Director – Legal & Company Secretary of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd and Chairperson of International Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Bangladesh, Bottlers Nepal Limited and Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Ltd. Nepal, subsidiaries of the Coca-Cola Company plc.
Topic: Ethics: Key to one's growth

Shukla Wassan is Executive Director - Legal & Company Secretary of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd and Chairperson of International Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Bangladesh, Bottlers Nepal Limited and Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Limited, Nepal, subsidiaries of The Coca-Cola Company plc.. She is a member of The Coca-Cola Company Bottling Investment Group Women’s Advisory Counsel and a Founder Member of Indian Corporate Counsel Association.

Shukla Wassan is a Law graduate from Calcutta University and a Fellow Member of Institute of Company Secretaries of India. During her rich and diverse career spanning over 3 decades, she has been a part of the Corporate Management Team of multinational companies like Reckitt Benckiser, Xerox India & Max New York Life Insurance Co.. Her wide-ranging areas of expertise include Joint Venture, Strategic Alliances, Fund Structuring, Intellectual Property, Indirect Taxation, Competition Law and Corporate Governance & Compliances.

Shukla Wassan was awarded the Jury award for ‘Outstanding Achievement – In house - Female’, 2013 and `General Counsel of the Year (Female)’ 2014 at the Annual LegalEra Awards. Her team has also won the award of `Best In House Team of the Year – FMCG Category’ for the second time in a row at the Annual LegalEra Awards held in March 2015. Also a prominent speaker in seminars and international conferences, Shukla has also been a Committee Member of various industry forums and has taken leadership roles in community organization –Rotaract Clubs and Resident Welfare Associations’. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: September 26, 2015
Speaker: Dr. Vijay Kumar Aggarwal, Partner, Seth Dua & Associates, Solicitors & Advocates
Topic: The Competition Act, 2002, the Procedural Lapses during Investigation, and Principles of Natural Justice

Dr. V. K. Aggarwal has been practicing, as an Advocate since 1993 and at present is Partner in Seth Dua & Associates, Solicitors & Advocates. His educational qualifications include LL.B, Diploma in Labour Laws, Masters of Commerce and a Ph.D. (Commerce) on “A Study of Unfair Trade Practices”.

Dr. Aggarwal’s practice focus has predominantly been within the realm of economic laws, which deal with trade-related competition between and among enterprises. He has been advising clients on trade-related economic-legal aspects of transactions as well as assisting clients in litigation relating to anti-trust laws, competition law and unfair trade practices & consumer laws.

Dr. Aggarwal has been enrolled as an Advocate in December 1987, while working as Law Officer, in the erstwhile Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission. After completing twenty-one years of Government service (during which he worked in various Judicial and Quasi- Judicial bodies and gained experience in procedural/ substantive Laws relating to Civil, Criminal, Labour, Custom, Excise, Anti-Trust / Competition etc.).

Since October 1993, Dr. Aggarwal has been practicing before the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission. During this period, he has handled several hundred cases/enquiries before the Commission and appeared for the consumers, consumers associations, trade associations, foreign & domestic companies, public sector undertakings, partnership firms etc. He has also appeared before the Supreme Court of India in some statutory Appeals against the orders of the MRTP Commission and also appeared before the Delhi High Court in some Writs pertaining to the orders of the MRTP Commission. During the year 1994 – 1996 also handled good number of Appeals before the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal, R.K. Puram, New Delhi. More than 400 cases/enquiries/appeals/writs, handled by Dr. Aggarwal, have been decided so far, out of which about 100 cases reported in monthly journal ‘Consumer Protection and Trade Practices Journal (CTJ)’. After the notification of substantive provisions of Competition Act, 2002, he has dealt with several cases of Section 3 and 4 of the Act and also the combination cases under section 5 of the Act.

Dr. Aggarwal is the Vice President of the Competition Law Bar Association, New Delhi. He is also the member of The Indian Law Institute (Deemed University), Delhi High Court Bar Association, The Indian Society of International Law and Ex-Hony. Secretary of the MRTP Commission Bar Association. Dr. Aggarwal is also a mediator at the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre.

