Shivani Khanwilkar and Saloni Shah have launched Khanwilkar & Shah Associates LLP, a litigation and dispute resolution firm based in Mumbai. The founding partners bring with them a combined track record forged over eight years of working together at DSK Legal and Trilegal.
The firm will focus on real estate and commercial litigation, environmental and regulatory disputes, arbitration, insolvency and company law matters, criminal and white-collar crime, IPR disputes, and family and matrimonial disputes. The launch adds a boutique, partner-led option to Mumbai’s increasingly competitive disputes market.
Education Background and Career Progression
Education
Saloni Shah is a 2015 graduate of the University of Mumbai and holds an LLM from Queen Mary University of London.
Shivani Khanwilkar is an alumna of KC Law College and is currently pursuing an LLM in Criminal Law from the same institution.
Career Journey
Saloni Shah brings close to a decade of disputes experience to the new firm. She spent seven years at DSK Legal before joining Trilegal, where she was designated as Counsel. At Trilegal, she handled a wide range of matters spanning real estate, arbitration, and commercial disputes across the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court, and specialised tribunals including MahaRERA.
Shivani Khanwilkar has more than seven years of litigation experience across real estate, arbitration, white-collar crime, and family law. She served as a Senior Associate at DSK Legal for over five years before moving to Trilegal, where she worked as a Senior Associate for over a year. Her practice has spanned the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court of India, civil courts, and consumer forums.
What the Firm Said
“Clients today are looking for strategic advice, accessibility, accountability and direct partner engagements which is what we propose to deliver at Khanwilkar & Shah Associates LLP. The future belongs to law firms that combine top-tier firm quality advice with quick thinking, speed and accountability. We see ourselves as part of a new generation of emerging Indian law firms that are challenging traditional models with uncompromising legal excellence.”
— The Founders, Khanwilkar & Shah Associates LLP
Strategic Significance
The launch of Khanwilkar & Shah Associates LLP reflects a growing trend of senior disputes lawyers breaking away from large firms to build leaner, partner-led practices. With Shah‘s transactional disputes expertise and Khanwilkar‘s strength in criminal and family law matters, the firm covers an unusually broad disputes spectrum from a single Mumbai base. Their shared institutional history at two of India’s prominent full-service firms positions them to compete directly for mandates that require both depth of expertise and partner accessibility.
For more partner moves and lateral updates, see Inside the Partnership.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is based on the details provided.
