Dhir & Dhir Associates

Project and real estate finance have driven Dhir & Dhir Associates’s practice over the past 12 months. Instructed by PTC India Financial Services, Girish Rawat, practice head with a “solution providing attitude”, led on the financing of a 29 MW wind power project worth Rs1.5 billion. Siva Gopinatham has joined to lead the Hyderabad office.

Dhir & Dhir Associates has had a solid year helping central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) buyback their shares from the government shareholders. The 2016-2017 fiscal year target for such government divestments was Rs360 billion. Practice head Girish Rawat has advised corporations on a number of Indian rupee-denominated transactions during the past 12 months, with buybacks of equity shares particularly prevalent. For instance, Rawat acted for state-owned National Aluminium on its Rs28.3 billion buyback. Delhi associate Surbhi Narang is a name to watch for work with CPSEs.

Dhir & Dhir Associates is a capable practice. Instructed by Ansal Condominium, practice head Girish Rawat, advised on a Rs1.5 billion non-convertible debenture to finance real estate projects. Sachin Guptahas advised Devika Promoter & Builders’s Pragati Group on a residential construction agreement.

Work highlights of Dhir & Dhir Associates show diverse activity including secretarial services for one of India Infrastructure Finance’s infrastructure funds. Siva Gopinatham, who has joined the team in Hyderabad, and Girish Rawat, a practice co-head, also advised Jiyo India, an online healthcare platform, on regulatory affairs, including compliance with the Code of Medical Ethics Act.

“Very fast and very aggressive” Dhir & Dhir Associates “provide[s] value for money”. Market-leading lawyer Maneesha Dhir, praised for her “very good knowledge of law and court craft”, has been representing Premier Allied Industries’s Girdharilal Sugar in a Rs30 million dispute with Cargill India. KPS Kohli joined from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co, while Siva Gopinatham has arrived from Kochhar & Co to lead the Hyderabad office, and practise in arbitration and intellectual property disputes.

Dhir & Dhir Associates has experience in project financing but also in specialised areas. Practice co-head Girish Rawat, for example, advised the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority on its tendering and vetting of consultants to determine airport tariffs. Head of the Hyderabad office Siva Gopinatham has arrived from Kochhar & Co.