International — Indian Legal Counsel for Overseas Businesses, Investors & Law Firms
Candour Legal is an India-rooted law firm advising on Indian law from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, with a dedicated practice in GIFT City. We act for foreign companies entering or operating in India, investors and funds with Indian exposure, overseas law firms needing Indian local counsel, and NRIs with assets here. We advise on Indian law; where a matter needs foreign-law input, we coordinate independently qualified counsel in that jurisdiction.
Who we assist
Four kinds of clients bring us international work. Foreign businesses entering or operating in India — subsidiaries, joint ventures, contracts, employment, compliance. Investors and funds — due diligence on Indian targets, investment documentation, governance and exits. Overseas law firms — who need Indian-law opinions, Gujarat and pan-India proceedings, or enforcement, handled to their reporting standards. And NRIs and overseas families — property, succession and family matters managed without repeated travel to India.
The common requirement is the same: senior attention on the Indian side, written scopes and fees, and communication that works across time zones. That is how this practice is built.
Six problems we solve
Each area below has its own detailed page — the law, the process and how instructions run.
Doing business in India
Entry structures, Indian subsidiaries and joint ventures, FDI-route awareness, commercial contracts, employment frameworks and the compliance that follows incorporation — with tax and company-secretarial specialists coordinated where required.
Explore →Investment & legal due diligence
Corporate records, promoter and shareholding review, material contracts, financing and security, litigation and regulatory searches — red-flag or full-scope, with findings a foreign investment committee can act on.
Explore →Disputes, recovery & enforcement
Commercial litigation and arbitration for foreign parties, enforcement of foreign awards and judgments in India, debt recovery, insolvency remedies for foreign creditors, and interim relief that protects assets while proceedings run.
Explore →Indian local counsel for overseas law firms
Conflict checks, Indian-law research and opinions, court and tribunal proceedings, searches and evidence coordination — with your client relationship protected and reporting in the form your file needs.
Explore →GIFT City & cross-border finance
India’s international financial services centre — IFSCA authorisations, fund structures, listings and cross-border financial documentation, advised by a practice present in GIFT City.
Explore →NRI assets & private wealth
Indian property protection and disputes, succession and probate, trusts, family matters and FEMA-compliant repatriation — handled through power of attorney while you remain abroad.
Explore →Countries and corridors
Candour Legal assists clients and overseas counsel with India-related matters involving the UAE, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Mauritius, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Australia. We do not practise the domestic law of these countries; each corridor page explains the India-related work that typically arises.
UAE – India
Family offices and trading businesses investing into India, CEPA-era commercial arrangements, GIFT City participation, direct enforcement of UAE judgments, and property and succession work for the Gulf’s large Gujarati diaspora.
Explore the corridor →United States – India
Technology and SaaS companies with Indian teams or subsidiaries, VC and PE diligence on Indian targets, employment and contractor structuring, DPDP data-protection questions, and enforcement strategy for US claimants.
Explore the corridor →United Kingdom – India
UK companies operating in India, CETA-era trade, direct enforcement of UK judgments (a reciprocating territory under Indian law), LCIA awards, and probate, property and succession matters for UK-based NRIs.
Explore the corridor →Singapore – India
Funds and family offices routing Indian investment, SIAC-seated arbitrations with Indian parties and enforcement of the resulting awards, GIFT City as a complementary platform, and Singapore-counsel coordination.
Explore the corridor →Mauritius – India
Mauritius-based funds and global business companies with Indian portfolios — investment documentation, FEMA coordination, beneficial-ownership questions, exits from legacy holdings and shareholder disputes.
Explore the corridor →Japan – India
Manufacturers and trading houses building Indian operations — joint ventures, industrial land and regulatory review in Gujarat’s manufacturing belt, vendor and supply contracts, and disciplined local-counsel reporting.