Dr. Aggarwal is a Life Member of the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies; The Bar Association of India, Supreme Court Lawyers’ Chamber; The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: September 12, 2015
Speaker: Ms. Manisha Chaudhary, Managing Partner & Naveen Dahiya, Partner, UKCA and Partners, Advocates & Solicitors
Topic: Insight into Cross Border M&A - Key Focus to Indian Laws

Ms. Manisha Chaudhary, Managing Partner, UKCA and Partners, Advocates & Solicitors

Ms. Manisha is a Master of Laws graduate from the prestigious Ivy League Cornell University Law School, United States. She read law at the prominent Amity Law School and also holds a certificate in Corporate Law and Governance from the renowned London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom.

Ms. Manisha is the Managing Partner at UKCA and brings to the firm an extensive view of Corporate Laws from the biggest players around the world. She has the experience of working with some of the top lawyers and law firms of the country prior to joining UKCA. While at Cornell, she was under the guidance of the top lawyers and MBA professionals from New York City thus gaining tremendous insight on the corporate and legal culture in America.

Ms. Manisha’s forte lies in the field of Negotiations, Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Law Litigation and Consultancy. She has also been handling matters relating to Capital and Financial Markets Regulations before various authorities. She has been closely associated with the teams working on redrafting the ADR (Alternate Dispute Resolution) laws in association with CCI and ASSOCHAM. She is also a part of the Corporate Law Committee at PHDCCI and has been akin with organizing the workshops on Companies Act, 2013. She is also credited with liaising in good faith and for the benefit of the clients with the MCA, RBI and other statutory and governmental bodies.

Ms. Manisha is an avid writer and has many published articles in various legal and corporate magazines. She has also presented varied subjects at seminars held all over India.

Ms. Manisha is also a member of TustLaw.org and provides pro bono services to social enterprises in order to help them better serve the general public. She is also actively involved in community service. Children rights and women empowerment are two subjects that are very close to her heart.

Mr. Naveen Dahiya, Partner, UKCA and Partners, Advocates & Solicitors

Mr. Naveen holds a LL.B. (Hons.) degree from IP University and a master’s degree in corporate/ business laws from National Law School, Bangalore. Naveen has vast experience in advising the clients in the areas of corporate commercial laws, real estate, corporate advisory and litigation.

Mr. Naveen specializes in Public and Private, Mergers & Acquisitions, including De-mergers, restructuring of business, Asset & Share Purchase deals, Joint Ventures and Strategic alliances, Private Equity etc. The experience garnered over the years of practice makes him understands the intrinsic issues that arise in major transactions and enables him to provide solutions to resolve these issues. In addition to the mergers, acquisitions and restructuring practice Naveen continues to remains engaged in providing general corporate/commercial advisory services.

Mr. Naveen is a frequent speaker at several conferences and seminars organized by leading industry, institutions, and chambers on subjects like M&A, Takeover Code, structuring of Joint Ventures, Corporate governance etc.

Mr. Naveen has also been regularly representing several clients before various courts/ tribunals across the country including Supreme Court of India, High Court (s), Company Law Board (CLB), Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT), BIFR etc. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: September 19, 2015
Speaker: Ms. Shweta Bharti, Senior Partner, Hammurabi & Solomon, Advocates & Corporate Law Advisors
Topic: Diversity of International Commercial Arbitration and the Indian Scenario

Ms. Shweta Bharti is the Senior Partner at Hammurabi & Solomon, a leading Law Firm in India, and possesses experience of over 15 years in dealing with litigation and dispute resolution needs and reliefs for her valued clients. Shweta has graduated in B.Com (Hons.) from Indraprastha College for Women and thereafter completed her LLP from Delhi University and has also done her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in International Business from All India Management Association, New Delhi.

