Event information

Date: Thu 23 Jan 2020 Time: 8.30am - 6.30pm Venue: The Oberoi, New Delhi, Dr Zakir Hussain Marg, Delhi Golf Club, Golf Links, New Delhi, Delhi 110003, India

Agenda

 

India Disputes Summit 2019
8.30am Registrations
9.00am Opening remarks
9.15am Singh & Associates Relational contracts and implied faith in long-term contractual disputes (including role of discovery and computational models used to assess claims)
The idea of a relational contract has been discussed in sociology, economics and law. The concept has recently been adopted by the Judiciary in the United Kingdom and also in other common law countries. But what does the idea of a relational contract mean? If the notion of relational contract applies, does it have particular legal implications for the transaction, such as an expansion of mandatory or supplementary duties of disclosure and obligations to perform in good faith? Our panel discusses these issues, while also considering the role of discovery and computational models used to assess claims.
10.15am Tuli & Co Current challenges in private equity and investment funds disputes
Over the last few years, a number of private equity funds have invested across different lines of business in this jurisdiction and the process of safeguarding and recovering those investments has thrown up disputes and differences. Leading figures from the world of private equity will give their views on how to manage this process successfully and their experiences in dealing with these disputes through arbitration. We consider whether disputes arising as a result of economic uncertainty can be used as a strategic tool to renegotiate a deal, and also the potential means of streamlining the dispute resolution mechanism so that this can contribute to strengthening the legal infrastructure in this jurisdiction.
11.15am Coffee break
11.30am Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Third-party funding: the dos and don’ts of disputes funding in the Indian market
Third Party Funding of disputes (TPF), as an asset class, has outperformed private equity, real estate, credit and hedge funds in several jurisdictions. This panel will focus on the untapped potential of TPF, which is currently ‘an asset class in waiting’ in India. The panel will bring together diverse perspectives and bring to fore practical considerations and key issues relevant for users (companies and in-house counsel), funders, practitioners, arbitrators and judges.
12.30pm Atkin Chambers The GC’s role in proactive preparation for international arbitration
Our panel explores how GCs can take the lead on preparing and managing an international arbitration, covering everything from the importance of understanding the applicable arbitral procedure (such as institutional rules and emergency procedures), the value and limitations of obtaining early advice on merits, and establishing clear lines of communication during a dispute.
1.30pm Lunch
2.30pm Stephenson Harwood Strategic considerations at different stages of arbitration
Surveying the life cycle of an arbitration, we survey various GCs on how they manage the life cycle of an arbitration, from drafting the contract to settling a matter. The panel will consider considerations: When drafting a contract; when a dispute goes live; engaging panels; the relevance of an organisation’s position when it comes to settling a dispute (is there a process of it is ad hoc?) and the level of involvement of the board.
3.30pm Singh Associates Fireside chat: Preparing witnesses in a dispute
4.00pm Coffee break
4.15pm HSA Advocates Panel discussion: The arbitration adjudication ecosystem: a discussion on practical challenges
Our panel of experts surveys developments in the Indian arbitration space to discuss the following: Has court intervention in arbitration matters decreased in India over recent years (especially after the Arbitration Act of 2015)? How can the Indian arbitration ecosystem improve service delivery across all stakeholders, including arbitrators, counsel, the Bar and expert witnesses. Does India need to have more dedicated professional arbitrators from their respective subject fields of expertise rather than a generalist arbitrator such as retired judges? What are the major recent developments clients should know when it comes to considering India as a seat of arbitration?
5.15pm Closing remarks
5.30pm Drinks and canapés
6.30pm Finish

Speakers include

Dr Akhil Prasad, country counsel India and company secretary, Boeing India

Dr Akhil Prasad is Country Counsel India and Company Secretary with Boeing India and is based in New Delhi. In past, he has held the offices of: head of legal and company secretary with Fidelity Worldwide Investment (2007 to 2013); director, India legal affairs and company secretary of The Walt Disney Company India (2005 to 2007); senior attorney and company secretary of General Motors India (2003 to 2005); and assistant general manager legal with Electrolux Kelvinator (2000 to 2002). Prior to these assignments, he has also worked with the legal teams in Modicorp Group (including Modi Xerox and Graphtech India from 1995 to 2000). Akhil has about over 25 years’ experience as an in-house counsel and has worked with legal teams spread across different countries.


