About Nilaya Legal
Founded in 2021, Nilaya Legal is a boutique law firm dedicated to advising startups, venture capital funds, and private equity investors across India. Our practice is built on a simple philosophy of focus drives excellence. By concentrating exclusively on private equity and venture capital transactions, we bring deep domain expertise, commercial pragmatism, and sector-specific insight to every mandate. We partner with founders and investors at every stage of the business lifecycle, delivering legal solutions that are commercially aligned and strategically informed.
Founded with a focused PE & VC mandate
Years combined PE & VC transaction experience
Full investment lifecycle coverage
Why We Built a Boutique Investment Focused Law Firm?
At Nilaya Legal, we believe that exceptional legal advice comes from focus, accessibility, and deep involvement. While many private equity and venture capital practices operate within large full-service firms, we chose a different path. One designed specifically around the needs of investors, funds, founders, and high-growth businesses.
Our model is intentionally partner-led. The lawyer who understands your objectives, advises on strategy, structures your transaction, and negotiates key terms remains closely involved throughout the engagement. This direct involvement enables us to provide commercially informed advice, respond quickly to evolving situations, and maintain a level of continuity that clients value during critical transactions.
We have deliberately built Nilaya Legal as a specialist boutique practice. Our size allows us to remain agile, responsive, and deeply invested in every mandate we undertake. We are committed to maintaining a focused practice that delivers senior-level attention, practical solutions, and long-term relationships built on trust.
The Future We Envision
Our vision is grounded in two principles: legal excellence and unwavering integrity. Our aim is not simply to solve the problem in front of you, but to become the firm you call first when anything legal, regulatory or commercial arises.
We build relationships on trust, give advice that is both legally sound and commercially usable, and treat every client’s business as something we are invested in, not just instructed on.
Sohini Mandal
Founder & Managing Partner
Sohini Mandal
Founder & Managing Partner, Nilaya Legal
Nilaya Legal was founded by Sohini Mandal, a private equity and venture capital lawyer with over a decade of experience specializing in the practice areas of corporate & commercial, private equity & venture capital, intellectual property, media & technology. Sohini assists numerous high impact technology companies, corporates and high growth startups and advises on disruptive business models, supporting through various stages of growth, governance and exits, both in and outside India. She has represented both companies and investors in various marquee deals across stages of seed, angel and institutional rounds of equity as well as venture debt investments.
Having the combined exposure of being an in-house counsel and thereafter being associated with mid-tier firms in the PE/VC space, Sohini is uniquely positioned to understand and advise on various general corporate and strategic matters, startup matters, contractual matters, risk assessment and corporate arbitration and mediation matters.
An Overview of Excellence
Founded with a focused PE & VC mandate
Years combined PE & VC transaction experience
Full investment lifecycle coverage
Our Accolades
Ready to Talk? Reach Our PE & VC Team
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