Neerav Merchant

Neerav is a senior partner in our Indian firm, one of the leading full service practice firms in India with offices in Mumbai and Bangalore, and network offices in Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi.

Neerav took his first  in-house role in 2000 with GTL Ltd. a leading telecommunication services company. He subsequently worked as legal counsel for a leading IT services company and also for a Housing and Development Corporation in India.

Whilst working in house, Neerav worked on various projects, including drafting and negotiating commercial technology and BPO contracts (from a supplier’s perspective) with large American and British corporations in diverse industries including, insurance, banking, beverages, telecoms and retailing.  In addition, he was involved in advising on a host of telecommunication and IT regulatory issues.

Since joining our affiliate firm in 2007, Neerav has advised clients from industries including entertainment, IT, technology, energy, and finance among many others on  employment law, dispute resolution, arbitration, enforcement of foreign judgments and awards, IT/outsourcing and licensing, IP, commercial, anti-corruption, and real property matters. 

Neerav represents clients on a wide variety of employment law matters, including drafting employment and consultancy agreements, structuring HR policies for organizations, advising on retrenchment and termination of employees, advising on contract labor laws and local Shops & Establishments Acts, assisting in structuring stock options and employee benefits agreements, and counseling companies on the practical aspects of Indian employment laws. He has also been involved in conducting comprehensive national employment audits and representing clients in labor court hearings.

Neerav has been mentioned as a leading labor and employee benefits practitioner by Practical Law Company (PLC). The firm has won the IFLR1000 awards for the Best Employment Law Firm in India in 2011 and 2012. The firm has also been ranked as a market leader in employment law in India by the India Business Law Journal IBLJ in 2010 and 2011.

Neerav became an Advocate in India in 1996, and a Solicitor in Mumbai in 1999.  

Neerav has spoken at various professional events on different topics, including:

• “Doing Business in India” at seminars hosted by ALB in Brisbane and Sydney in June 2008.

• “Entry to Foreign Law Firms” at a seminar hosted by Law Society of England and Wales in London.

• Co-chaired a session on "Alpha Consumer" at the International Bar Association's annual conference in Dublin in October 2012.

• "Cross-border Quality Control and Liability Issues" at an IBA conference in New Delhi in February 2013.  

• “Anti-corruption laws - A Roadmap to Compliance”, a joint session organized along with Grant Thornton, in Mumbai in June 2014.

Neerav is a member of the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Bombay Incorporated Law Society, the International Bar Association, and the Inter Pacific Bar Association.