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Aman is an experienced IP, technology and disputes lawyer. At Ikigai, he has focused on online content, intermediary liability, online gaming, alco-tech and drones. In a previous avatar, he spent 4 years litigating at Anand and Anand, where he was a part of the firm’s IT and ecommerce law practice group. He represented clients in numerous IP disputes before the Delhi High Court, advised on compliance with IT laws including due diligence and data protection, intermediary liability, the conclusion of online contracts and the validity of digital signatures. He also managed license compliance campaigns for large software publishers. Aman received the Netherlands Fellowship Program scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in law and technology from Tilburg University. At Tilburg, he specialised in privacy and data protection (GDPR), cloud contracts, e-commerce, health tech regulation and EU approaches to IP. Before joining Ikigai, he also spent a short stint with the IT legal team at Shell’s IT hub in Bangalore. His views on Indian law and policy have been carried by media houses and publications such as the Economic Times, the Indian Express, Times of India, Medianama, the Citizen, Tech Circle, India Ahead TV and Mojo Story. Aman loves traveling with his dog, Betty, and aspires to start a dog travel vlog one day.

Reach Aman at aman@ikigailaw.com

Aparajita heads the product and regulatory practice at Ikigai Law. She was recognized for her “ability to provide constant high-quality support” in the Indian Business Law Journal in May 2020. She is also recognized as an India expert by OneTrust Data Guidance. At Ikigai Law, she advises technology companies on their go-live strategy, product development, and design. She helps tech businesses navigate regulatory environments while they launch and scale. One of her core practice areas is fintech, especially digital payments, neo-banking, and lending. She has helped launch and scale several first-to market fintech products. Before joining Ikigai Law, she was an in-house counsel at PayU and Hike Messenger and a corporate lawyer with J. Sagar Associates and AZB & Partners.

Reach Aparajita at aparajita@ikigailaw.com

Rutuja leads the government affairs vertical at Ikigai where in addition to working with relevant government stakeholders & industry associations, she helps build strategic partnerships for our clients, across sectors in the tech space. Healthcare being one of her core areas, she works closely with the healthtech team, providing business specific GR and policy advisory to healthtech start ups and hospital chains. Prior to this, she worked with Dua Consulting on some Fortune 500 company mandates requiring interaction with the PMO, DPIIT, Dept. of Heavy Industries, MoHFW, investment cells of various state governments like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh etc. She has also worked with the UNICEF, Nepal and the Hague Conference on Private International Law on a treaty making project on parentage/ surrogacy. She also has experience of working with a few Senators in the U.S. Congress, specifically on amending the US Generalized System of Preferences to promote labour rights for US’s trade partners such as Vietnam and Cambodia. She started her career in criminal litigation in Mumbai. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting in cooking and reading books on history.

Reach Rutuja at rutuja@ikigailaw.com

Nimisha is the Lead Counsel – VC at Ikigai. As a senior member of the VC team, she regularly advises on venture capital and private equity investments, onshore and offshore. She particularly enjoys working with technology-driven start-ups and entrepreneurs, understanding their businesses and products, and helping them navigate through various stages of funding and complex structuring exercises. She was recognized as one of the leading legal practitioners under the age of 45 in India (40 under 45) by Indian Lawyer 250, which is one of the guides to the leading business law firms of India. She was also awarded the “Exceptional Women of Excellence” award by Women Economic Forum 2018. Before Ikigai, Nimisha worked at Clarus Law Associates where in addition to corporate commercial work, she also specialized in Infrastructure, project finance, and trade and policy. Besides being a hands-on mother to her twin girls, Nimisha also passionately heads ReLawnch - a project that aims at enabling women to get back to work after a sabbatical.

Bobby is an experienced IP and tech lawyer. At Ikigai, he wears multiple hats - handling IP, space-tech, commercial contracts, data protection, disputes, and policy advisory for a diverse client base, ranging from multinational corporations to startups. As a space nerd, Bobby advises one of the world's largest satellite communications service providers with a mission to deploy over 3000 low-earth-orbit satellites to connect remote areas globally. He has also advised one of India's leading space-tech firms in satellite development and launches. Bobby excels in sectors defined by innovation. In his previous role at Anand and Anand, Bobby has represented notable inventors, such as a leading telecom antenna manufacturer, major pharmaceutical companies, and renowned fashion designers in IP disputes across various courts. Among other path-breaking matters, he was notably part of the team that secured patent rights for a computer-related invention, for the first time in India. Outside of his professional life, Bobby enjoys the outdoors; is a professional cricketer; and relishes treks.