Ms. Shweta has been a part of several crucial legal battles on behalf of Clients and has successfully handled their cases before various Courts, Arbitrators and Judicial Forums relating to disputes between foreign investors, joint ventures, as well as challenging the arbitrary decisions of various Government organisations, and civil disputes etc.

Ms. Shweta is leading the dispute resolution and litigation practice of the Firm, Hammurabi & Solomon, a leading Law Firm in India, and possesses a vast experience of more than a decade in dealing with dispute resolution needs and reliefs of our valued clients. Shweta brings together the perfect blend of litigation strategy & business practices meeting the business needs of our valued clients. Shweta has represented clients in all facets of the corporate litigation and strategy.

Ms. Shweta as a founder Partner of the firm, Hammurabi & Solomon is engaged in providing high quality strategy and legal advice & services in India through its offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ranchi and Patna.

Ms. Shweta provides a perfect blend of consistent high quality expertise derived from immense transactional experience and innovative thought in providing solutions to delicate transactional-legal needs within the often complex Indian regulations, foreign exchange rules, tax laws and various other commercial regulations working closely with bankers, accountant and professionals from other disciplines.

Ms. Shweta is also a very active member at various international forums including the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA), Society of Indian law Firms (SILF), I-Tech Law, Legal & Tax Summit of Indian Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI) on Nuclear Liability Bill, International Academy of Law on Competition Law, International Indian Bar Association on new business laws of India to name a few.

Ms. Shweta was selected to be a part of the prestigious workshop organized by the ZEIT Foundation, Bucerius Law School and the Observer Research Foundation jointly under the aegis of Asian Forum on Global Governance (AFGG) to take a close look at the challenges facing the global community.

Ms. Shweta is hugely respected and recognised by the Courts and legal luminaries/senior counsels in practice and has been called upon by various ministries and departments of the Government of India on various legal reforms issues.

Ms. Shweta Bharti has been widely recognised which is proven by the following: the Best Dispute Resolution Management Lawyer of the year at the Legal Counsel Congress - Ideas Exchange Legal Awards 2014; 
the Chairperson of the Environmental Law Committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA). She was the speaker in the Seoul/Vancouver/Hong Kong Conferences of IPBA; the Vice Chair, Real Estate Section of the Indian National Bar Association (INBA); the Member of the CII Task Force on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution and has been Speaker at various Conferences held by CII; speaker in the I-Tech Law Conferences at Bangalore in the years 2010, 2013 and 2015; Speaker on the issues of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in the Conferences organised by ICC India, Legal League Consulting, Indian Corporate Counsel’s Association (ICCA); the General Secretary of the Society of Women Lawyers (SOWL) and has spoken at the various Conferences and CLE’s organized by SOWL; Speaker at the Global Law Firms Seminar convened by Confederation of Indian Bar and KIIT University, Bhubaneshwar. She has also been a Speaker at the Conference held by International Academy of Law on Competition Law.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 08, 2015
Speaker: Mr. Sukesh Mishra, Director (Law), Competition Commission of India
Topic: Evolution of Competition Law in India

Mr. Sukesh Mishra is Director (Law) at Competition Commission of India.

Mr. Sukesh’s educational qualifications include B.Com (1st Division), LL.B (1st Division), LL.M (Constitution Law-1st Division) Osmania University, Hyderabad and NET.

Mr. Sukesh entered legal profession in the year 2000 and practiced law in A.P High Court and the sub-ordinate courts mainly in criminal law and service matters. In 2004, joined the Oriental Insurance Company as a law officer and worked till the year 2006. He also worked briefly in Iffco-Tokio general insurance company and Godfrey Phillips as an in-house counsel.

Mr. Sukesh joined Competition Commission of India as a Joint Director (Law) in 2010 and worked in the Legal Division of the Commission and appeared in many matters on behalf of CCI in different judicial forums and gave several legal opinions on important matters. At present, he is posted in the Advocacy Division of the Commission as a Director (Law) and among other things, working as an Editor of a quarterly Newsletter of the Commission called ‘FairPlay’.

