A strong choice for global banking clients as well as those operating within the sectors of healthcare, tech and IT, A&O Shearman excels in a plethora of mandates such as capital markets, private equity, and banking and finance, with notable cross-border capabilities. The practice is jointly led by five key players: this includes international arbitration expert Sheila Ahuja, Pallavi Gopinath Aney, who is primarily focuses on debt and equity capital markets transactions, and Gautam Narasimhan, who is regarded for his capabilities in managing high-profile financings and structured transactions. Alongside them, Harsh Pais demonstrates excellence in cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures, while Rishi Hindocha bolsters the practice with his strengths in restructuring, insolvency and enforcement.

Noted for its ‘depth and diversity’, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is well-versed in a plethora of legal and regulatory issues arising from the automotive, banking and consumer sectors in particular, and is increasingly involved in matters of foreign investment. ‘Reputed’ Chris Parsons is well regarded for his corporate cross-border expertise, while ‘excellent’ Alan Montgomery is particularly adept at a diverse range of M&A, restructurings and joint ventures. Roddy Martin‘s wide-ranging expertise encompasses public takeovers, schemes of arrangement and private auctions, with Andrew Cannon being sought out for his strengths on the disputes side. Dhananjaya Chak leads the finance group, and Siddhartha Shukla excels at handling complex and multi-faceted M&A.

Regarded for its ‘deepest bench of experts’, Linklaters is highly experienced across a litany of contentious and non-contentious issues, with its core streams of work encompassing capital markets, corporate, banking and disputes. The practice is jointly spearheaded by Amit Singh, who excels in advising issuers and underwriters on the full gamut of capital markets issues, transactional expert Philip Badge, who is especially knowledgeable on the leveraged financing and syndicated bank financing, and Andrew Battisson, whose arsenal of skills covers disputes arising from energy, natural resources and telecoms sectors, among others. Other names to note in the practice include Rahul Chatterji and Fiona Gray.

Praised for its ‘deep expertise’ and ‘strong geographical presence’, White & Case Pte. Ltd. routinely operates for global conglomerates in relation to M&A, investments and QIPs on both a domestic and international level. Seasoned practitioner Dipen Sabharwal KC spearheads the group with his extensive experience in the disputes field, while Savi Hebbur is recommended for his international M&A expertise and corporate capabilities more broadly. Alongside them, Nandan Nelivigi is well-versed in energy and infrastructure-based mandates, handling financing and joint ventures within this remit, and Aditya Singh utilises his ‘exceptional talent’ to advise on international arbitration and white-collar investigations for a litany of clients. Other recommended lawyers in the ‘highly knowledgeable’ practice includes Rahul Guptan and Alexander McMyn.

Providing a 'global perspective' for their clients, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow's multi-faceted offering enables the firm to operate for some notable client names including large-scale Indian corporations and multinationals, particularly with regard to tech mandates. The team is helmed by the very experienced Ashok Lalwani, who is capable on both inbound and outbound issues in India. Other key names to note include Kunal Katre, who excels at handling finance transactions such as syndicated loans and margin lending, and Kah Chin Chu, who is notably capable at assisting clients with external commercial borrowings involving Indian public sector units alongside other high-value transactions. Emmanuel Hadjidakis is immersed within the banking and finance industry, assisting clients with a litany of acquisition finance, property financing and Islamic finance issues.

Clifford Chance pairs its domestic and international capabilities with its legal and commercial acumen to assist clients with a host of transactional mandates and multi-jurisdictional arbitration. The team is steered by Nish Shetty and Kabir Singh; the former enjoys a strong reputation in the disputes arena, having handled arbitration and litigation across the US, Europe and Asia, and the latter is also highly experienced on the contentious side, working across India, Indonesia and South East Asia. Vasu Muthyala contributes his capabilities in cross-border investigations and government prosecutions, while Elan Krishna is routinely entrusted by financial institutions and global corporations with a range of disputes with elements of fraud, corruption or illegality.

A team noted for its 'collaborative approach, deep legal expertise, and commitment to client success', King & Spalding LLP maintains a diverse India offering, representing clients on a multitude of corporate, finance and disputes related matters and the team is notably active across the sectors of energy, tech and aviation. Amit Kataria, who thrives operating within the sectors of tech, manufacturing and energy, and Rahul Patel, who is well-positioned to advise on M&A, joint ventures and strategic corporate transactions, jointly lead the practice. Thomas Sprange KC is actively engaged on disputes concerning local, private and public international law, while Parveet Singh Gandoak excels in managing a diverse variety of cross-border corporate transactions. Sajid Ahmed principally focuses on international arbitration and trade matters.

Core streams of work for Latham & Watkins LLP include capital markets, M&A and private equity, shareholder activism and commercial outsourcing transactions, with considerable experience handling matters that span Asia. Practice leader Rajiv Gupta frequently handles matters pertaining to a host of capital markets and M&A transactions, while Sidharth Bhasin represents a stable of private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and financial institutions on investments in India. Timothy Hia covers the full gamut of finance transactions including some notable leveraged financings.

