Trilegal

Introduction

Trilegal is a top tier full-service law firm founded in 2000. The firm operates on a unique all-equity lockstep model based on its founding principles of transparency, democracy and meritocracy. It now has close to 700 lawyers, including 86 Partners with expertise in transactional, advisory, regulatory, and disputes matters. The firm has been consistently recognised as the best Indian law firm for the quality of service and client satisfaction, besides commitment to diversity, equality and sustainability.

In 2020, the firm elected Sridhar Gorthi and Nishant Parikh (both previously part of the corporate practice) as members of the Management Committee. They took over amidst the Covid19 pandemic, ensuring that client service was not disrupted during the pandemic. In the last two years, they have overseen tremendous growth in the firm - from 55 partners to 86, together with a proportionate growth in the number of lawyers.

Besides their duties as part of the management committee, Sridhar and Nishant are widely acknowledged as leading corporate lawyers and have represented clients on many complex and high-value corporate deals and transactions in India.

What are the business and investment opportunities you see between India and France?

Sridhar / Nishant: India is an important strategic partner for France. Both countries have had a longstanding partnership, strengthened by regular high-level consultations and growing convergences in various areas, including the energy transition, aerospace and defence, space exploration, retail and information technology. With France's support of India's "Make-In-India" initiative, industries like automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and industrial machinery are also seeing significant foreign direct investment.

Companies can proactively leverage the potential in these sectors through joint ventures or foreign direct investment to enhance their growth. French companies can also invest in Indian start-ups through private equity and venture capital investments. A recent case in point is of the French development finance institution Proparco investing USD 15 million as part of the series A2 funding round in Indian microfinance institution Annapurna Finance.

Trilegal has been advising French companies for over two decades on various aspects of their India operations, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, taxation advisory, third party contracts, competition law compliance, private-public partnerships, disputes management, and policy advisory. Our clients include some of France's largest industrial and manufacturing companies, defence and aerospace groups, energy and infrastructure majors, banks and financial institutions, many of whom are members of the CAC40.

How can businesses tap the huge potential that exists between the two countries for developing business ties and for creating more jobs?

Sridhar / Nishant: India and France enjoy excellent diplomatic and economic relations. This provides a good starting point for organisations to explore opportunities in both countries. Some of the recent Government level initiatives discussed by both countries include the following.

• France's support of the Make In India initiative that encourages technology transfer and local production across different sectors.
• Jointly working on energy transition pathways to help development India as a Green Hydrogen Hub
• Exploring ways in which India’s digital infrastructure, especially in relation to payments and financial services can be adapted to France and Europe
• Collaboration on developing common cyber security principles
• Cooperation on developing sustainable and resilient coastal and waterways infrastructure
• Joint development in aquaculture and marine farming

Businesses operating in these areas should look to leverage the government level cooperation and to develop their India strategies.

Any comments on the post-COVID business ecosystem in India?

Sridhar/ Nishant: The business ecosystem in India is witnessing healthy post-Covid recovery through digital transformation to drive operational efficiencies and boost growth. For instance, the post pandemic growth of digitally enabled start-ups, hyperlocal business models and use of emerging technologies has remained steady.

Apart from digital transformation, India has a stable business and regulatory ecosystem. The government has introduced policy level changes across various sectors to promote sustainable growth. These include regulatory changes that are aimed at providing operational flexibility to businesses, taxation related changes for better financial planning, and changes pertaining to employment of individuals.

As a result of some of these changes, bilateral trade between both countries stood at Euro 12.6 billion in 2021, a 39% increase over the previous year and an 8% increase over the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

How has IFCCI added value to your organisation in India? Would you recommend other companies to join as a member?

Sridhar/ Nishant: We recognise IFCCI as one of the most dynamic bilateral chambers in India that has created several opportunities for Trilegal to represent the interests of French companies with various government and regulatory bodies in India, share knowledge on the Indian legal system, and exchange ideas for growth. We would recommend organisations that are keen to work with French companies, to leverage the IFCCI platform and capitalise on the opportunities it can provide.