In yet another significant boost to its strong Media & Entertainment (M & E) practice, Naik Naik & Co has hired Lavin Hirani as an Associate Partner. Lavin, a 2007 Law Graduate from University of Mumbai and a post graduate from University of Manchester has been a part of Naik Naik & Co in the formative years of his career. He has had stints at Hariani and Company and was also the Head of Legal Affairs at Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd from 2015 where he also acted as a personal legal advisor to Mr. Shahrukh Khan. 

The firm has one of the largest teams in the M & E space and is widely recognized for the gamut of services that it offers within the domain which includes Media Convergence, Internet of Things (IoT) and content-related issues for digital and OTT broadcasting platforms. It’s Partners who are specialists in this space are focused to provide highly skilled and innovative service offerings to their clients. Equity Partner, Madhu Gadodia is an expert in the field of IP and her practice covers not only copyright but also all areas covered under IP including trademarks and patents. She has an extensive experience in handling multiple portfolios of work scattered across various facets of established and emerging new media including gaming. Abha Shah, who was promoted as an Equity Partner this year, has an excellent track record in the transactional side of M & E practice. Her work area covers the entire horizon of the sector including Films, Television, Web Series, OTT Platforms, Technology, Theatre & Performing Arts, Gaming, and Advertising & Public Relations. Madhu spearheads the contentious IP practice in the firm and jointly spearheads the non-contentious domain with Abha. Vasundhara Kuthiala who joined as an Associate Partner in April this year has added a new dimension to the practice owing to her proficiency in handling legal contract and allied solution services suite for the M & E sector given her prior work experience with Bimal Parekh & Co and as an in-house Counsel at DoIT Talent Ventures (India) Private Limited and KWAN. Lavin Hirani, who is the second Associate Partner to join the firm within a span of two months, bringing vast industry experience enabling him to holistically advise on legal aspects with commercial understanding of market forces that affect the M & E sector.

Last year the firm hired Gautam K.M. as a Manager, who was previously working with Star India Pvt Ltd as Manager Legal – English Entertainment and Star Bharat Content Acquisition Team. The firm also recently hired Aparna Kalluri Choraria as a Principal Associate who was formerly working as a Senior Manager Legal (Distribution) at Star India Pvt Ltd. 

With 2 Equity Partners, 2 Associate Partners and a team of about 20 Lawyers at different levels of hierarchy, Naik Naik & Co has yet again effectively demonstrated its focus on offering bespoke and commercially effective solutions to clients in the M & E sector.

Sharing his vision for the firm’s TMT practice, Ameet B Naik, Founder and Managing Partner said, “It is no secret that this practice is very close to my heart. We ventured into this space much before anyone else and over the years we have gained specialization in all verticals within the sector. We have grown far and beyond the traditional services into newer and emerging areas like digital platforms, e-commerce, content acquisition and IP advisory. The team is extremely dynamic and deeply entrenched in this domain and I am confident that we will continue to deliver high quality services to our clients.”