The South Asia practice of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP, represents US and international clients in their activities in the Indian Subcontinent, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan as well as clients from these countries with respect to their activities in the US, UK and other countries. The Firm has offices in the US, UK and an associated office in Hong Kong, and our clients rely on the depth of knowledge held by our internationally-experienced attorneys.
Our South Asia team includes lawyers with decades of international commercial experience; many have lived and worked abroad and are multilingual. Our attorneys have significant personal and professional networks in the Indian Subcontinent including deep relationships with leading business houses, prominent figures in local business and professional circles and in the government in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We recognize the complexities of globalization and we pride ourselves in providing comprehensible cross-border advice bridging legal systems, customs, languages and terminology. We also apply this perspective in working with the active entrepreneurial community of the South Asian Diaspora in the US, UK and Hong Kong. We understand the operational needs of established global businesses, as well as the needs of companies taking their initial step outside their home country. We advise our clients on sophisticated global transactions and market access strategies.
We have deep relationships with local counsel in the Indian Subcontinent and thus provide seamless cross-border services to our international clients who are interested in doing business in these areas. We also draw on our more than 15 years of established relationships with independent, best-in-class law firms in key global commercial centers in 65 countries through our founding membership in a selective, international association of law firms (The World Law Group). In addition, the Firm also has established relationships with other law firms and practices throughout the world (often highly specialized, such as in working with the EMEA for European drug regulatory issues), as well as consultants for such things as overseas corporate business partner diligence and investigations, certain aspects of FCPA reviews, foreign trade questions and export-import and customs matters.
The types of international work performed by our South Asia practice are varied and include general counseling, mergers and acquisitions, financings, reorganizations, private equity, fund formation, joint ventures and infrastructure projects, intellectual property licensing and most other forms of business transactions. We cover a wide range of practice areas and industries including:
Representative Transactions
Some examples of our work in the Indian Subcontinent include:
- Structured and implemented the tax-advantaged investment by U.S. investors in an Indian broadband satellite communications company.
- Advised U.S. investors in equity investment in a publicly held Singapore company providing broadband communications services in Europe.
- Engaged and worked with Indian counsel to secure Indian patents for our clients.
- Assisted an aviation client in understanding the complexities of the foreign direct investment regime in the aviation sector in India and in entering into a joint venture agreement with an Indian company.
- Represented a large Indian automotive company in providing general corporate law advice with respect to its distributorship agreements in the US.
- Represented an US biopharmaceutical company in its sale to a European pharmaceutical group.
- Represented a large Luxembourg based telecommunications company in the sale of its Pakistani subsidiary to a large Chinese telecom company.
- Represented a Dubai company in its acquisition of the Government of Malta’s majority interest in a Maltese telecom company.
- Represented the largest human services company in the world in setting up its joint venture with a leading global talent development and IT training company in India to deliver application software development and maintenance solutions to its clients.
- Represented an Indian company which is a leading global provider of business process services management in its acquisition of a Delaware company engaged in the business of medical and dental outsourcing.
- Represented a large Indian company in its acquisition of petrochemical assets in Germany.
- Represented a large Indian media company in its acquisition of an Illinois corporation providing telephone card services to India.
- Represented a pharmaceutical company in a licensing and supply agreement with another pharmaceutical company in India.
- Advised a major US consumer products company on various patent matters in India including patent oppositions in the Delhi and Mumbai patent offices and on two major patent actions relating to protease inhibitors.
- Advised an Indian shipping company on potential patent infringement claim against them. Advice related to merits of the claim, issues relating to infringement claims against patents used in ships (Article 5 of Paris Convention), enforcement of indemnities/warranties in China and the UK.
- Advised a major cosmetic company on a trade mark matter against an Indian cosmetics company.
- Acted for a German telephone equipment and wireless network company, in a complex patent, trade mark, know how dispute which included suppression of minority shareholders rights. The dispute related to the Indian JV. The technology included termination block systems and insulation displacement contacts. This was multi jurisdictional with proceedings in the UK and India. Our lawyers lead the team in both countries and were required to furnish reports and make representations to the German supervisory board. The matter ultimately settled and our lead attorney was offered a directorship in the Indian JV.
- Advised a French company setting up a subsidiary in India. Drafted and advised on all their commercial agreements including technology transfer and IP licensing.
- Advised on a patent matter where the client's patents were infringed in India and infringing goods were imported for sale into the USA. Our attorney effectively worked as an outsourced in house counsel and the matter lasted over 2 years.
- Acted for an Indian electronics company in defending a patent, copyright and unregistered design infringement action in the UK relating to electronic conductors.
- Advised a specialist chemicals company on their potential patent and trade mark disputes in India. Advised on all aspects Indian patents and trade mark law and drafting and negotiating licence and technology transfer agreements for their Indian matters.
- Advised a major consumer products company on the IP due diligence in an acquisition of a business in Europe and India.
- Advised two major consumer product retailers on manufacturing/distribution arrangements in India.
- Acted for Mother Teresa in a copyright action involving false attribution of authorship.
- Advised and Indian based company which provides outsource software engineering and development services as to its operations in the US.
- Advised as to asset tracing issues for Indian based clients.
- Represented a US client in the negotiation of a software development agreement with an Indian software development company.
- Represented US client with an Indian subsidiary in a merger. We were involved in establishing the good standing of the Indian subsidiary in order to facilitate the transaction.
- Prosecuted mechanical and software patents for the control of cooking appliances in India.