Nisha Kaur Uberoi is a Partner and the Chair of the Competition Law Practice at JSA, leading one of the largest competition law teams in India. She regularly represents clients before the Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), High Court(s) and the Supreme Court of India on full range of competition matters ranging across cartels, abuse of dominance, complex mergers and digital economy issues.
She led her practise at her earlier law firm to become the first Indian competition law practice to be awarded the coveted Regional Firm of the Year – Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa award, at the Global Competition Review (GCR) Awards in 2020. She also led her team to win the Antitrust and Competition Firm of the Year at the Legal500 India Awards in 2024, Competition Law Firm of the Year at the Business World Global Legal Leaders Awards in 2024, Law Firm of the Year – Competition/ Antitrust at the ASSOCHAM National Legal Excellence Awards in 2023.
Nisha is currently leading the defense in the alleged cement cartel case, involving India’s highest penalty of INR 6,317 crores where she is representing UltraTech, Century and Binani, Aditya Birla companies.
Nisha is trusted advisor to several conglomerates and global majors including Aditya Birla, Apple, Schneider Electric, GIC, Holcim Group, Ola and Naspers.
Nisha was recognized as global ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ at the GCR Awards in 2021 (the first and only Asian to win this award) in recognition of her leading complex M&A transactions aggregating over USD 150 billion, including the USD 50 billion merger of Peugeot and Fiat and USD 8.3 billion acquisition of Wabco by ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Nisha has advised on several Phase II merger reviews, including advising Schneider Electric and Temasek on their USD 2.1 billion acquisition of Larsen & Toubro’s electric and automation business. This is India’s first and only matter, where the CCI accepted purely behavioural remedies in a Phase-II merger review (without divestiture). She also led PayU’s proposed acquisition of BillDesk, a USD 4.7 billion acquisition, which remains the only instance ever of the CCI approving a transaction unconditionally without remedies after issuing a show cause notice.
Nisha has received multiple accolades including Lawyer of the Year – Competition and Antitrust laws, Legal Era, Women Lawyer of the Year, ASSOCHAM National Legal Excellence Awards, ALB Private Practitioner of the Year and India & Middle East, ALB Woman Lawyer of the Year. She was also named ‘Competition Lawyer of the Year’ at the Legal Era Awards and recognized as ‘Woman Lawyer of the Year’ at the ALB India Law Firms Awards.
She is internationally recognized as one of India’s leading competition lawyers, including being recognized by Chambers (Band 1), Who’s Who Legal Thought Leaders in Competition, Who’s Who Legal: Competition, IFLR 1000, Asia Law Leading Lawyers and Euromoney Women in Business. Nisha has also featured in the ALB Top 15 Women Lawyers in Asia, GCR 100 Women in Antitrust, as well in the A-List of India’s top 100 lawyers by the India Business Law Journal and Indian Corporate Counsel Association. Nisha has also recently featured in the Top 100 Women in Litigation at the Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific Awards 2024.
She has been featured by Outlook as one of the “Women Architects in India” in 2024 as well as “Women Redefining Leadership” in 2022. She has also been featured in the list of “Most Influential Women in Law 2024 – Legacy Builders” by BW Legal World. Business Today and Fortune have also featured her amongst the most Inspirational Women Leaders in India.
Nisha is an Antitrust Committee Officer for the International Bar Association. She was also part of the Working Group of the Competition Law Review Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India to recommend changes to the competition law regime in India. She also serves as a member of the American Bar Association Cartel Workforce. Nisha currently serves as India’s Non- Governmental Advisor for the International Competition Network (ICN).
Chambers 2019:
“Practice head Nisha Uberoi commands a healthy respect among her peers, while clients pay her extensive tribute for her solid command of subject matter, absolute knowledge of the regulatory scene and fine eye for detail and execution.”
“Such qualities, applied in high-profile contentious and transactional assignments, combine to make her “one of the most prominent names at the competition law Bar.”
Who’s Who Legal 2022:
“Nisha is at the forefront of competition law in India and is known for her handling of complex merger control mandates”;
“She is one of the very best competition law experts in India”; and
“A market leader for contentious and non- contentious matters.”
Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide 2023
“Great experience and expertise. Very high reputation in competition law matters.”
India Business Law Journal 2019
“I can say without any hesitation that Nisha is the best antitrust lawyer in the country. I worked very closely with her in my previous organisations and it was a great experience. I keep telling my peers in other organisations that if you are involved in an antitrust matter, please work with her, because you don’t want her on the opposite side.”
Awards and Recognition
- GCR, ‘Dealmaker of the Year’ 2021
- Legal Era 2024, Lawyer of the Year – Competition and Antitrust laws
- ASSOCHAM, Women Lawyer of the Year
- Who’s Who Legal, Thought Leaders in Competition
- Outlook, Women Architects in India, 2024
- BW Legal World, Most Influential Women in Law 2024 – Legacy Builders
Memberships
- Antitrust Committee Officer, International Bar Association.
- Working Group of the Competition Law Review Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India
- Member, American Bar Association Cartel Workforce
- India’s Non- Governmental Advisor for the International Competition Network
Publications
- What the overhaul of India’s merger control regime means, Mint
- Don’t fix if it’s not broke, Financial Express
- India: Nurturing Competition in a Rapidly Evolving Digital
- Space – Global Competition Review, Digital Markets Guide – Third Edition
- India: private practice perspective – Global Competition Review, Enforcers Hub
Education
- B.A. LLB (Hons.), National Law School of India University, Bangalore
- LL.M. (Corporate & Financial Services Laws), National University of Singapore
Languages
- English
- Hindi
