Bar & Bench spoke to Nandan Nelivigi, Partner in New York office of White & Case and the head of the firm’s India practice. .Nandan joined White & Case in 1994 and has been a partner since 2004. He has over 17 years of experience and specializes in development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects globally and M&A and private equity transactions involving India. Nandan is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia Law School and teaches a seminar course on “Doing Cross-border Transactions in India”. .Nandan graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and has an LLM from Harvard Law School..Bar & Bench: Talk us through your experience in assisting Indian companies in cross border transactions?.Nandan Nelivigi: White & Case’s India Practice spans a number of areas, including M&A and private equity, project finance, capital markets (debt and equity) and disputes involving international arbitration and international trade. We typically handle cross-border matters, especially ones that require expertise in the laws of multiple countries..Currently, we are helping clients throughout the world to conduct business in India. At the same time, we are representing Indian clients in a variety of complex transactions outside India. When our clients need advice on Indian law, we partner with specific Indian law firms to provide local counsel..For example, this year, we advised India’s GMR Group on the sale of its 50% stake in InterGen N.V., a Netherlands-based power generation company, to China Huaneng Group, China’s largest power generation company, for $1.2 billion. The transaction—the largest cross-border M&A transaction between India and China to date—won M&A Advisor’s “International Energy Deal of the Year” and “M&A Deal of the Year (Over $1 Billion)” awards..We also represented GMR Energy (Singapore) in obtaining limited recourse financing for the construction of a SGD$1.2 billion 800 MW greenfield power project in Singapore earlier this year. This was the first independent power financing in Singapore in at least five years. We also helped an Indian electricity transmission tower maker acquire interests in a US-based company with subsidiaries in Brazil and Mexico..We are currently representing a number of Indian companies that are looking to acquire assets in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Turkey and Africa..In addition, we represented Merck & Co., the international pharmaceutical company, in a joint venture with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. to develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products in emerging markets..Our India team comprises about 45 lawyers globallyNandan Nelivigi.Bar & Bench: How big is the India legal team? Can you help us understand how is the India team structured and are there any plans of hiring more people for India practice group?.Nandan Nelivigi: Our India team comprises about 45 lawyers globally. A differentiating factor between White & Case and other international law firms is that we have a strong India-focused expertise in each of the three top markets generating India-related cross-border deals: New York, Singapore and London. The core India practice members in these three locations spend a substantial portion of their time working on India-related cross-border matters and work with lawyers from other offices of White & Case around the globe in such matters. In terms of hiring more people, our needs are constantly evolving. Our hiring needs are quality-driven and not based on any target number that we need to achieve. We are always interested in hearing from talented lawyers who have had good international experience working on cross-border matters involving India..Bar & Bench: Your experiences working alongside Indian law firms – How do you rate Indian law firms competitiveness and quality?.Nandan Nelivigi: As you are aware, Indian law forbids international law firms from having an office in India or from practicing Indian law. So, teaming up with Indian law firms is essential..We have worked alongside a number of Indian law firms. We do not have any exclusive or other special relationship with any single firm. We look to work with lawyers who have both expertise and the time to service our clients with the highest level of quality and responsiveness. Since many of our lawyers have been interacting with a number of Indian lawyers for more than 15 years, we have a good feel for who those lawyers are. The Indian legal market is dynamic, and we are constantly encountering many new talented lawyers. In general, Indian law firms are very competitive. The lawyers we work with are extremely knowledgeable and helpful..Bar & Bench: What are your clients’ thoughts on investing in India? Do you see bullishness or are investors still cautious after the corruption scandals in India?.Nandan Nelivigi: I find that the enthusiasm of many of our clients for India and their belief in the country’s strong economic prospects have not changed, but they have grown cautious about investing in India. They have moderated their expectations about how quickly they can consummate deals in India, how smoothly the business will proceed after they have invested and how quickly they can realize returns on their investment. Much of this is a result not only of the corruption scandals and concerns about the general quality of corporate governance but also of the complex and uncertain regulatory environment. Many of our clients are still finding opportunities, but they just need to examine issues harder which leads to a lot of broken deals. Those foreign investors who are comfortable with the current environment in India are already in India. However, in order to attract a new group of investors sitting on the sidelines and the next round of foreign investments, the government needs to further liberalize the regulatory environment and provide clarity..Bar & Bench: What is your take on the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) as an evolving area of business? How do you think law firms modify their businesses in the view of changing dynamics?.Nandan Nelivigi: It’s a new phenomenon that offers enormous opportunities, particularly for routine work. LPO is a reality, and it will