Explore the corridor →Germany – India
Mittelstand and machinery businesses entering India — subsidiaries and JVs, technology-transfer and distribution agreements, employment and industrial compliance, and supplier disputes.
Explore the corridor →Netherlands – India
Trade, logistics and maritime businesses — distribution and agency contracts, ship arrest and cargo claims through our admiralty practice, Dutch holding structures, agritech and renewable-energy investment, and recoveries.
Explore the corridor →France – India
Industrial, aerospace and luxury businesses — joint ventures and strategic partnerships, distribution and brand protection, regulated-sector analysis, ICC arbitration support and commercial disputes with Indian counterparties.
Explore the corridor →Australia – India
ECTA-era trade and investment — mining and critical-minerals supply arrangements, education-sector contracts, technology and data arrangements, and property and succession matters for Australian NRIs.
Explore the corridor →How cross-border instructions are managed
The working method is the same whether the instruction comes from a general counsel, a law firm or a family abroad.
Tell us the parties and the nature of the matter. We run a conflict check before any confidential detail is shared, and say quickly whether we can act.
Every engagement starts with a written scope — what is covered, what is excluded, which specialists will be coordinated, and stage-wise fees with third-party costs identified separately.
The matter is run by the firm’s senior team across our offices and the relevant Indian forums — courts, tribunals, regulators and registries.
Tax, company-secretarial, valuation or foreign-law input is obtained from independently qualified professionals, disclosed and coordinated — never improvised in-house.
Written updates at agreed intervals and after every material event, in a form your board, partner or file can use — and a clear closing note when the matter ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What international clients ask before engaging Indian counsel.
Can a foreign company engage an Indian law firm directly?
Yes. A foreign company, fund or individual can instruct an Indian law firm directly for Indian-law matters — no local intermediary is required. Engagement begins with a conflict check and a written scope; documents are exchanged digitally and consultations run over video. Many of our international clients have never visited our offices.
Do you advise on the law of other countries?
No. We advise on Indian law. Where a matter has a foreign-law component — a contract governed by English law, a US regulatory question, a UAE structure — we identify the issue and coordinate independently qualified counsel in that jurisdiction, with roles and responsibilities recorded in writing. Clients get one coordinated team without any pretence that we practise foreign law.
How do overseas law firms typically work with you?
As instructing counsel. The referring firm keeps the client relationship; we act on defined instructions — an Indian-law opinion, a proceeding before an Indian court or tribunal, searches, enforcement — and report to the instructing firm in the format their file requires. Conflict checks run before anything confidential is shared. The detail is on our local-counsel page.
How are fees structured for international matters?
In writing, before work begins. Depending on the matter, fees are fixed per stage, per deliverable or per appearance; court fees, counsel fees and other third-party costs are identified separately. Invoicing accommodates foreign-exchange and withholding requirements the client’s jurisdiction imposes, and nothing outside the agreed scope starts without written confirmation.
Does anyone need to travel to India?
Rarely. Indian civil proceedings can generally be conducted through counsel and, where needed, an attorney-holder under a power of attorney executed at an Indian consulate or apostilled locally. Courts increasingly permit video appearances. Where personal presence is genuinely required — certain registrations, some criminal proceedings — we say so at the scoping stage, not after you have planned around its absence.
Which markets does the firm currently serve?
Active corridors cover the UAE, United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Mauritius, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Australia — each with its own corridor page above. The Indian side of the work is the constant; the corridor determines the enforcement routes, treaty context and commercial patterns involved.
How is confidentiality handled before an engagement is confirmed?
Share only the parties’ names and the general nature of the matter first — enough for a conflict check, nothing more. Detailed documents should follow after the engagement and its terms are confirmed. This protects you: it ensures nothing sensitive is disclosed before professional duties formally attach.
Discuss an India-related matter
Send us the outline — who the parties are, what has happened, and where the Indian side of the problem sits. We will respond with a conflict check, a straight assessment and a written scope.
Send an International Enquiry →