Spotlighting 2024’s Vanguards—BW Legal World Most Influential Women In Law

The BW Legal World Most Influential Women in Law initiative epitomises the exceptional accomplishments and societal contributions of women leaders in the legal sector. These distinguished figures have not only achieved professional excellence but have also played pivotal roles in shaping a more equitable and just society. Their pioneering efforts and steadfast dedication serve as a wellspring of inspiration for aspiring legal professionals across generations.

This prestigious celebration encompasses women from all corners of the legal universe—judges who uphold the law with unwavering integrity, advocates who argue with unmatched zeal, in-house counsel who navigate the complex corporate legal landscape, law firm partners and independent practitioners who innovate and lead with foresight, and academicians who enrich the legal profession with scholarly insight and mentorship. BW Legal World's initiative lauds those who have established enduring legacies and those who are blazing new trails with their inventive approaches, embodying the International Women's Day theme of Inspiring Inclusion and Invest in Women: Accelerate Growth.

Through its annual recognition, driven by editorial research and guided by the insights of an esteemed advisory council, BW Legal World not only celebrates the monumental contributions of these remarkable women to the legal field but also emphasises their instrumental role in forging a society that values inclusivity, equality, and justice above all. This year's categories, which include Champions of Change: Women Who Crafted History, The Titans of the Bench and Bar, The Legacy Builders, Women to Watch: Young Leaders in the Legal Sphere, The Academicians, and The In-House Change-Makers, showcase the multifaceted ways in which these women are propelling legal innovation and societal transformation. Let’s meet the women of the hour!

Hall of Fame: Honouring BW Legal World 100 Most Influential Women in Law

Champions of Change: Women Who Crafted History

Gyan Sudha Misra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

Ruma Pal, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India 

Sujata Manohar, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

The Titans of the Bench

B.V. Nagarathna, Judge, Supreme Court of India

Bela Trivedi, Judge, Supreme Court of India

Bharati H. Dangre, Judge, Bombay High Court

Hima Kohli, Judge, Supreme Court of India

Indu Malhotra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India

Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, Judge, Delhi High Court

Prathiba M. Singh, Judge, Delhi High Court

Revati Prashant Mohite Dere, Bombay High Court

Ritu Bahri, Chief Justice, Uttarakhand High Court 

Sangeeta Chandra, Judge, Allahabad High Court

Sophy Thomas, Judge, Kerala High Court 

Sunita Agarwal, Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court

Swarana Kanta Sharma, Judge, Delhi High Court

The Titans of the Bar

Aishwarya Bhati, Additional Solicitor General of India

Aparajita Singh, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Flavia Agnes, Legal Scholar and Women Rights Activist

Geeta Luthra, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Liz Mathew, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Malvika Trivedi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Mamta Rani Jha, Senior Partner, Inttl Advocare

Meenakshi Arora, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Meghna Mishra, Partner, Karanjawala & Co

Menaka Guruswamy, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Neelima Tripathi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Pinky Anand, Former ASG, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Rebecca John, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Ruby Singh Ahuja, Senior Partner, Karanjawala & Co

Shobha Gupta, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Swarupama Chaturvedi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Vibha Datta Makhija, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Vrinda Grover, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India

The Legacy Builders 

Anuradha Dutt, Founder and Managing Partner, DMD Advocates 

Fereshte Sethna, Senior Partner, DMD Advocates 

Iram Majid, Director, Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation and Executive Director, APCAM

Manjula Chawla, Founder & Partner, Phoenix Legal

Nina Gupta, Managing Partner, Bhasin and Co; Member-GSICC, Supreme Court of India