Pallavi is a Senior Associate in Ikigai’s Advisory and Public Policy team. She advises leading technology companies, ecommerce giants, OTT platforms, digital media companies and Indian and global industry associations on a variety of issues including internet regulation, intermediary liability, data protection laws, content regulation, ecommerce laws, as well as emerging technologies such as AI, among others. Previously she spent 5 years with the law firm Saikrishna & Associates, where she helped international technology giants, technology and consumer electronic companies, OTT services and social media platforms, navigate the regulatory landscape of India. She has done strategic litigation for trademark and copyright infringement disputes, with focus on music licensing disputes in the media and entertainment industry. She has also advised on trademark/brand protection strategy and trademark, copyright and design registration. Her writing has been featured in various publications including MediaNama and the Bastion. Pallavi is also a trained Jazz dancer, a huge Bollywood buff, pop culture enthusiast and loves to travel to new places.

Rahil is a senior associate in Ikigai’s government affairs and public policy practice. He has a keen interest in the intersection of politics, society, technology and enterprise. He advises various technology companies and government clients on issues related to Internet governance, platform regulation, online gaming, and telecom, among others. His versatile experience allows him an intersectional perspective to tech policy. Prior to this, he worked as a legislative aide to a Member of Parliament, running their parliamentary office and helping them formulate policy positions on diverse issues spanning multiple sectors. After an undergraduate degree in History and a Master’s in Social Work, he worked around the criminal justice system in various roles, specialising in death penalty sentencing, rehabilitation of victims, community organising, research and advocacy, before pursuing a law degree. He is also a trustee of a socio-legal aid organisation working in Delhi’s urban villages on issues of access to justice. Outside of work, Rahil has an interest in theatre and is an avid traveller and sports enthusiast.

Chikita is a graduate of Jindal Global Law School. She explored a range of legal domains through internships at law firms, under litigation lawyers, and at the chambers of a Delhi High Court judge, before zooming in on tech law as her area of interest. At Ikigai, she is part of the Public Policy and Government Relations team. Outside of work, she is drawn to criminology, classical ballet, and can be found playing with her neighbourhood cats.

Himali is a graduate from St Joseph's College of Law, Bangalore. She recently started her career with Ikigai Law. She works at the intersection of law and technology, particularly from a policy lens and loves working on telecom and satcom related mandates. Beyond work, she likes to read non-fiction and engages in casual photography. She also likes to binge-watch historical series.

Nirmal Bhansali is a B.A., LLB. (Intellectual Property Hons.) graduate from National Law University, Jodhpur. He has dabbled in different roles—as a banking & finance associate, a small e-commerce business founder, and a news editor in a media startup. He is deeply curious about tech and all things Internet. In his free time, you'll often find him reading manga, long form essays, or bingeing on YouTube videos.

Riya is an Associate with Ikigai's government affairs and public policy practice. She is currently seconded to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Previously, she worked at Invest India with their Retail & E-Commerce team. Her research and work interests include e-commerce and digital trade, digital infrastructure, and cross border data flows. Beyond work she is a mother to two cats, an aspiring gym bro, and an experimental cook.

Sarmad is part of Ikigai’s Advisory and Public Policy practice. He completed his BBA., LLB.(International Law Hons.) in 2020 from Alliance School of Law, Alliance University, Bengaluru. He started his career with litigation before transitioning to the tech law and policy space. In his previous role at Trilegal, he practiced labor and commercial litigation; and routinely assisted clients in employment disputes and white-collar criminal investigations. Besides the law, Sarmad likes to read, produce music and appreciate coffee.

Shilpi is the Senior Manager for Operations & HR at Ikigai. With 16 years of working experience; 9 years in administration and operations in the corporate sector; and 7 years in the airline industry. An energetic person with rich global experience Shilpi is determined to improve processes, supporting the firm’s growth and promoting a positive workplace. Besides reading fiction books to her daughter, she likes traveling and watching historical dramas.

Samyukta is a Trainee Associate with the Product team at Ikigai Law, where she primarily works on fintech and data privacy matters. She has a keen interest in competition law, especially in emerging digital markets. Outside of work, Samyukta is classically trained in Carnatic music and is a huge pop-culture nerd.

Trishee Goyal is a law graduate from NLSIU. Previously, she worked with Macro Finance Group at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. She has worked with central and state governments, Supreme Court of India, TRAI and NITI Aayog on issues of internet governance, privacy and data protection and regulation of emerging tech. She has been a regular contributor on technology policy pieces to leading national dailies such as Times of India and The Hindu, inter alia. In her spare time, she pursues gardening.

Vinayak is a part of Ikigai's Venture Capital and General Corporate team. He is a law graduate from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, with an academic background in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. He made the shift from engineering to law, driven by his interest in the intersection of technology and legal systems. Outside of work, he enjoys reading non-fiction and engaging in philosophical conversations with like-minded thinkers.

