From trainee to Co-Head at international law firm: HSF Kramer unveils new India practice leadership

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has appointed a new leadership team for its India practice. Partner Alan Montgomery, who was previously Co-Head of the firm’s India practice, has been appointed as Chair. Partners Siddhartha Shukla and Dhananjaya Chak have been appointed as the new Co-Heads of the practice.

Collectively, they take over from former Chair Chris Parsons, who has retired from the firm, and former co-head Roddy Martin, who will continue to be a key member of the India practice.

Shukla arrived in London in 2010 as a trainee solicitor - an Indian citizen fresh out of NLU Jodhpur. 15 years later, he is Co-Head of the India practice at a global law firm. He is the first lawyer to emerge from the firm's Indian internship programme and rise all the way to the partnership and, now, its leadership.

Part of the firm’s global M&A practice, Shukla advises clients on high-profile, award-winning M&A deals globally and in India.

Chak is a Partner in the firm’s Finance practice and a key member of its team in the energy transition, natural resources and infrastructure sectors. He has extensive experience acting for clients on complex financing transactions, with a particular focus on India.

He is a graduate of NALSAR, Hyderabad and he has worked at Allen & Overy in the past before joining Herbert Smith in 2015.

Montgomery is a leading international M&A practitioner with 30 years of experience and has been instrumental in building and shaping the firm's India practice over the last two decades.

Executive Partner for UK and EMEA at HSFK Jeremy Walden commented,

“Our new leadership team is perfectly positioned to deliver on the next phase of growth in our market-leading India practice.

We owe Chris Parsons and Roddy Martin sincere thanks for their outstanding leadership and contribution to our India practice over many years. We wish Chris the very best in his retirement from the firm and are delighted that Roddy will continue to be a part of the practice through his client work.”

In a joint statement, Montgomery, Shukla and Chak said,

“We are excited to be leading our Band 1 India practice and to continuing to work closely with our key clients on their most important matters in India and internationally. We are really looking forward to building on the strong foundations established by the firm over the last 30 years and to driving the next phase of strong growth."