Nisha Kaur Uberoi, Partner, Trilegal 

Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

Shivpriya Nanda, Partner, JSA

Shweta Bharti, Managing Partner, Hammurabi & Solomon Partners

Zia Mody, Founder and Managing Partner, AZB & Partners

Women to Watch: Young Leaders in the Legal Sphere 

Anuja Pethia, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India

Aparna Mittal, Founder, Samana Centre for Gender, Policy and Law

Bansuri Swaraj, Advocate, Supreme Court of India

Charanya Lakshmikumaran, Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Kritika Krishnamurthy, Founding Partner, AK & Partners; Director at Bridge Policy Think Tank

Natashaa Shroff, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

Neeha Nagpal, Founding Partner, NM Law Chambers

Pallavi Pratap, Managing Partner, Pratap and Co

Petal Chandhok, Partner, Trust Legal

The Academicians

Dr. Alka Chawla, Professor-in-Charge, Campus Law Centre

Dr. Ritu Gupta, Professor of Law, NLU Delhi

Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Director, SLS, Pune

Dr. Usha Tandon, Dean, Faculty of Law, Delhi University

Dr. Ved Kumari, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, Orissa    

The In-House Change-Makers

Akriti Gandotra, General Counsel, Azure Power

Anjali Balagopal, General Counsel, Tata Technologies

Anjana Bali, EVP Legal, DLF Home Developers 

Archana Sasan, Vice President Legal Counsel, Dell

Bijoya Roy, General Counsel, South Asia, Pernod Ricard

Damini Bhalla, General Counsel, Zomato

Damini Marwah, Group Chief Legal Officer and Chief Ethics Officer, Axis Bank

Debolina Partap, General Counsel, Wockhardt

Deepika Chaudhry, Executive Director- Legal, APAC, Xerox, India

Inderpreet Sawhney, Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer Infosys

Jyothi V K, General Counsel and Sr. Vice President (Legal), Aditya Birla Fashion

Jyoti Pawar, Group General Counsel Legal & Corporate Affairs Microsoft CELA India

Kalpana Agarwal, Joint President & Co-head Legal, Kotak Mahindra Bank 

Lubinisha Saha, Head of Legal and Compliance for India and South Asia, Airbus India

Manjaree Chowdhary, Senior Executive Director, General Counsel, Maruti Suzuki 

Meena Lall, Non-Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer, Tata Steel

Meera Singh, General Counsel, KPMG, India

Padmaja Chakravarty, General Counsel, South Asia, Citi 

Parveen Mahtani, Chief Legal Officer, Mahindra Lifespace Developers

Pooja Bedi, Head of Legal and Compliance, Indian Sub-Continent, Philips

Pooja Mehtani, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Sun Life Global Solutions

Poornima Sampath, SVP & Chief Legal Officer, Tata Digital

Pratibha Jain, Head of Strategy & Group General Counsel, Everstone

Preet Sethi, Deputy General Counsel, Vedanta Group

Preeti Balwani, Global General Counsel, CRISIL

Priyanka Walesha, Head Legal- Yum Digital and Technology 

Richa Singh, General Counsel, Medanta Group of Hospitals

Ridima Bhargava, General Counsel, Groww

Saguna Vaid, General Counsel, Indigo 

Sanjit Kaur Batra, Group Vice President - Legal and Legal Head – Cummins India

Shalinee Kulshrestha, General Counsel South Asia, Dentsu International India

Sheetal Kapur, Head of Payments and Privacy Legal, Amazon

Smita Priyadarshini, Senior Director and Executive Legal Counsel at Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Sonal Basu, General Counsel, Lloyds Technology Centre India 

Sree Patel, Executive Director, Mondelēz International (India); Chief Counsel, India & AMEA Legal Lead at Mondelēz International

Sudha Hooda, Executive Director, Board Member, Nvidia Graphics 

Suhani Singh, General Counsel, Delhivery

Sujatha Balachander, General Counsel, India Region at EY

Tejal Patil, General Counsel, Wipro

Vani Mehta, Regional General Counsel, South Asia, GE Aerospace

Vidyut Gulati, General Counsel and Director- Legal, Bharti Airtel