Anirudh’s expertise lies in helping businesses navigate ambiguous, evolving and sometimes non-existent regulatory frameworks. He wears multiple hats, that of a business advisor, a lawyer and a policy counsel. He is a Chambers & Partners ‘Band 1’ practitioner for Fintech, ‘Band 4’ practitioner for Technology, Media and Telecom and ‘Band 3’ practitioner for Aviation. The Economic Times called him a ‘pioneer’ for his work on India’s policy for drones. Business World magazine named him Achiever of the Year 2017 for his contribution to tech policy and entrepreneurship, including his advice on a privately-funded lunar mission. He has been involved in several first-of-their-kind mandates. He was awarded Managing Partner of the Year 2021 by Idex Legal and was named in the ‘A-list’ of Indian lawyers by the Indian Business law Journal. He is a visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Management-Indore, where he co-teaches a course on emerging tech, law and policy. A TEDx speaker, he has authored a book on cyber laws published by LexisNexis. Previously, Anirudh worked with a leading multinational law firm in their Singapore offices. Anirudh likes to go on cross-country motorcycle trips when he can and learns to play the drums.

 Reach Anirudh at anirudh@ikigailaw.com

Nehaa heads Ikigai’s advisory and public policy practice. She helps clients understand, strategize for, and navigate India’s regulatory and policy ecosystem. Per The Legal 500, Nehaa is one of India’s best data protection lawyers, ranked ‘Leading Individual’ for several consecutive years, and recognised for her TMT and aviation work as well. She is also a Chambers and Partners ranked TMT lawyer. Earlier, Nehaa worked with the Centre for Internet and Society, India (CIS), and the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. At CIS, she was the only Indian civil society representative in copyright and broadcast treaty negotiations at the WIPO, and wrote on intellectual property rights for UNESCO. Nehaa enjoys teaching, and has taught at NALSAR- Hyderabad, NLU- Delhi, and IIM-Indore. She has regularly writes for academic and media publications, is oft-quoted by the press and on television news, and speaks at events around the world. Nehaa is learning pottery, and loves to swim.

Reach Nehaa at nehaa@ikigailaw.com

Sreenidhi leads the firm’s data practice, advising the world’s leading technology companies, startups, premier industry bodies, VC funds and several others, on data governance. She is recognised as a go-to lawyer for data protection by The Legal 500 and was a finalist for the ALB India Law Award 2022 for India’s best data protection lawyer. Sreenidhi is a dual qualified lawyer (New York and India), and has extensive experience engaging with technology laws in the US, the EU and other regions. Before Ikigai, Sreenidhi has worked at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy advising government ministries and at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business as research faculty. She speaks regularly at panels and to the media, and has published widely in leading publications like TOI and Quartz, and academic journals. Sreenidhi is an amateur film critic, with a passion for speculative fiction.

Reach Sreenidhi at sreenidhi@ikigailaw.com

Kritika is a Counsel at Ikigai and a senior member of the corporate practice group. She has a diverse portfolio encompassing general corporate, commercial law and employment law as well as hybrid transactions involving elements of both private equity and general corporate, with a special focus on transactions in the technology space. She advises clients on a wide range of matters, including cross border commercial contracts, founder agreements, technology agreements, ESOPs, etc. Kritika has previously led private equity rounds and debt refinancing transactions as the inhouse counsel to a hospitality company. Kritika is a certified lactation consultant. Kritika is an avid camper and likes to do cross country road trips with her partner and their kid.

Vijayant specialises in cybersecurity, data, cloud, telecom, and related sectors. He provides end-to-end strategic policy and advisory support to large-scale technology companies, start-ups, industry associations, and VC funds. He also advises on cross-jurisdictional matters – including on data, cybersecurity, and cloud-focused regulations of the EU, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. He led the drafting of a whitepaper for the Data Security Council of India, which offers recommendations for a balanced encryption policy in India. He also contributed to the drafting of a first-of-its-kind report on India’s gaming ecosystem and regulatory environment. Before Ikigai, he was a litigating lawyer, and was part of a team that successfully argued for a fundamental right to privacy before the Supreme Court of India. His writing has been featured in the Quint, Inc42, and YourStory. His views on cybersecurity have been quoted by Medianama. Vijayant is also a part-time DJ, loves travelling, and swimming.

Reach Vijayant at vijayant@ikigailaw.com

Astha focuses on providing regulatory and strategic advice to new-age innovation led businesses. She has advised clients across diverse sectors including aviation, FMCG, hospitality, e-commerce, electric mobility, pharmaceuticals, venture capital, and financial services. Before Ikigai, she was corporate counsel at IndiGo. Earlier, she was also external legal counsel for PepsiCo India where she advised on the transfer of PepsiCo’s business in south and west India to Varun Beverages Limited. She spent over 3 years with the corporate advisory team at J. Sagar Associates. She also had a stint with Themis Associates where she worked with the transaction advisory team and advised Sequoia Capital on its investments. When not lawyering, Astha writes poetry and short stories.