Mr. Sukesh has delivered lectures on Competition Law and Policy at various institutions/organisation including Delhi Judicial Academy; Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy; Bihar Judicial Academy being attended by District Judges of Bihar in 2013; Bombay High Court; Kerala High Court; Uttrakhand High Court; Himachal Pradesh Judicial Academy; Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT),Nagpur; MCR Academy, Hyderabad; NADP, Nagpur and many more.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: August 01, 2015
Speaker: Mr. Justice P S Narayana, Former Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Member, Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal
Topic: The Proposed Replacement of Collegium System by National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) - Whether in the Interest of Independence of Judiciary or Not!

Justice P S Narayana is former Judge, High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Member, Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.

Justice P S Narayana hails from Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. He had his law degree from Sri Venkateswara University apart from his Post Graduation in Public Administration. He was sworn in as High Court Judge on June 25, 2001.

Justice P S Narayana was the editor of Andhra Law Times, and Author of several law Books like Law of Partnership, Law of Adverse Possession, Law of Limitation, Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Civil Compendium, Criminal Compendium, Pleadings & Practice (Civil & Criminal), Law of Benami, Law of Appeals, Law of Injunctions, Law of Easement, Intellectual Property Law in India.

Justice P S Narayana has been delivering several lectures on different topics relating to law in Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy and also in several academic institutions of national and international repute.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: July 25, 2015
Speaker: Ms. Rimali Batra, Senior Associate, DSK Legal
Topic: Energy Laws in India

Rimali is working with DSK Legal as a Senior Associate. Prior to joining DSK Legal, Rimali has worked with Trilegal and J. Sagar Associate as part of regulatory and policy team. Her profile involves representing clients drafting complaints/appeal for disputes concerning novel issues in energy laws before APTEL, CERC and various state commissions.

Rimali graduated from ILS Law College, University of Pune in 2005. She has been a Pune University merit holder for all 5 years of her course.

Rimali was placed in ICICI Bank’s litigation team, Delhi after her graduation. Her work in ICICI Bank involved representing clients in consumer forums, High court, Supreme Court and DRT. She was with ICICI for 18 months, before she decided to pursue her masters in financial regulation, corporate laws, medical law and ethics and philosophical foundations of common law from the University of Oxford. Post BCL, Rimali taught corporate laws, financial regulations, property law, medical law and ethics for three semesters at Jindal Global Law School. She cleared her UGC-NET in December 2012. She has been working on areas concerning regulations for over 4 years now.

In her spare-time, Rimali is involved in teaching and giving pro-bono advice on issues of medical law and ethics via MediIndia.com, where she has been appointed as a medico-legal expert. She has published various articles on her areas of interest such as, Corporate Laws, Medical Law Competition Law/Regulations, Energy Law and Insider trading in leading journals and newspapers in India. Business Standard and the Corporate Law Advisor have published some of her works. In her free time, Rimali likes wall painting and cooking. Rimali has been an international level basketball player and has played for University of Oxford’s Girls Basketball team. 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: April 29, 2015
Speaker: Prof. Satvinder Juss, Professor, Kings College London, UK
Topic: Studying Law in UK

Professor Juss is a human rights expert focusing on policy-oriented work. He contributed as a renowned expert at the invitation of the Home Affairs Committee to a pioneering seminar on Human Trafficking at the Houses of Parliament on 14th May 2009, which brought together the Chairs of all the Home Affairs Committees in Europe, in a new initiative to harmonize standards and procedures in this field. He was also Consultant in April 2009 to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in a programme funded by the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on issues of expulsion, re-admission and voluntary return of migrants. In 2010, he advised the Government of Bermuda on legislation.

