Abhijit Narayan has left Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Germany, to join Touchstone Partners as an equity partner based at the Delhi office.
“After 14 years of working with top-tier international law firms in Europe — namely Hengeler Mueller, Slaughter and May, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer — I was keen to return to India and contribute to its stellar growth story,” Narayan told India Business Law Journal.
“Touchstone Partners, under the dynamic leadership of [managing partner] Karam Daulet-Singh, provides me with the perfect platform to build a cross-border practice focused on connecting European and Gulf capital with India, and supporting Indian companies in their international acquisitions.”
His practice covers mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital technology transactions, and joint ventures. Narayan has extensive experience in advising Indian corporates on outbound investments in Europe, with a particular focus on Germany. He also has significant experience advising clients from the Middle East.
“Aside from gaining enriching experience across complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions, the years spent in Europe gave me the invaluable opportunity to build direct, long-lasting relationships with European corporates, private equity funds, and family offices actively looking to invest in India,” Narayan told IBLJ.
“At the same time, I’ve acquired a deep understanding of the strategic and legal issues that matter most to Indian companies when they pursue outbound acquisitions across foreign jurisdictions.”
He added that the “experience will enable me, along with my colleagues at Touchstone Partners, to originate and execute cross-border mandates from both directions — inbound capital from Europe and the Gulf into India, and supporting Indian corporates globally.”
Narayan said Daulet-Singh had “built a strong, ambitious firm with exactly the right culture for this practice: focused, partner-led, lean teams and committed to elite-quality work”.
On Indian lawyers working overseas, Narayan told IBLJ, “In recent years India’s phenomenal growth trajectory makes it genuinely compelling for lawyers who have built international careers to contemplate a return.
“The opportunity to apply international experience to high-stakes, cross-border transactions at home is real, rapidly expanding, and where the most exciting work over the next decade and more will happen.”
Before joining Touchstone, Narayan worked at leading law firms in India, Germany and the UK, including JSA, Hengeler Mueller, Slaughter and May, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
