Herbert Smith Freehills will launch the first edition of its India Alumni Lecture Programme (IALP) this month as part of its continued wider commitment to the Indian market.
IALP is aimed at equipping Indian law school students with knowledge of international transactions and disputes which will be delivered through annual lectures by alumni from Indian law schools who are working at the firm. Herbert Smith Freehills has been actively recruiting from Indian law schools since 2007 and is currently believed to have one of the highest number of Indian law school graduates in any international law firm.
The first edition of IALP will be held at NLU Jodhpur later this month at which London corporate/M&A senior associate and alumnus of NLU Jodhpur, Siddhartha Shukla, will deliver a three-day course on cross border M&A and joint ventures. He is scheduled to be accompanied by Mumbai-based Citigroup’s senior legal counsel, Nidhi Parekh, who is also an alumnus of NLU Jodhpur.
Chris Parsons, Chairman of the firm's India Practice, commented, "We have done a lot with the law schools in India over the last 12 years and this new initiative is another important step in that partnership. We feel it will be a great experience for the law students to hear direct from someone who has been working at an international law firm over many years and who was once sitting where they are sitting now. It will also be an excellent opportunity for the individual to return to their previous law school and help with the teaching."
Herbert Smith Freehills has been running various initiatives in India including:
- HSF-Oxford International Lecture Programme (ILP) which is a five-day lecture programme run by Chris Parsons and Oxford University's Professor Timothy Endicott and which is now in its 11th year
- HSF-NUJS Corporate Law Moot which has established itself as one of the premier moot court competitions in India and which is now in its 11th year (see short report of the 10th edition from 2018)
- HSF-NLUD International Negotiation Competition (INC) which is believed to be the biggest international competition for law students in Asia and which is now in its 6th year (see a short video from 2018)
- HSF's formal collaboration with IDIA to support and mentor students from underprivileged backgrounds which was launched in 2018
On 1 February 2019, the firm will host its inaugural flagship event, the Client Academy India. This event, which will take place in Mumbai, is aimed at bringing together a select group of the most senior legal advisers from major organisations across India for a full day programme focused on leadership and international best practice. To find out more about this initiative, watch the video here.
