In Conversation With Amrit Mehta, Partner, Majmudar & Partners

How and when did you know becoming a lawyer was your life’s true calling? 

The decision to become a lawyer and join law school was more a result of elimination  - I did not have any particular interest in sciences and law seemed a more viable professional degree. However, my passion for corporate law really developed in law school when I studied company law and attended some lectures by Prof. N.L. Mitra. 

Would you please tell us about your specialisation and the array of work you handle at your firm? 

My practice is focussed on M&A and advising on insurance and employment laws.  I have advised on domestic and cross-border acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, foreign direct investments and insurance matters.  Additionally, I have also handled some white collar investigation matters that I find very interesting and increasingly relevant for Indian corporate practice.

What are your predictions for 2022 in the area/s of specialisation mentioned above? What are some of the upcoming trends of the industry?

While large M&A was impacted through late 2020-21 due to the buoyant IPO market, in my view, 2022 will see an uptick in M&A, as the IPO market cools off.  We have been fairly busy in the start-up funding space and strategic acquisitions, which I expect to only increase in 2022.  From a sector perspective, I expect pharma, tech and financial services (including insurance) to continue to be areas of growth and consolidation leading to increased transactions.

One recent landmark judgement or the best judgment of 2021 that you’d like to share a word about. 

In my view, the arbitral award passed in the dispute between Zostel Hospitality Private Limited and Oravel Stays Private Limited in early 2021 holding that a term sheet executed between the parties was binding in nature despite the express declaration in the term sheet stating that it was non-binding and merely exploratory, is important.

While this arbitral award has been challenged before the Delhi High Court, it has explained some very important takeaways, which must be borne in mind by parties intending to execute non-binding deal term sheets or letters of intent in India.

As a new age lawyer, what to your mind is the one thing in the current legal ecosystem at the Bar, Bench, or in the Law Firms that needs our attention.

I think the push towards digitisation in the legal practice as an outcome of the pandemic has really added value by reducing leakages both in terms of monetary costs and lawyer time spent in managing logistics for physical hearings, meetings and negotiations. 

I hope that the momentum on digitisation continues and is not rolled back as we move into the post pandemic world.  This has also made the practice more environmentally sustainable as well as increased access to justice. 

Many Congratulations on joining the BW Legal World Elite 40 Under 40 Club of Achievers 2021. What to your mind has helped you get to where you are and what advice would you have for others who want to set off in a similar direction? 

Thank you.  Persistence is the key - law is a demanding profession and industry, and only constantly keeping at it, learning and evolving can keep up the motivation when faced with aggressive timelines, demanding clients and complex legal issues.  Another element that has really helped me navigate the profession is empathy - for my colleagues, my clients and more recently, even for myself. 

As a final note, would you please recommend to our readers your favourite book that left a lasting impression on you.  

Reading books (outside of legal commentaries) has definitely taken a back seat for me over the last few years with the demands of the profession as well as easily accessible content on the net.  But I do remember really enjoying reading Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson a couple of years ago - how it set out the good, bad and ugly about Jobs.  It really drove home the point that there are no blacks and whites at the top.