Ex-Facebook counsel, NLSIU grad Chetan Nagendra starts law offices in Bangalore

Former Facebook lawyer Chetan Nagendra has recently set up his own law offices in Bangalore. A graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and Case Western Reserve, Nagendra has close to 14 years of experience both as in-house counsel and in private practice across India, Asia, the US, UK and the Middle East. Prior to setting up his law practice, he managed the legal and compliance function across the Asia Pacific Region for Facebook Inc.

He was previosuly heading the India Desk at Harney Westwood & Riegels in London before which he was working with Diageo Plc’s, India, where he was Regional Counsel for the Middle East and India hubs. In India, he trained with Amarchand Mangaldas and has worked across both their Bangalore and Mumbai offices.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, Nagendra says, “I want to essentially build an internationally focused law practice operating from India. Having qualified to practice in different jurisdictions and actually having worked in each of those, I have developed a good network and have a global perspective and deal experience. I am familiar with knowledge of the local business environment across geographic regions. So I wanted to bring it all together.”

Nagendra is qualified to practice in India, New York, England & Wales and the Eastern Caribbean.

Nagendra says that with his domestic and international experience, his clients don’t need to spend time liaising with half a dozen local and international firms and then wait weeks to sift through and integrate the advice.

“High-growth companies including funded startups want to expand internationally, grow their businesses rapidly, and often operate across India, Singapore, Silicon Valley and Europe. There is need for timely and effective legal advice, the ability to weigh-in on business risks for clients and the ability to call on experienced resources internationally”, adds Nagendra.

Talking about the composition of his law offices, Nagendra says, “I have a team in my mind and will have a couple of lawyers join the firm later this year. He adds, “The intention is to leverage technology to the maximum extent and develop a lean and high performing team.”

The law office will specifically focus on Corporate, M&A and Cross Border transactions, Technology and Startups, Investment Funds practice and Private Client and Offshore services.