Professor Juss has been involved in, and given policy speeches for, various think tanks, including the Royal Society of Arts, Encounter, and the Rowntree Trust. He regularly appears as a practicing Barrister in the High Court and the Court of Appeal and is listed as a "Legal Expert" in the Directory of Legal Experts. He has also argued cases in the House of Lords and the Privy Council. He was counsel in the foreign marriages case (involving Art. 12 right to marry) and in the 'funeral pyres' case (involving Art. 9 right to religious freedom) and sits as a part-time Judge. Professor Juss has taught at a number of Universities in the UK and the USA, including Harvard Law School and Indiana University in Bloomington. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and its Council Member, and is a member of its Migration Commission, which published its ground-breaking Report, “Migration: A Welcome Opportunity” in November 2005. He is a Council member of Encounter, and of the Society of Legal Scholars. In 2010 his name was added to the Panel of the Arbitrators of the Indian Council for Arbitration. Professor Juss seeks to incorporate the role of scholar, practitioner, and activist in all the various fields of his expertise.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: March 27, 2015
Speaker: Dr. Gita Gill, Reader in Law, Northumbria Law School, Northumbria University, UK
Topic: Environmental Justice in India with Special Emphasis on National Green Tribunal

Dr. Gill has been an academic since 1993 employed at India’s leading university, Faculty of Law, Delhi University, where she experienced a distinguished academic career finishing her tenure as a Reader in June 2011. Prior to joining Northumbria University, Dr. Gill was a Visiting Fellow at BRASS [Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society] Cardiff University, March 2010 to April 2011 working on environmental and sustainability issues and was involved in teaching at School of Law, Queen Mary University, London [Environmental law]; Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University [Public Law]; City and Regional Planning [Sustainability, Planning & Environmental Policy], Cardiff University [Environmental law] Earth Sciences [B.Sc., M.Sc.], Cardiff University [Environmental law]. In August 2011 Dr. Gill joined the School of Law, Northumbria University as a Senior Lecturer.

Dr. Gill has been recently awarded a British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grants to examine the case work of the recently established Indian National Green Tribunal [NGT]. The project focuses on NGT as one element of a reformist approach to environmental governance and explores its working and effectiveness.

Dr. Gill was the sole Indian to be awarded the 2006 Fellowship on International and Comparative Environmental Law, Budapest, Hungary by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research [UNITAR]. It led to her appointment as an Associate Fellow with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research [UNITAR]. In addition, she was awarded the 2003 Fellowship on Law Teaching and Research in Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University, UK, sponsored by Cardiff Law School, Welsh Development Agency and British Council, New Delhi.

Dr. Gill is a member of leading international and national professional societies: Socio-Legal Studies Association; United Kingdom Environmental Law Association; Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment. In 2013, she was elected as an Executive Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association for a period of three years.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: March 04, 2015
Speaker: Prof. Richard Lewis, Professor, Cardiff Law School, Cardiff University, Wales-UK
Topic: The most famous case in the world

In 2014 Oxford University awarded Richard Lewis a Doctorate of Civil Law, one of the two most senior degrees it can confer. The DCL is customarily conferred on visiting Heads of State and senior academics for "exceptionally insightful and distinctive publications that contain significant and original contributions to the study of law or politics in general." Prior to this in 2007 Richard was the first person to receive from Cardiff University its senior degree of Doctor of Laws, the LLD.

Richard was educated at West Mon School, Pontypool, and Lincoln College, Oxford. After obtaining a first class degree from Oxford University and completing the Law Society examinations, he joined the solicitors firm of Norton Rose in the City of London. However, he interrupted his employment to take up a position on the Faculty at Northwestern Law School at the university in Chicago. He never returned to practice. In 1974 he joined the University in Cardiff and, apart from further periods of time spent in North America, he has remained there ever since. He has seen the Law School grow to one of the largest and most important in the country.

