Overview
Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys is one of India’s foremost specialist-led full-service law firms, best known for its market-leading tax and intellectual-property capabilities. Deep technical knowledge, direct advocacy and an understanding of regulated industries remain central to its identity, while sustained investment in corporate, M&A and private equity has broadened the platform considerably. The firm now offers clients coordinated support across transactions, competition law, disputes, employment, real estate, restructuring and technology, supported by an extensive presence across India.
Tax remains a defining strength. The practice brings together lawyers and chartered accountants across direct tax, GST, customs, international tax and transfer pricing. Its teams advise on complex business transactions and represent clients from the adjudicatory level through to the Supreme Court. The firm’s longstanding involvement in indirect-tax jurisprudence gives it particular depth in matters involving classification, valuation, exemptions and cross-border trade, while its direct-tax lawyers handle corporate taxation, international structures, business reorganisations and contentious proceedings.
Intellectual property is equally fundamental to the firm’s market identity. Its combination of legal and technical expertise enables it to support rights holders across patent and trademark prosecution, portfolio strategy, commercialisation and enforcement. This scientific and industry-focused approach is especially valuable to clients in technology-intensive and regulated sectors, where intellectual property, product regulation and tax considerations frequently converge.
The firm’s transactional practices have grown in scale and sophistication. Its corporate and M&A team advises domestic and international clients throughout the corporate lifecycle, from market entry and governance to acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures and exits. Cross-practice collaboration is a particular advantage on transactions where competition, tax, employment, real estate or sector-specific approvals influence deal structure. The firm’s 14-office footprint strengthens its ability to provide local support, while investment in AI-enabled legal tools assists with due diligence and transaction documentation.
Private equity has developed alongside the broader corporate offering. The team acts for investment funds, institutional investors, founders and portfolio companies on investments and exits, with particular experience in healthcare, consumer businesses, financial services, technology and energy. Its work increasingly involves cross-border capital, sophisticated governance arrangements and transactions requiring coordinated regulatory analysis.
The disputes and competition practices build on the firm’s advocacy-led heritage. The disputes team appears before the Supreme Court, High Courts, company-law tribunals and specialist regulatory forums, with notable experience in infrastructure-heavy and regulated industries. The competition practice handles merger control, behavioural investigations, compliance and appellate litigation, drawing on the firm’s disputes capability when matters progress beyond the Competition Commission of India.
Employment, technology and restructuring add further depth. The employment group advises on workplace compliance and the employment dimensions of corporate transactions, while the technology team handles privacy, cybersecurity, fintech, artificial intelligence and regulated outsourcing. The restructuring practice represents creditors and debtors and addresses the interaction between the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and other regulatory regimes.
Founder and managing partner V Lakshmikumaran remains central to the firm’s leadership, particularly across tax, disputes and restructuring. Charanya Lakshmikumaran is prominent in tax, competition, disputes and insolvency, while senior tax practitioners include S Vasudevan, Raghavan Ramabadran, Ravi Raghavan, Anand Nainawati and L Badri Narayanan. The expanding transactional platform includes N Mathivanan, Gaurav Dayal, Asish Philip Abraham, Nupoor Agrawal, Noorul Hassan, Kunal Arora, Sushrut Biswal and Srabonee Roy. The corporate bench was strengthened by the arrival of Siddharth Sawhney from AZB & Partners and associate partner Vishakha Singh from One97 Communications.
Client feedback
“LKS provides a mature view, guides us on all practical aspects, and finally defends the position in appellate authority if Revenue disputes the position. LKS provides end-to-end solution of all tax litigation needs.” – Media and entertainment
“It has domain experience, fast movement on said areas.” – Media and entertainment
“The team is strong in both tax litigation and advisory work.” – Tax
Noorul Hassan
“He is highly skilled.”
Sridharan Lakshmikumaran
“He provides comprehensive tax analysis, is dependable, demonstrates excellent courtroom skills and offers candid views.”
Shivam Mehta
“He offers practical, original ideas and demonstrates excellent stakeholder and client management skills.”