Active across India, the UK and Asia more broadly, Milbank fields a considerable workload that spans projects, M&A and capital markets issues. The team is frequently handling matters arising from the energy, transport and telecoms industries on both a domestic and international scale. James Grandolfo, who helms the group, possesses extensive experience in the domain of debt, high-yield and equity related mandates, while Giles Kennedy is routinely entrusted by clients active in the sectors of tech, telecoms and real estate. Terrence O’Donnell is noted for his strengths in managing IPOs, share placements and high-yield bonds.

Capitalising on its global network to advise a multinational client base, Gibson Dunn enjoys an established presence across manufacturing, telecoms and real estate sectors, assisting with complex financing matters and internal investigations. Jai Pathak steers the practice, contributing his wide-ranging capabilities in cross-border takeovers, privatisations and joint ventures. Jamie Thomas helms the banking, finance and debt restructuring practice at the firm and is a strong choice for sponsors and companies for energy financing.

Active on both a domestic and international level, Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee is geared to handle public offerings, investments, corporate governance and a diverse multitude of transactions across a range of industries. Biswajit Chatterjee steers the group, principally focusing on equity capital markets alongside debt capital markets, corporate finance and private equity, while Nick Williams is particularly well-versed in compliance, bribery and corruption issues across the Asia-Pacific region. Finance expert Kaveeta Sandhu and Kaustubh George, who is active on both the corporate and capital markets sides, further strengthen the practice.

Active across the industries of healthcare, energy and natural resources, Reed Smith LLP possesses extensive expertise in the field of arbitration and litigation as well as enjoying an established presence in the finance field. The practice, which is regarded as being able to provide 'innovative legal solutions',  is helmed by Gautam Bhattacharyya, who has handled a multitude of complex and cross-border disputes, counting banks, international corporates, and domestic companies among his key roster of clients. Other names to note is Nathan Menon, who contributes his capabilities in structured finance, routinely representing a range of state-owned and new generation banks in India, and Sarah Caldwell, an expert on the debt capital markets and restructuring side.

Entrusted by financial sponsors, Indian corporates and commercial banks, among other clients, Sidley Austin LLP's wide-ranging practice spans a litany of sectors, from tech and life sciences to retail and consumer products. Core streams of work include, but are not limited to capital markets, white collar investigations and tech mandates. Manoj Bhargava, who spearheads the group, handles a significant volume of equity and rights offerings and possesses considerable experience across fintech, real estate and manufacturing sectors. Parthiv Rishi is particularly strong in the private equity space, able to manage a variety of investments.

Kamal Shah operates at the forefront of the ‘solution orented’ Stephenson Harwood team, which acts for an array of clients, from banks and global corporations to entrepreneurs and wealthy families in contentious and non-contentious settings. Shah specialises in international arbitration and commercial litigation and is geared to handle multijurisdictional mandates, while Diwakar Agarwal is adept at handling the full gamut of corporate and commercial issues. ‘Diligent’ Gregory Xu’s strengths in banking and project finance further bolster the team’s capabilities.

Counting some global corporations such as Disney and Coca-Cola among its key roster of clients, ‘high quality’ Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is particularly noted for its ability to handle large-scale M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions. The practice is jointly led by Tihir Sarkar, who has extensive experience in handling cross-border deals for multi-national clients, and Nallini Puri, who routinely assists clients with significant M&A and joint ventures. Michael Preston bolsters the team with his capabilities on the private equity side.

The 'very impressive' team at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP handles a broad range of corporate, commercial and private equity mandates for notable clients across the globe. Steering the practice is Geoffrey Burgess, who is notably active across TMT, healthcare and private equity arenas, and Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, both of whom are based in London. Geoffrey Kittredge contributes his knowledge of private equity and investment fund formation.

Sushma Jobanputra steers the team at Jones Day with his strengths in structured, acquisition and trade finance and experience that spans numerous Asian countries. Banking, finance and restructuring issues is a key focus of the team, which is well immersed within the financial services industry and is regularly relied on by a plethora of corporate groups, borrowers and lenders, and its other areas of expertise include disputes and investigations. Dennis Barsky excels at handling leveraged buyouts and acquisitions, with debt capital markets expert Vinay Kurien and Ben Witherall, who is highly experienced at advising on a variety of investments, further bolstering the team's bench strength.

The ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘commercially aware’ team at WongPartnership LLP is well-positioned to advise on M&A, hospitality-related investments and various fund-raising mandates, among others, and the team is also highly active in the regulatory space. The practice is co-led by Smitha Menon, who operates across commercial arbitrations and financial restructuring, and Koh Swee Yen, who is a strong choice for those seeking assistance with multijurisdictional disputes arising from commodities, energy and transport sectors, to name a few. Teck Wee Tiong is another name to note, regarded for representing a varied roster of public and private companies in commercial and corporate disputes.