continue to grow because there is a growing demand. Law firms will need to adjust their service model and cost structure to deliver their services more efficiently, but I do not think LPO alone will have a dramatic impact on big law firms. Big law firms in particular will need to focus on premium services and enhance the value that they add. As with many new opportunities, there are a number of issues with LPO, and it will take time and experience to work them out..Bar & Bench: Indian legal market – How do you view it? Your views on liberalization and entry of foreign law firms?.Nandan Nelivigi: Most lawyers in India, including the staunchest opponents of liberalization of the Indian legal market, know and believe that the Indian market needs to be open to foreign lawyers. The only question is one of timing. I believe that liberalization of the legal market will have a very positive impact on the Indian legal profession as a whole and will create enormous opportunities for the vast number of young lawyers entering the legal profession every year. It is a cause that Indian lawyers and law students need to recognize and fight for in their own interest. I am not sure that the stakes are as high for foreign lawyers as they are for Indian lawyers and law students. Most international law firms will enter India only when the rules clearly permit them to do so. In the absence of that, they will simply continue to service their clients from outside India without practicing Indian law. Foreign lawyers are not interested in litigation in India. So, most of the work that foreign lawyers want to do can be done from outside India with temporary visits to India to meet and advise clients in India on the laws of the home jurisdiction of such foreign lawyers. Even in that, foreign lawyers are happy to abide by all applicable Indian regulations, if any..Now there is a pending lawsuit in the Madras High Court which seeks to prevent foreign lawyers, including in-house counsel, from entering India even on an as-needed basis to advise on any laws in India, including the laws of foreign lawyers’ own home jurisdictions. If that lawsuit succeeds, it will have an adverse effect on foreign lawyers, including in-house counsel, Indian lawyers, foreign clients and Indian clients and generally on international trade and investment between India and other countries. Urgent attention needs to be paid by all concerned to prevent such an outcome..Bar & Bench: With your vast experience, where do you see India in 2012? .Nandan Nelivigi: I believe that opportunities in India will continue to grow in 2012. In spite of all the external and internal shocks, the domestic consumer demand still appears to be strong. There is a lot of room to create new opportunities in the industrial sector, the infrastructure sector and the service sector. However, India needs substantial capital. My concern is that India will not come close to realizing its full potential for growth in 2012. Therefore, the broad-based growth of all sectors is going to be a challenge, but certain select consumer-driven sectors and companies will continue to do well in 2012.
Bar & Bench spoke to Nandan Nelivigi, Partner in New York office of White & Case and the head of the firm’s India practice. .Nandan joined White & Case in 1994 and has been a partner since 2004. He has over 17 years of experience and specializes in development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects globally and M&A and private equity transactions involving India. Nandan is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia Law School and teaches a seminar course on “Doing Cross-border Transactions in India”. .Nandan graduated from National Law School of India University, Bangalore and has an LLM from Harvard Law School..Bar & Bench: Talk us through your experience in assisting Indian companies in cross border transactions?.Nandan Nelivigi: White & Case’s India Practice spans a number of areas, including M&A and private equity, project finance, capital markets (debt and equity) and disputes involving international arbitration and international trade. We typically handle cross-border matters, especially ones that require expertise in the laws of multiple countries..Currently, we are helping clients throughout the world to conduct business in India. At the same time, we are representing Indian clients in a variety of complex transactions outside India. When our clients need advice on Indian law, we partner with specific Indian law firms to provide local counsel..For example, this year, we advised India’s GMR Group on the sale of its 50% stake in InterGen N.V., a Netherlands-based power generation company, to China Huaneng Group, China’s largest power generation company, for $1.2 billion. The transaction—the largest cross-border M&A transaction between India and China to date—won M&A Advisor’s “International Energy Deal of the Year” and “M&A Deal of the Year (Over $1 Billion)” awards..We also represented GMR Energy (Singapore) in obtaining limited recourse financing for the construction of a SGD$1.2 billion 800 MW greenfield power project in Singapore earlier this year. This was the first independent power financing in Singapore in at least five years. We also helped an Indian electricity transmission tower maker acquire interests in a US-based company with subsidiaries in Brazil and Mexico..We are currently representing a number of Indian companies that are looking to acquire assets in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Turkey and Africa..In addition, we represented Merck & Co., the international pharmaceutical company, in a joint venture with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. to develop and commercialize pharmaceutical products in emerging markets..Our India team comprises about 45 lawyers globallyNandan Nelivigi.Bar & Bench: How big is the India legal team? Can you help us understand how is the India team structured and are there any plans of hiring more people for India practice group?.Nandan Nelivigi: Our India team comprises about 45 lawyers globally. A differentiating factor between White & Case and other international law firms is that we have a strong India-focused expertise in each of the three top markets generating India-related