Hammurabi & Solomon Partners has appointed Naresh Arora as Senior Partner and Director - International Desk, entrusting him with its cross-border work across India, the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) jurisdictions.
Arora joins with more than three decades of experience in dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law, regulatory affairs and corporate governance. His career includes senior in-house legal leadership positions at telecom infrastructure companies, alongside work involving commercial litigation, arbitration, transactions and regulatory compliance.
The appointment brings a lawyer with experience advising boards, managing disputes and leading multidisciplinary teams into the firm's international practice. According to the firm's announcement, his mandate will cover cross-border commercial arrangements, international arbitration, infrastructure and investment-related matters, and regulatory issues.
The move follows the addition of Arpita Mukherjee and Tripti Vinni as Senior Partners. Managing Partner Shweta Bharti linked Arora's appointment to the firm's expanding international client relationships and its effort to strengthen support for businesses operating across jurisdictions.
Key Highlights
International leadership: Arora joins as Senior Partner and Director - International Desk, with responsibility for work across India, the Middle East and GCC jurisdictions.
Three decades of experience: His practice spans disputes, corporate and commercial law, regulatory affairs, governance and business risk.
In-house background: He has held senior legal roles at Altius Telecom Infrastructure, ATC Telecom Infrastructure and Viom Networks Limited, and previously chaired DIPA's Legal Committee.
Commercial approach: Arora said legal advice must reflect business realities, drawing on his experience working with companies in senior leadership positions.
Further senior appointments: His arrival follows the firm's addition of Arpita Mukherjee and Tripti Vinni as Senior Partners.
Naresh Arora joins Hammurabi & Solomon Partners as Senior Partner and International Desk Director
Arora's appointment combines a senior partnership role with responsibility for a defined international mandate. As Director - International Desk, he will lead work connecting the firm's Indian practice with commercial, investment and dispute resolution requirements across the Middle East and GCC jurisdictions.
The firm described the appointment as strengthening its leadership and supporting continued growth in cross-border and international work. The announcement places particular emphasis on Arora's corporate leadership experience, rather than presenting the move solely as an addition to its disputes capability. His remit brings transactional, contentious and regulatory work within the same leadership role.
An international desk can serve as a coordination point where a business's legal requirements extend beyond one jurisdiction. Commercial negotiations, investment structures, regulatory approvals and dispute strategy may need to be considered together, even where separate bodies of law govern different aspects of the engagement. The announcement identifies the geographic and practice areas Arora will lead, but does not set out a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction operating structure or announce new overseas offices.
Arora brings more than three decades of experience in disputes, corporate law and regulatory affairs
Arora's experience extends across telecommunications, digital infrastructure, automotive, consumer durables and hospitality. These sectors involve different commercial relationships and regulatory requirements, giving his practice a breadth that reaches beyond a single industry or category of dispute.
The matters identified in the announcement include high-value commercial litigation and arbitration, contractual disputes, mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and risk management. He has also worked on engagement with government and regulatory authorities. The source does not identify individual proceedings, transaction values or particular clients, so the description of his experience remains at the practice and sector level.
These areas frequently overlap within a business's legal function. A transaction may require an assessment of existing litigation, contractual restrictions, intellectual property rights and regulatory obligations before commercial terms can be settled. Restructuring can similarly raise questions about continuing liabilities and the allocation of risk. Arora's stated background spans both the advisory work undertaken before a business decision and the contentious work that may follow when obligations are disputed.
Arora has held senior in-house leadership roles, including Vice President - Legal and Head of Legal Operations / Litigation Head, at Altius Telecom Infrastructure, ATC Telecom Infrastructure and Viom Networks Limited. The announcement does not separately map each designation to an employer or provide a chronology of those appointments.
His responsibilities included managing significant disputes, advising boards and senior management, negotiating commercial arrangements and leading multidisciplinary legal teams. Those functions place legal advice within the decision-making processes of an operating business, where a recommended course may need to account for cost, implementation, continuity and exposure to future claims. They also require coordination between legal teams and the executives responsible for carrying out commercial decisions.