 

Amar Sundram, India head of legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs, Royal Bank of Scotland

Amar Sundram is an in-house senior corporate legal professional with wide experience in strategic thinking, the formulation of operational guidelines and complex legal issues. He has worked with the best Indian and multinational business houses including DCM Shriram, Birla, TATA, AT & T, Reliance, Citi and E&Y. A multifaceted professional with 22 years of corporate experience, Amar is currently India head of legal, corporate governance and regulatory affairs for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and is a member of India ExCo.


Chandan Garg, senior legal manager at Petronet LNG Ltd

Chandan Garg is senior legal manager at Petronet LNG Ltd, a leading oil and gas company that established India’s first LNG receiving and regasification terminal. Garg has worked in-house for the last 16 years, both at Petronet LNG and Jindal Steel & Power, and has extensive experience handling commercial, regulatory, criminal and civil litigation arbitration proceedings in the steel, power and gas industries at various levels. He also has a wide experience drafting and vetting long-term LNG and gas sale and purchase agreements, cross-border joint ventures and other commercial contracts.


 

Manoj K Singh, founding partner, Singh & Associates, Advocates and Solicitors

Mr Manoj K Singh, founding partner of the law firm Singh & Associates, Advocates and Solicitors, specialises in litigation and ADR practice. He has extensive experience and is a name to reckon with for large-scale commercial litigation along with domestic and international ADR matters including ad-hoc and institutional arbitrations. He has successfully undertaken and represented clients in many international arbitrations including under the rules of International Chamber of Commerce, the London Court of International Arbitration, the Singapore International Arbitration Center, and the London Maritime Arbitrators Association.


Nitin Mittal, general counsel, head of legal, compliance and company secretary – South Asia, Signify Innovations India Ltd

Nitin Mittal is currently working as general counsel, head of legal, compliance and company secretary- South Asia of Signify Innovations India Ltd (formerly Philips Lighting India Ltd). He is part of the India lighting leadership team and part of the growth markets legal team. He also supports business and legal teams in other international markets for various projects and assignments. Prior to joining Philips Lighting, he worked as head of legal, compliance and company secretary for OSRAM India Pvt Ltd where he spent ~10 years in the legal function. There he was responsible for legal and compliance for India, acted as compliance officer for Australia, and supported the APAC compliance team for compliance tasks in the APAC Region. He also served as a director at OSRAM Lighting Private Ltd as part of the carve out project of OSRAM in India. He has a total work experience of around 17 years.


 

Rovine Chandrasekera, Managing partner, Stephenson Harwood LLP

Rovine Chandrasekera is managing partner of Stephenson Harwood’s Dubai office and a commercial litigation and shipping partner. He advises on a broad range of commercial disputes and deals with matters regarding asset recovery, enforcements and contracts relating to offshore oil and gas, shipbuilding and shipping. He has extensive experience of litigation and international arbitration within England as well as UAE market leading experience in the Sri Lankan markets.


Kamal Shah, head of Africa and India groups, Stephenson Harwood LLP

Kamal Shah is the head of Stephenson Harwood’s Africa and India groups. He specialises in complex, cross-border international arbitration, litigation and fraud and asset tracing in Africa and India, and frequently acts for governments, government entities, banks, private corporations and high net worth individuals in a range of matters including those relating to projects and infrastructure, joint ventures, banking and finance, shareholder arrangements, energy and a range of schemes commonly used to defraud individuals and corporations.


Mayank Dhingra, senior education business leader – Middle East cluster, HP LLP

Mayank Dhingra joined HP in June 2019 to lead the education business for the Middle East cluster (GCC, Levant, Turkey, North Africa and East Africa). His role is to provide strategic direction, solution frameworks, commercial oversight, social-capital curation and thought leadership to the education business line. Mayank is charting the roadmap for the division’s next two years and is focused on engaging with regional education ministries to evangelise about HP’s solutions. He is currently spearheading the development of HP’s first Innovation lab in the region, HP’s Digital Classroom ecosystem, helping set up Ethiopia’s model school for talented and gifted students and supporting Egypt’s MoHE on their Smart Universities National Program.


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