Kritika Krishnamurthy

Practice Areas

General Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency, Litigation, Arbitration, Direct Tax, Indirect Tax, International Taxation, Commercial Negotiation, Consensus Building

Career

Kritika Krishnamurthy is a Founding Partner at AK & Partners, with expertise in legal areas including General Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Insolvency, Litigation, Arbitration, and International Taxation.

Kritika specialises in sectors such as banking, finance, reg-tech, infrastructure, energy, pharmaceuticals, mining, aviation, and disruptive technologies. Kritika has cross-cultural experience in countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Russia, Japan, and Singapore.

Kritika holds several prestigious appointments. She serves as a Mediator for the World Bank and an external consultant to the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Additionally, she is a mediator for matters under the Companies Act at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). As a visiting faculty member, she contributes to institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, SIDBI, and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Her work highlights include representing clients in high-profile matters before the Supreme Court of India, National Company Law Tribunal, and various appellate courts. She is involved in significant mergers, acquisitions, and corporate negotiations. Kritika regularly assists clients in contract negotiations and consensus-building processes in complex, multi-party disputes. She is also a published author and frequently speaks at global conferences on topics like banking regulations, energy transitions, and dispute resolution.

She holds a B.Com LL.B. from Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, and is a trained mediator with advanced mediation training from the Global Mediation Forum.

Professional Memberships

-Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh

-Fellow of World Mediation Organization (WMO), Berlin, Germany

-Mediator, World Bank

-External Consultant to Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India on commercial mediation and negotiation.

-External Consultant, Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

-Member, International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR)

-Member, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences Industry-Academia Panel

Publications

- Prepared a Handbook on various laws and regulations applicable on foreign prepaid payment instruments in India for the multinational financial corporation, MasterCard.

-Prepared Research Report on Digital Health and Digital Therapeutics in European Union and India under the EU India Think Tanks Twinning Initiative 2022-23 for the Delegation of the EU to India.

-Prepared a Special Report on Digital Payment Innovations and Associated Risks in South Asia under the South Asian Region Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII) of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI).

-Multi-jurisdictional study on drug pricing policies with special emphasis on accessibility to affordable drugs for National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.

-Co-authored a Research Report on “Setting up of Dispute Resolution in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

-Prepared Report on “Feasibility of Adoption of Documents-Only Arbitration as a Mode of Dispute Resolution” for the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance

- Digital: The new normal of banking industry, The Daily Guardian with Rajiv Mohapatra, Director & Senior Counsel Regulatory Affairs (Asia Pacific), Mastercard.

-The Neo Way of Banking, The Daily Guardian with Anupam Alok, Senior Legal Counsel, Sberbank.

-BEPS in India and Conflicting Interpretation of Business Connection (Co-authored with Hon’ble Justice Mr. A.K Sikri, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India and Mr. P. K. Dash, IRS, Former Member (Revenue), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Taxalogue Volume 1, Issue 3 (March 2020).

-The Road that Needs to be Paved for Central – KYC in India (Part I and II), SCC Online

-Indian Data Protection Regime & the Future of Fintechs in India, SCC Online

-All Came Tumbling Down: Liability and Risk Mitigation in Engineering and

Infrastructure (2019) PL June 58

-Wilful Defaulters under IBC- Balancing between Corporate Rescue and Pro- Creditor Prosecution, NewsMobile (2018).

-Wishlist 2016 for Real Estate Sector in India, Corporate Amicus (2016)

-An Overview of Real Estate Investment Trusts in India, Corporate Amicus (2014)

-A Case For Mediation in Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) Dispute Resolution, Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre Anniversary Publication, October 2017

-Enforcement Challenges for International Consumer Disputes resolved through ADR

in India 5 IJCLP (2017) 52

-The Amarchand Dispute and the Misunderstood Practice of Commercial Mediation in India, Bar and Bench, available at http://barandbench.com/the-amarchand-dispute-and- the-misunderstood-practice-of-commercial-mediation-in-india/

-Mediation Myth Buster 101, Bar and Bench, available at https://barandbench.com/mediation-myth-buster/

-Book Review: The Commercial Mediation Monograph by Sriram Panchu for Oak Bridge Publications and Livelaw.com co-authored with Anuroop Omkar

Work Highlights

- Federal Bank in issue of credit cards

-Promoter in acquisition of Biosense by Tulip Diagnostics Golden Agri International India Holding Pte Ltd in acquisition through share transfer of majority stake of Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. in Gemini Edibles and Fats Pvt. Ltd. for total consideration of USD 17.88 million (INR 109.92 crore)

-Louis Dreyfus Commodities on acquisition through slump sale of manufacturing facilities in Karnataka and Telangana

-21 Trends on acquisition through asset transfer Various aviation players on acquisition of aircraft on dry lease basis

Entrust Global on acquisitions in India

- Matters represented at National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) relating to Companies Act, 2013 and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

-Experience in successfully representing clients at Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), CESTAT (Service Tax), TDSAT (Telecommunication) and Competition Commission of India (CCI)

-Experience in successfully representing clients at the Supreme Court of India and High Courts in corporate and tax matters

- Assisted leading greeting card group in consensus building and building processes for family succession

- Regularly assist clients in contract negotiation with joint venture partners, contractors and suppliers

- Experienced in consensus building and settlement facilitation in multi-party disputes such as family disputes, board disputes and shareholder disputes

Clients

“AK and Partners have a focused banking and finance practice with in-depth experience and understanding of the fintech space. They have a dynamic team of professionals who assist with incisive regulatory advisory, and transaction structuring as well as facilitates commercial negotiations. They are patient in explaining risks and have been very helpful in generating contractual options to fit the regulatory and techno-commercial needs that are unique to fintech players in India.”

Rajat Deshpande

Moshpit Technologies Private Limited

“AK and Partners understand how to cater to the needs of foreign investors in India- right from handholding the setting up of business in India to niche requirements of established players in the market. Their perceptive understanding of the regulatory interpretation brings high-value addition to their advisory. I find their advice to be well-considered and precise, and with an appropriate overlay of commercial judgement.”

Rajiv Mohapatra

MasterCard

“Kritika is not just a lawyer, she is a scholar and a thinker, in her field. I am sure people who come in contact with her in her professional space will benefit from her knowledge and empathy.”

Sumit Banerjee

Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry

“Kritika comes out as a thorough professional in her capacity to understand and deliver. But more importantly, she comes out humane, something that I have found missing in the legal profession.”

Sudhanshu Fadnis

Sportseed

Education

Awards