cross-border deals: New York, Singapore and London. The core India practice members in these three locations spend a substantial portion of their time working on India-related cross-border matters and work with lawyers from other offices of White & Case around the globe in such matters. In terms of hiring more people, our needs are constantly evolving. Our hiring needs are quality-driven and not based on any target number that we need to achieve. We are always interested in hearing from talented lawyers who have had good international experience working on cross-border matters involving India..Bar & Bench: Your experiences working alongside Indian law firms – How do you rate Indian law firms competitiveness and quality?.Nandan Nelivigi: As you are aware, Indian law forbids international law firms from having an office in India or from practicing Indian law. So, teaming up with Indian law firms is essential..We have worked alongside a number of Indian law firms. We do not have any exclusive or other special relationship with any single firm. We look to work with lawyers who have both expertise and the time to service our clients with the highest level of quality and responsiveness. Since many of our lawyers have been interacting with a number of Indian lawyers for more than 15 years, we have a good feel for who those lawyers are. The Indian legal market is dynamic, and we are constantly encountering many new talented lawyers. In general, Indian law firms are very competitive. The lawyers we work with are extremely knowledgeable and helpful..Bar & Bench: What are your clients’ thoughts on investing in India? Do you see bullishness or are investors still cautious after the corruption scandals in India?.Nandan Nelivigi: I find that the enthusiasm of many of our clients for India and their belief in the country’s strong economic prospects have not changed, but they have grown cautious about investing in India. They have moderated their expectations about how quickly they can consummate deals in India, how smoothly the business will proceed after they have invested and how quickly they can realize returns on their investment. Much of this is a result not only of the corruption scandals and concerns about the general quality of corporate governance but also of the complex and uncertain regulatory environment. Many of our clients are still finding opportunities, but they just need to examine issues harder which leads to a lot of broken deals. Those foreign investors who are comfortable with the current environment in India are already in India. However, in order to attract a new group of investors sitting on the sidelines and the next round of foreign investments, the government needs to further liberalize the regulatory environment and provide clarity..Bar & Bench: What is your take on the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) as an evolving area of business? How do you think law firms modify their businesses in the view of changing dynamics?.Nandan Nelivigi: It’s a new phenomenon that offers enormous opportunities, particularly for routine work. LPO is a reality, and it will continue to grow because there is a growing demand. Law firms will need to adjust their service model and cost structure to deliver their services more efficiently, but I do not think LPO alone will have a dramatic impact on big law firms. Big law firms in particular will need to focus on premium services and enhance the value that they add. As with many new opportunities, there are a number of issues with LPO, and it will take time and experience to work them out..Bar & Bench: Indian legal market – How do you view it? Your views on liberalization and entry of foreign law firms?.Nandan Nelivigi: Most lawyers in India, including the staunchest opponents of liberalization of the Indian legal market, know and believe that the Indian market needs to be open to foreign lawyers. The only question is one of timing. I believe that liberalization of the legal market will have a very positive impact on the Indian legal profession as a whole and will create enormous opportunities for the vast number of young lawyers entering the legal profession every year. It is a cause that Indian lawyers and law students need to recognize and fight for in their own interest. I am not sure that the stakes are as high for foreign lawyers as they are for Indian lawyers and law students. Most international law firms will enter India only when the rules clearly permit them to do so. In the absence of that, they will simply continue to service their clients from outside India without practicing Indian law. Foreign lawyers are not interested in litigation in India. So, most of the work that foreign lawyers want to do can be done from outside India with temporary visits to India to meet and advise clients in India on the laws of the home jurisdiction of such foreign lawyers. Even in that, foreign lawyers are happy to abide by all applicable Indian regulations, if any..Now there is a pending lawsuit in the Madras High Court which seeks to prevent foreign lawyers, including in-house counsel, from entering India even on an as-needed basis to advise on any laws in India, including the laws of foreign lawyers’ own home jurisdictions. If that lawsuit succeeds, it will have an adverse effect on foreign lawyers, including in-house counsel, Indian lawyers, foreign clients and Indian clients and generally on international trade and investment between India and other countries. Urgent attention needs to be paid by all concerned to prevent such an outcome..Bar & Bench: With your vast experience, where do you see India in 2012? .Nandan Nelivigi: I believe that opportunities in India will continue to grow in 2012. In spite of all the external and internal shocks, the domestic consumer demand still appears to be strong. There is a lot of room to create new opportunities in the industrial sector, the infrastructure sector and the service sector. However, India needs substantial capital. My concern is that India will not come close to realizing its full potential for growth in 2012. Therefore, the broad-based growth of all sectors is going to be a challenge, but certain select consumer-driven sectors and companies will continue to do well in 2012.
