Biography

Ashwin graduated from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka in 1998 with a BA LLB (Hons.) degree. He was awarded 2 (two) gold medals, one for standing third in his class and the other for securing the highest GPA in International Law. In 1998, Ashwin joined the erstwhile Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. (“Amarchand”) as an associate in their Mumbai office. Ashwin worked under the tutelage, mentorship and guidance of Mr. M. P. Bharucha and Mrs. Alka Bharucha who are now senior partners of Bharucha & Partners. Since Amarchand was the pre-eminent law firm in India at the time, it was an excellent training ground for a fresh law graduate. Ashwin was exposed to a number of ground-breaking deals in an accelerated time span and even though he was relatively junior, he was given responsibilities that led to his growth at a fast pace. He was part of the team that advised Idea Cellular Limited on all their secretarial and transactional work when telecom was the hottest sector in India. He also helped with advising ITC Limited on a number of their joint venture deals. Other clients whose deals Ashwin worked on included ANZ, ANZ Investment Bank, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Renault Agriculture.

In 2006, Ashwin did his LL.M in commercial law from the University of Cambridge, UK where he studied Jurisprudence, International Banking and Financial Law, Corporate Finance and International Commercial Litigation. After completing his LL.M in 2007, Ashwin joined Khaitan & Co at their Mumbai offices as a senior associate. At Khaitan & Co, Ashwin worked closely with Mr. Haigreve Khaitan who was instrumental in developing Ashwin’s expertise in private equity transactions. He was promoted to Partner in 2010 but due to certain personal setbacks took on the role of a Consultant handling internal matters which comprised of training firm personnel and overseeing publication of articles written by members of the firm (which numbered in excess of 75 articles). For two years during this period Ashwin also taught a module on Indian foreign exchange laws as part of the Securities Law Course conducted by the Government Law College, Mumbai for young lawyers. It is these responsibilities that kindled in Ashwin an interest in teaching and writing. In 2013, Ashwin left Khaitan & Co and joined SB Partners, a boutique banking and finance firm, as a Partner in their Mumbai office. At SB Partners Ashwin advised a number of top banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies (“NBFC’s”) on issues related to banking and finance transactions and the entire deal documentation process. Thereafter, in 2017, Ashwin joined Mansukhlal Hiralal & Co (“MHCO Law”), a litigation centric firm, as a Partner to bolster the firm’s fledgling corporate practice. Between 2019 and 2021, Ashwin had short stints as the Partner heading corporate advisory services, in Mumbai, at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, India’s top law firm for indirect tax matters and as the Lead Partner of the Mumbai office at ASA Legal Services LLP. 

Ashwin has over 21 years’ of experience as a commercial lawyer, including over 10 years’ experience in a leadership position at various firms in India. His experience spans most areas of corporate and commercial law including investments (both equity and debt, domestic and foreign), financing (long-term, consortium, structured, project and mezzanine), mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures and general corporate advisory. At Khaitan & Co, he led the teams that advised marquee clients on private equity including Blackstone (investment in Gateway Rail Freight Limited and Jagran Prakashan Limited); Standard Chartered PE (proposed investment in Checkmate Security Limited); Credit Suisse India (investment in Shree Ganesh Jewellery Limited); SE Forge (investment by IDFC PE); the Suzlon Group (on various inbound investments). He has also represented the family office of a prominent Indian banker in the investment by a domestic private equity firm in a drycleaning company. His latest investment related experience involved acting for the Modern Group (an existing shareholder) in the Series A round of investment by Actis in Crediwatch Analytics.

As part of SB Partners, Ashwin was part of the team that advised top banking companies and financial institutions on various types of financing, including long-term financing (both secured and unsecured), consortium financing, working capital financing, bill discounting and the re-financing of large consortium-based project finance. Ashwin also advised non-banking financial companies on real estate financing in the form of subscription to secured non-convertible debentures.

Ashwin’s skills as a corporate lawyer extend to drafting and advising on all types of deal documentation for equity and debt transactions, be it term sheets, share subscription agreements, shareholders agreements, investment agreements, share purchase agreements, asset purchase / transfer agreements, business transfer agreements, joint venture agreements, schemes of amalgamation and loan, debenture and security documentation for all types of financing. This experience covers all sides of a transaction be it representing the interests of an investor, lender, promoter or company.

Ashwin mentored a number of young lawyers during his time at Khaitan & Co who are now senior members of the firm. He also a fair number of publications in Indian journals which he wrote quite some time back while he was a practitioner. He has also made a number of presentations on a wide variety of topics at the organisations he worked for.

Ashwin’s main driver is to combine his vast experience and knowledge as a commercial lawyer to guide young law students who are taking their first few steps in the complex field of law. He believes that imparting learning is ennobling and self-fulfilling and would like to be a part of this process. 

Ashwin has always had an affinity for the law and an eagerness to learn it’s nuances. Outside the law Ashwin enjoys reading, chess, movies, cooking and playing and following various sports including cricket, squash and swimming.