Two weeks ago I wrote about NASABA 2006 National Convention. Gaytri D. Kachroo is one the lawyers who spoke about Doing Business in South Asia in the convention. I took her interview through email in which she talked about doing business in South Asia as well as about North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA). I hope you enjoy what Gaytri D. Kachroo has said below:
1. About my career:
I just made partner in the corporate department at Donovan Hatem LLP, a 79 attorney law firm in Boston, MA with offices in NY, NY as well. Prior to this I have been in my own cross border practice representing Indian businesses in transactions and offices in Canada, the US and India, within the BPO, IT development, Biotech, Direct marketing, and Real Estate sectors.
I have primarily acted as outside general counsel to emerging companies in the Technology and Health Care sectors; as well as to Architectural, Engineering, and Building Firms. I have represented both private and public companies in equity and contractual joint ventures; in sales, distribution and marketing arrangements for American, Canadian, French, and Indian companies; in Indian and Canadian outsourcing, IT development, direct marketing for U.S. companies; in mergers and acquisitions involving Canadian, U.S. and Indian companies.
My prior experience has also included mergers and acquisitions work at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in New York, and within general corporate law at Fraser, Milner, Casgrain in Montreal. I have clerked for the Massachusetts Appeals Court including for the Honorable Gerald Gillerman.
I was born in Srinagar, Kashmir and have obtained my B.A. at Wellesley College, a LLL (license en droit) and LLB. (common law degree) at the University of Ottawa in Canada, and an LLM at McGill University. More recently, I have obtained my Masters and Doctorate in Law at the Harvard Law School.
I have recently written an article entitled: "Outsourcing to India: Transnational Law and Culture," and I will be teaching International Business Transactions at the Southern New England School of Law.
My chief interest is in advising and connecting Indian businesses with US. and Canadian business communities and supporting them however I can as well as assisting US business with their entree into the Indian market.
2. Obstacles for US businesses:
The regulatory environment in India is evolving...there is a new precedent set every month in the courts...it is very difficult for US
companies to understand the evolving environment since they expect rules to be standardized in the way they may be in the US. In an emerging market, this is not the likely pattern... as things are rapidly shifting.
3. The Benefit of South Asian Lawyers for doing business in India:
companies to understand the evolving environment since they expect rules to be standardized in the way they may be in the US. In an emerging market, this is not the likely pattern... as things are rapidly shifting.
3. The Benefit of South Asian Lawyers for doing business in India:
Lawyers of Indian origin, or at least with a great deal of knowledge and familiarity with India, are more able to communicate with the local authorities both legal and government and provide a definitive answer even when it is not written down...this is particularly difficult for a
foreigner to pronounce or elicit from local authorities.
foreigner to pronounce or elicit from local authorities.
NASABA as an organization has just put together a wonderful and efficacious convention to bring together and help South Asian lawyers network to provide the best possible service to Indian Businesses in the US. I am developing a NASABA Business Law Committee to detail the initiatives and joint efforts of the transactional attorneys and business consultants who all want to work within this area of off-shore strategy and transactions to represent our common front and efforts in this regard.
4. Investing in India:
Investing in India entails large upfront cash outlays in which repatriation has to be clearly detailed, the tax regime understood and
the limits on foreign ownership also adhered to..outsourcing has larger legal issues from the outsourcing nation rather than the
outsourced nation....
the limits on foreign ownership also adhered to..outsourcing has larger legal issues from the outsourcing nation rather than the
outsourced nation....
Myself as moderator and guide, along with Suresh Sharma, Dorothy Thomas, Waajid Sidiqqui and Roopa Doraswamy presented on a panel entitled: Doing Business in South Asia. The panel was very well attended and received and detailed both the legal, business, political issues facing Indians wishing to transact with US companies, within the domestic and international contexts, as well as for US Companies wishing to infiltrate the Indian market. Ken Cutshaw, Honorary Consul for India in the US. had put the stellar panel together.
It's lucky for India to have an evolving regulatory rules. Here, regulations are so standardized and stagnated that some of them are very outmoded and are no longer applicable in the modern times.
Posted by: nepspeed82 | June 20, 2006 2:42 PM | Permalink to Comment