IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Allen & Overy's India practice group operates out of London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Clients recommend the firm for its "attentive and diligent service."

A client praises the India group partners: "They're excellent, highly responsive, and have delivered despite very tight timelines without compromising on advice or quality. From a lender's point of view, this is a very good law firm."

A highlight in the last year for the firm was advising Reliance Industries on the sale to BP of a 30% stake in 23 production sharing contracts for $7.2 billion, exploration bonuses of up to $1.8 billion and the creation of a joint venture for the sourcing and marketing of gas and development of related infrastructure in India.

Ashurst continues to play a substantial role in the India market, with operations in all areas of financial and corporate law. A high-profile transaction in the last year was acting for the lead managers of Citi, Deutsche Bank, BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and ENAM in the IPO of Coal India.

A notable transaction was advising Aditya Birla Group on its acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker from a Swedish consortium. The transaction was completed in April 2011 and valued at $340 million.

Baker & McKenzie acted as international counsel for Abbott Laboratories last year in its acquisition of Piramal Healthcare. The $3.72 billion transaction was one of the largest inbound acquisitions in the past few years, and was completed in September 2010.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton continues to provide high quality service to companies in India. Some of the more notable clients include Reliance ADA and Tata. The India practice team remains focused on ensuring quality in transactions, rather than getting involved in every single deal in the market. Thus the work from the firm has remained consistent, and the team is never overstretched.

In June 2010, the firm advised Citigroup Global Markets India, who acted as underwriter in the $211 million Rule 144A/Reg S block trade by Rabobank of shares in Yes Bank.

Clifford Chance acted as the English law counsel to the lead managers in Suzlon Energy's rights issue of equity shares this year. The transaction was completed in July 2010 and was valued at Re13.1 billion ($295 million).

Davis Polk & Wardwell operates out of Hong Kong, with head partner Kirtee Kapoor named by peers and clients as "brilliant and great to work with." There are over 25 lawyers working in the India practice across the firm's office.

A notable transaction for the firm was advising ICICI Bank in the establishment of a global medium-term notes program. The transaction was completed in February 2011 and valued at $5 billion.

DLA Piper has made inroads into the capital markets sector in India in the past year. The India practice group works in tandem across the Singapore and Hong Kong offices. Having carved out a substantial space for itself in the capital markets, the firm hopes to expand into areas such as M&A and dispute resolution.

Apart from advising the government of India and Coal India in its landmark IPO, the firm advised the clients, consisting of Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, HSBC, Enam Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and SBI Capital, in the public equity offering by Power Finance Corporation. This transaction is yet to be completed, with an expected value of more than $1 billion.

Herbert Smith runs its India operations from offices across its international network. The practice group is chaired by Chris Parsons and headed by Nimi Patel. A client recommends: "I think so far the firm's been excellent in terms of knowledge and experience. They've been very good in helping us with local partners."

The firm advised Tata Communications on its $525 million syndicated facility arranged by the RBS, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Jones Day maintains a serious relationship with the country through its alliance with firm P&A Law Offices. The firm itself runs its India practice from Singapore and Hong Kong.

The firm advised the underwriters as the sole international counsel in the QIP from Adani Enterprises last year. The deal was completed in July 2010 and was valued at $850 million.

Latham & Watkins has enjoyed a considerable reputation in India for quite some years. Its India practice operates out of London and Singapore. The firm continues to be highly active in the Indian market, with clients and peers very aware of the firm's presence in the market.

A notable deal in the past year was the firm's representation of the underwriters in Sterlite Energy's IPO of shares on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange. The transaction is yet to be completed.

Linklaters has maintained a market leading position in India this year, working on most if not all of the top deals in the country. The firm is particularly close with its best friends Mumbai-based firm Talwar Thakore & Associates, with former Linklaters partners and associates having moved to India to work there.

Apart from working on the BP's acquisition of a 30% stake in gas production blocks of Reliance Industries, the firm also advised on Essar Energy's IPO in May 2010.

Shearman & Sterling runs its India group out of Singapore and has been highly regarded by domestic counsel and clients over the past few years for its quality service and range of expertise.

A notable transaction for the firm was acting for Aditya Birla Group in its acquisition of Columbian Chemicals from One Equity Partners, which is the merchant banking investment arm of JPMorgan Chase. The transaction was closed in June 2011 and was valued at $875 million.

"Sidley Austin is pretty good," says a client. "The lawyers have great knowledge in legality and lots of experience in venture capital. They came in with authority and gave a lot of credibility to opposing lawyers. They know what they are doing."The firm runs its India work through partner Samir Gandhi, who works out of New York.

The firm was involved in Corn Products International's acquisition of AkzoNobel, which was completed in December 2010 and valued at $1.3 billion.

"Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is very good. The lawyers there work very hard and pay attention to details. From my perspective, they keep track of everything that needs to be done and are very active. We don't have to remember everything because they remind us on every possible option," says a client. Another client says: "While discussing agreements with them, the lawyers came up with good suggestions to some problems we are looking at that. I would give them good marks for innovations."

A notable transaction for the firm last year was its representation of Fortress Investment Group in its sale of Asia Pragati Capfin to Pacific Alliance Group. Partner Rajeev Duggal led on this transaction, which was announced in November 2010.

Sullivan & Cromwell acted as US counsel to the issuer Tata Motors in its $750 million offering of Class A ordinary shares and ordinary shares by way of a US Rule 144A/Reg S institutional private placement outside the US and India, and in an institutional placement in India. This transaction was completed in October 2010.

White & Case has India practice elements in New York, Singapore and London. The firm provides legal services to high profile domestic clients such as GMR Group, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI, and KEC.

A highlight for the firm in the last year was advising GMR Group in the $1.23 billion sale of its 50% stake in global power generation company InterGen to state-owned China Huaneng Group, China's largest power generation company. This deal closed in April 2011.