Richard has published extensively in the areas of accident compensation, and public and private insurance. He is the author of the award-winning book, Structured Settlements: The Law And Practice. This deals with the payment of damages by means of a pension instead of the traditional lump sum. Previously he wrote a BOOK DEALING with Compensation For Industrial Injury. His book Deducting Benefits From Damages For Personal Injury, published by the Oxford University Press, and examined the relationships between different compensation schemes. He has also written various social security law publications, and is an editor of the Journal of Law and Society. He has contributed many articles to the leading academic law journals and is the author of more than 130 publications. He is a well-known speaker at conferences, particularly those dealing with compensation for personal injury.

Richard was the Course Director for the Law of Tort for over thirty years but has recently relinquished that role because of his present international duties. As Director of International Recruitment, he is often required to represent the Law School abroad.

Richard is the principal UK investigator in a European funded project which examines empirically how the personal injury system in practice differs from that described in the books on tort. Richard's most recent work includes analyses of 'compensation culture.'

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 25, 2015
Speaker: Katherine Roseveare, General Counsel - Global Sales & EMEA, The adidas Group International BV
Topic: GC’s Roles And Responsibilities With Specific Focus On Cross-Jurisdictional Operation

Katherine Roseveare is General Counsel – Global Sales & EMEA. She covers a wide range of issues from sales, retail, ecommerce, and litigation to acquisitions. She manages a global team of over 30 people across many legal jurisdictions.

She has worked at the adidas Group for nearly 9 years – General Counsel – Global Sales & EMEA (June 2014-Present); General Counsel – Multichannel, Consumer Direct & EMEA (2012-Present); General Counsel EMEA (2007-2012); European Counsel – Reebok (The adidas Group) (2005-2007) and was previously General Counsel at Umbro plc. (2001-2005). 

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: February 04, 2015
Speaker: Mr. Bruce Weitzman, Co-Founder and President, India Professional Education Group LLC
Topic: Additional Skills That Lawyers Need: Writing and Speaking to Meet Global Standards and Expectations

Bruce Weitzman is Co-Founder and President of India Professional Education Group LLC (iPEG™). He received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School — and then he had a 22-year career as a trial lawyer at the global firm of McDermott Will & Emery. In 2003, he came to Delhi and trained lawyers to do research and writing as part of one of the first legal process outsourcing ventures in India. He then dedicated his career to helping students and professionals enhance their communication skills. He has taught courses and workshops at leading law schools and universities in India. He is the author of Writing Skills for the Current Century, the online course book for students in iPEG's™ Writing Skills programs.

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 17, 2015
Speaker: Mr. Akshat Pande, Partner, Alpha Partners
Topic: What it takes to be a Corporate Lawyers?

Akshat is an equity partner at Alpha with over 10 years of corporate and legal experience. He is a corporate and commercial lawyer with focus on Private Equity, Venture Capital, M&A and Joint Ventures including Cross Border Transactions. He has worked across sectors and has wide experience in Real Estate, Hospitality, Healthcare, Entertainment, Technology, E-Commerce and IT. Akshat is an India qualified lawyer and a company secretary and holds a postgraduate degree in law from the United Kingdom.

Akshat has authored a book on ‘Valuation of intellectual property assets’ and contributes articles and publications to various publications and journals. Akshat is also the treasurer and member of the executive body of NCR Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NOIDA Chapter (www.nccionline.org).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 15, 2015
Speaker: Dr. Sujitha Subramanian, Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol Law School, UK
Topic: Competition Law-Intellectual Property Law Interface : Does it Affect Development?

Sujitha joined Bristol Law School in August 2012. Prior to that, she was a Lecturer in the Department of Law & Criminology, Aberystwyth University. She has worked as a Visiting Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and has taught at Wroclaw University, Masaryk University, University of East Anglia and Norfolk County Council.

Sujitha obtained her law degree from the University of Madras in India, and her LLM in International Trade and Finance Law from the University of Aberdeen. She was awarded her PhD degree by the University of East Anglia. She was based at the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy whilst she wrote her doctoral thesis.

Before coming to the UK, Sujitha had worked in India as a legal associate for Thomson Multimedia India P Ltd, a French MNC. She also practiced law at the Madras High Court for a brief period and worked as a local journalist in the same city during various periods between 1996-1999.

