Herbert Smith Freehills bolsters India disputes expertise with London hire

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired arbitration specialist Anuradha Agnihotri as Of Counsel (India) in London to strengthen the firm's India disputes practice.

Anuradha was previously a partner in the Indian law firm Trilegal, and joins Herbert Smith Freehills following a move to London. Anuradha’s mainstay is commercial dispute resolution. Anuradha has extensive experience in international arbitration. Her experience includes representing clients in complex disputes including those arising out of shareholder agreements, share purchase agreements and large construction projects.

Anuradha, an Indian national, is Indian qualified and a member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, India.

Herbert Smith Freehills' India practice has a track record of advising on high profile and significant matters in India and overseas. The firm acts for major India corporates and international businesses in India on their highest value and strategic disputes and advises on a range of cross-border transactions, projects, and debt and equity financings. The practice operates as one team across the firm's London, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong offices.

The hire is the latest growth for the practice, following the promotion of London based corporate/M&A lawyer Siddhartha Shukla and project finance lawyer Dhananjaya Chak to the partnership in 2022.  

Andrew Cannon, Head of Herbert Smith Freehills' India Disputes group, commented: "India is the world’s fifth largest economy and is growing very rapidly, making India a major market for many of our key clients. That economic growth has been matched by a similar growth in disputes resulting from international transactions related to India or involving Indian parties. The majority of these transactions include arbitration as the preferred form of dispute resolution. Anuradha's extensive on-the-ground disputes experience in this market adds a new dimension to our India practice and is an important step forward in the services we can offer to those clients."

Chris Parsons, Chair of Herbert Smith Freehills' India Practice, said: "India-related disputes are a critical part of our India practice, in line with our broader firm strength in dispute resolution globally. Having Anu as part of our India team is very exciting."

Anuradha added: "With the economy in India continuing to mature, there is a huge potential to support stakeholders in India and beyond in getting to grips with disputes. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the global platform on offer at Herbert Smith Freehills, a firm with a leading reputation in the Indian market."

With a multi-disciplinary global disputes team of world-leading sector specialists and regional experts, Herbert Smith Freehills provides commercial insight and legal advice which is described by Chambers and Partners as a 'Dispute resolution powerhouse that consistently tops the rankings across the world'. Bringing together litigators, arbitrators, mediators, advocacy experts, regulatory specialists, and investigators, whatever the challenge or opportunity, the firm partners with clients in every step in the process.