Arora previously served as Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA). That role adds an industry-association dimension to his company-level experience. The announcement does not identify particular policy initiatives or regulatory submissions associated with his tenure, but records the position as part of a career that has included both internal corporate advice and engagement with public authorities.
Arora will lead cross-border work across India, the Middle East and GCC jurisdictions
The geographic scope of Arora's new role covers India, the Middle East and GCC jurisdictions. His responsibility is framed around cross-border work, including the requirements of businesses whose transactions, investments or disputes connect more than one legal system.
For such businesses, identifying the applicable law is only one part of the exercise. Contractual obligations, dispute resolution arrangements, regulatory permissions and the location of assets can each affect the legal assessment. Advice may therefore require coordination across jurisdictions rather than an assumption that a position reached under one country's law will resolve every aspect of a matter.
The firm's announcement specifically links Arora's understanding of international business realities with advice on multi-jurisdictional transactions, investments and disputes. That emphasis suggests an intended connection between legal analysis and commercial execution. It does not, however, establish that identical rules apply across the regions named in his mandate. The relevant legal requirements will depend on the jurisdiction, the nature of the activity and the structure of the particular engagement.
International Desk's focus will include arbitration, infrastructure, investment and regulatory matters
The International Desk's stated focus brings together cross-border commercial arrangements, international arbitration, infrastructure and investment-related matters, and regulatory issues. These are connected areas of practice, particularly where a long-term commercial relationship involves substantial commitments and the possibility of disputes over performance.
In cross-border contracting, choices about governing law, dispute resolution mechanisms and the allocation of responsibilities can have consequences well beyond the signing stage. International arbitration likewise requires attention to the arbitration agreement, the procedural framework and potential enforcement issues. The announcement does not identify particular arbitration institutions, seats or proceedings within Arora's proposed portfolio.
Infrastructure and investment matters may require legal teams to consider commercial documentation alongside approvals, continuing compliance and the treatment of liabilities. Regulatory analysis can therefore affect both the structure of an arrangement and its subsequent operation. Arora's combination of disputes, transactional and in-house experience is relevant to that intersection, although the firm has not announced specific mandates or clients associated with the International Desk appointment.
Arora says legal advice must be commercially grounded and responsive to business realities
On the relationship between legal advice and business decision-making: Arora placed his in-house experience at the centre of his comments on joining the firm. He said the perspective developed while working in senior corporate legal positions would inform his contribution to its international practice.
“Having worked closely with businesses in senior legal leadership roles, I believe legal advice must be commercially grounded and responsive to the realities of business.”
That approach concerns how legal conclusions are translated into decisions a business can implement. Commercially grounded advice still requires a clear assessment of legal obligations and risk; it also needs to explain the available options and their consequences. His previous responsibilities in litigation management, board advice and commercial negotiations provide the professional context for that stated approach.
“I look forward to bringing this perspective to the Firm’s work across India and the Middle East, and supporting clients on complex commercial, regulatory and dispute resolution matters.”
Arora also expressed his intention to contribute to the firm's continued growth. His comments connect that objective with the substance of the work he expects to undertake, rather than identifying numerical expansion targets, new office openings or a timetable for building the desk.
Managing Partner Shweta Bharti links the appointment to the firm's expanding international client relationships
On the firm's cross-border strategy: Managing Partner Shweta Bharti described Arora's appointment in the context of growing international client relationships. Her comments focused both on serving businesses across jurisdictions and on supporting their India-related requirements.
“As our international client relationships continue to grow, we are focused on building a stronger platform to serve businesses across jurisdictions and support their India-related requirements.”
The reference to India-related requirements is significant to the scope of the announcement. An international practice may involve advising on an Indian component of a wider transaction or dispute, as well as coordinating matters with connections outside India. Bharti's statement places the firm's domestic work and its cross-border relationships within the same service strategy.
“Naresh’s international outlook and extensive corporate leadership experience will be instrumental in advancing this vision, deepening client relationships and expanding the Firm’s cross-border presence.”
The statement identifies the qualities the firm expects Arora to bring to that effort. It does not provide figures for international client growth, revenue or mandate volume. The appointment is therefore best understood as a leadership and capability addition within the firm's stated expansion plans, rather than evidence of a quantified change in its international business.