Reach Astha at astha@ikigailaw.com

Kanupriya is a Consultant with Ikigai's government affairs and public policy team. Kanupriya has provided policy and strategic advocacy support to marquee tech companies, startups, industry associations, and regulators on various issues including online content, e-commerce, consumer protection, ad tech, and data protection. She is a passionate cricket fan, likes to bake, play word games, and travel.

Aarya is an Associate in the Public Policy & Advisory Team. She graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2022. Previously she worked at Saikrishna & Associates with their Trade Regulatory & Compliance team. Her areas of interest include data protection & privacy, internet governance, and the regulation of emerging tech. She has written several articles on the intersection of technology and law which have been featured on blogs of premier law schools. Outside of work, she loves trying new recipes, travelling, and binge-watching content.

Animesh is an Associate with the Public Policy and Advisory team at Ikigai Law. He has previously worked with Competition law teams at Economic Laws Practice and TT&A, where he has represented clients across diverse sectors, including Technology, Energy, Manufacturing, Shipping & Logistics, and Sports Management. Some of his notable experiences include representing Google and its Indian entities in several high-profile abuse of dominance investigations, defending United Breweries Limited in a cartel investigation involving beer companies in India, working with Bundl Technologies Private Limited (Swiggy) on matters related to allegations of abuse of dominance and representing Generali Insurance Group in combinations in India and foreign jurisdictions. Animesh also loves to travel and has his interest in music, painting and sketching.

Divyansh is a Consultant with Ikigai's government affairs and public policy team. He holds a BBA LL.B. degree from Symbiosis Law School, Noida. Previously, Divyansh worked with one of the largest travel companies in India, where he was involved in both legal and technical sides of data protection and information security, playing a key role in company's ISO 27701 and GDPR implementation. Outside of work, he loves traveling and photography, always looking for the next adventure to capture with his camera.

Jalaj is a part of Ikigai's Venture Capital and General Corporate Team. He assists tech-driven startups and founders through various stages of funding as well as provides support in general corporate matters such as commercial contracts, technology agreements, founder employment agreements, and ESOP documentation to name a few. Previously, he was associated with Argus Partners with their Venture Debt practice dealing with debt facility availed by the startups. Outside of work, he loves gaming, especially free roam games such as the Far Cry series or Assassin's Creed. He is also learning the art of perfumery and aims to build a big perfume collection of more than 100 perfumes (currently at 30) with a mix of niche and designer perfumes.

Rakshitha is a Consultant in the Public Policy & Advisory team. She is an engineer by training and switched to policy following her interest in sociology and the Internet. She has 5 years of experience across academia, research consulting, policy, and industry associations. In her previous roles, she worked in the public policy space at IAMAI and CoinSwitch Kuber. Besides work, she enjoys cooking and reading.

Rohan Naik is an Associate in the Public Policy & Advisory team. He is a policy professional with two bachelor's degrees in Electronics Engineering and Political Science. He ventured into policy after his Master's at the National Law School of India University. Previously, he was working with CoinSwitch, where he explored Indian and Global Crypto policy discourse. In his free time, one would find him gardening, reading, or watching absolutely any game of cricket with sheer amusement.

Shayeri is a part of Ikigai's Product team. She is passionate about the ever-evolving privacy laws. Her experience covers general corporate matters, and technology-related issues, including advisory and contracting. Previously, she worked as an in-house counsel at Lendingkart, handling a wide range of commercial matters. Outside work, she enjoys engaging in political debates, and discussions on international relations and pursuing her love for photography.

Sowmya is a part of the Operations team at Ikigai. She handles the accounting vertical for the firm, besides assisting in day-to-day operations. She is a commerce graduate and enjoys working with numbers and Excel sheets. In her free time, Sowmya likes to travel and try new recipes.

Utkarsh had his previous assignment with JSA, Delhi in the Disputes practice, where he worked as a lawyer in arbitration and insolvency practice. Additionally, he worked on advisories for clients. Outside of work, Utkarsh has a few hobbies and interests. He is an avid dog lover and enjoys spending time with his furry companions. He also has a passion for calm and peaceful music, often sharing his favorite tunes with friends. In his free time, Utkarsh enjoys capturing images and making videos.

Vidushi graduated from Amity Law School, Delhi (Affiliated to GGSIPU) and did a fellowship at Daksha with specialization in Law and Regulations pathway. She has experience in conducting evidence-based research across policy issues. She has assisted in building strategic partnerships and relationships with government officials, industry players, industry associations and think-tanks in the TMT space. Vidushi has also worked towards developing a legal journal- Corpus Juris and started a social venture called Saamarthya Volunteers, which is a network of people committed to driving social change. Beyond work, she has undertaken training in Hindustani classical music and enjoys exploring different Indian traditional painting styles.