Counsel grounded
in precision and
commercial reality.

Dr. Lalkumar Somarajan is the Founder and Senior Partner of Ashwood Legal LLP. He has over 40 years of professional experience across legal practice, corporate management, compliance, arbitration and mediation in India, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

His practice covers international and commercial arbitration, mediation, negotiated settlement, online dispute resolution, and commercial disputes and advisory work, with experience of both common law and civil law jurisdictions.

Dr. Lalkumar is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), UK, Senior Fellow of the Bali International Arbitration & Mediation Centre (SFBIAMC), Indonesia, Fellow of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (FAIADR), Malaysia, and FAP-KFCRI, India. He is an Accredited Arbitrator with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA), and other arbitration, mediation and ODR institutions around the world.

He has sat as arbitrator in proceedings administered by the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM), including proceedings concluding in final awards. As an in-house legal adviser, he has also supported institutional arbitrations conducted under the LCIA and SIAC rules.

His in-house experience includes advising management on commercial transactions, contractual risk, compliance, procurement, supply-chain, vendor and subcontracting arrangements, and dispute strategy. His work extends to maritime law in the context of ports, shipping, logistics and international trade, and to advising companies on the implementation of ESG and compliance frameworks.

In addition to his doctorate in law, he holds qualifications in business law, taxation, ADR and executive management. At the firm, he leads its arbitration, maritime and ADR work.

Abhijit Lal is the Managing Partner of Ashwood Legal LLP, with over nine years of experience in commercial arbitration, construction disputes and litigation.

His practice focuses on commercial and infrastructure disputes. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of India and the Delhi High Court in infrastructure and arbitration matters, including the landmark ONGC v. Afcons Gunanusa JV, in which the Supreme Court considered the fixing of arbitrators’ fees in ad hoc arbitration.

He holds an LL.M. from Queen Mary University of London, awarded with High Merit, with a focus on comparative and international dispute resolution. He is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK, an Associate Member of the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Malaysia, a Certified Mediator with the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, and a Certified Arbitrator with IIAM.

At the firm, he leads its construction, infrastructure and commercial arbitration work.

Abhikrishna Lal is a Designated Partner of Ashwood Legal LLP. Her practice covers corporate litigation, insolvency and commercial litigation.

She appears before the National Company Law Tribunal and High Courts in oppression and mismanagement matters, proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, and commercial disputes, and advises on corporate and commercial matters.

Her work involves assessing the commercial context of a dispute, identifying legal and procedural risk, and developing strategy for litigation and insolvency proceedings.

At the firm, she leads its insolvency, corporate litigation and commercial litigation work and contributes to the firm’s institutional development.