Sujitha’s research interests include intellectual property and its interaction with innovation policy, international trade law and competition law in the EU and US. She has also conducted research in the area of public procurement and corruption issues particularly within the Indian context. Sujitha has published in the International Journal of Economic Law (public procurement issues), European Journal of International Law (EU Microsoft Case and EU Obligation to the TRIPS Agreement), Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (CFI Judgment on EU Microsoft case; US Bayh Dole Act and ‘March-in Rights’); International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, as well as in the European Intellectual Property Review (US E-Bay Case; Patent Trolls; US Obligation to the TRIPS Agreement).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 10, 2015
Speaker: Mr. A K Singh, (Advocate) &
 Managing Partner, A.K. Singh & Co
Topic: Criminal Trial - An Overall View

Mr. A. K. Singh is a Founding Partner at A.K.Singh & Co, a fully integrated law firm based in New Delhi. He has more than three decades of rich and valuable experience in the field of Criminal and Civil litigation, Alternate Dispute and Resolution.

Mr. A. K. Singh has been practicing since 1978 in the District Courts, High Court of Delhi and subsequently Supreme Court of India. During the prolonged stint of his career, Mr. Singh has an experience of representing accused in Double Murder trials, White Collar Crimes, Rape cases etc. He has remarkably contributed to the reinstatement of the Prostitutes being harassed by the Police officers under Criminal Procedure Code and The Indian Evidence Act. Mr. Singh was appointed as an Additional Public Prosecutor for Criminal work in High Court of Delhi. He was also appointed as Special Public Prosecutor for the Central Bureau of Investigation. He has several landmark judgments to his credit, most of which has been reported by leading professional Journals in the Country.

With a sweeping experience of more than 30 years, Mr. A.K.Singh has represented several Indian and International Clients as Counsel and Arbitrator before various institutions such as London Council of International Arbitration (LCIA), Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Courts and Tribunals in India and abroad. Besides being a part of various International and Domestic Arbitration involving huge claims, Mr. Singh is also an Arbitrator on the panel of National Internet Exchange of India and has presided over various high profile domain name disputes.

Mr. A.K. Singh has also been a member of the expert committee appointed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India with professional memberships to the association such as: International bar Association, Indian Bar Association, INSOL International, Asia Pacific Jurist Association, Supreme Court of India Bar Association, Delhi High Court Bar Association, SAARC – Law, India chapter and many more. He is an avid speaker and has been frequently invited to speak on various fields of law including International Arbitration, International Commercial Arbitration, Infrastructure Law In India at National and International Forums including, Brussels (Belgium), Bangladesh, Istanbul (Turkey), Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Mauritius, Dubai and Singapore for associations such as Asia Pacific Jurist association, International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), FICCI, Global Legal and Economic Development Council (GLEDCON).

Event: Extension Lecture Series
Date: January 03, 2015
Speaker: Mr. Rajat Prakash, Managing Partner, Athena Legal
Topic: Options After Graduation in Law

An alumnus of the prestigious Cardiff University, UK and Scindia School, Gwalior, India, Rajat Prakash is an expert in Corporate Laws and Capital Markets. Equipped with cross border experience of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Washington), Mayer Brown (Brussels) and Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co. (India), he has an experience in Indian equity capital market transactions including legal due diligence, drafting, negotiation, general advisory work in relation to initial public offering, further public offerings, qualified institutional placements and rights issuances in the capacity of Company's transaction counsel.

Rajat has handled various capital market transactions, which includes landmark transactions like the $3.4 billion IPO by Coal India Limited which is the largest IPO in India; the rights issued by Network 18 Media &Investments Limited and its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Ltd. which raised $1 billion; and the $1.8 billion public offering by NTPC Ltd. and the Government of India, which was the first public offering utilising the auction method of book building.

At Athena Legal, Rajat's vision is to combine legal professionalism with business acumen to effectively support the success of his clients.