Ryna Karani

ALMT Legal is a dynamic and progressive full-service Indian law firm that provides high quality Indian law and regulatory expertise. With approximately 70 lawyers and 20 partners across offices in strategic commercial centres of Mumbai and Bangalore, ALMT Legal has an established reputation as one of India’s top bracket firms. ALMT Legal’s practice areas encompass all aspects of Indian law and regulations ranging from corporate and commercial to tax, employment, dispute resolution, intellectual property, shipping, aviation and even immigration laws.

We realise that success is dependent on efficient, cost effective and timely services. Easy and quick access to top quality service providers is crucial for clients and we strive to achieve this.

We also pride ourselves in providing a practical and commercially sound approach to solving business issues to overcome the complex commercial, regulatory, legal, and technical issues, characteristic of doing business in India. Maintaining relationships with each client and ensuring that our rigorous standards are maintained in all matters, large or small, is the culture at ALMT Legal.  We ensure that a dedicated partner handles each matter.

In cities where we do not have our own offices and cannot for any reason fully handle the matter remotely, we rely on a responsible, dedicated and handpicked group of correspondents that enables us to service client requirements on the same basis and with the same quality assurance that ALMT Legal is proud to offer. At all times we retain the care, control and supervision of all matters referred to any correspondent offices that act under our guidance and instruction.

Asialaw Profiles 2021 Edition recommends ALMT Legal for capital markets, construction, corporate and M&A, energy, infrastructure, labour and employment, private equity, real estate, and tax. 2021 Corporate Intl Global Awards has awarded ALMT Legal as ‘Employment Law Firm of the Year in India - 2021’ and ‘Cross Border Tax Law Firm of the Year in India - 2021’. 2020 Global Law Experts Awards has awarded ALMT Legal as ‘Employment Law Firm of the Year in India – 2020' and ‘Cross Border Tax Law Firm of the Year in India – 2020'. Asian Legal Business 2020 has recognised ALMT Legal for Intellectual Property (Patents) and M&A. Asia Pacific Legal 500 2020 Edition has recommended several of our partners and designated some as leading lawyers in various practice areas such as  banking and finance, capital markets, corporate & M&A, dispute resolution, investment funds, labour and employment, real estate & construction, shipping, technology, media & telecoms (TMT) and tax. India Business Law Journal Award 2019 and 2020 has awarded ALMT Legal award-winning law firm India for ‘Labour and Employment’ and ‘Shipping and Maritime’. 

Our Team

ALMT Legal partners come from diverse backgrounds, bringing together a wealth of legal, business, and cultural experiences.

All our lawyers have first-hand knowledge and experience of the Indian market and are duly qualified Indian advocates with a right of audience throughout India. We also have lawyers admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales, who enrich our talent pool and bring their experience in working with international firms to ALMT Legal.

Associates at every level at ALMT Legal are provided a vibrant and challenging environment in which to develop and expand the skills and expertise that go a long way in assisting our clients.

Our member partners Aliff Fazelbhoy and Ryna Karani have been recognised as leading lawyers by various publications.  Most recently, Aliff Fazelbhoy was featured in Asian Legal Business magazine’s 'A-List of India's Super 50 Lawyers in 2020’. Asia Law Profiles 2021 Edition has recognised Aliff as ‘Distinguished Practitioner’ for Labour and Employment and Corporate M&A 

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Ryna is an equity partner of the Firm. When Ryna joined ALMT Legal in November 2006 she bought with her a wealth of experience and expertise to the Firm.

Ryna heads the banking & finance team in the Firm which includes advising on both rupee loans and external commercial borrowings, structured finance, restructuring, consortium finance, project finance, including drafting and negotiating the agreements, security and other related documents on a full range of finance transactions including cross border transactions.

For some time now Ryna has been involved in a variety of insolvency matters and is jointly developing and growing the Firm’s insolvency practice.

Ryna is also a trained corporate/commercial lawyer and has vast experience in advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity and investment funds. She advises clients on a full range of corporate transactions including cross border transactions. She has assisted several international clients in establishing their presence in India either as wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, branch or representative offices.

Besides her corporate practice, Ryna advises clients on infrastructure projects including submission and preparation of RFPs, finalizing tenders, drafting and/or negotiating concession agreements and related documents. She also advises on general corporate matters, commercial contracts and real estate matters.

Asia Pacific Legal 500 has recommended Ryna for Banking & Finance. Chambers & Partners has ranked Ryna for Corporate/M&A. IFLR1000 recognises Ryna as ‘Highly Regarded Lawyer’ for Banking, Private Equity, M&A and Real Estate Acquisitions in its 2021 and 2020 Edition.

Recent Insolvency work: 

• Advised a foreign investor interested in acquiring a company in India through one of Reserve Bank of India’s restructuring schemes and advising on the impact to the target company and the deal if the company was brought under the preview of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code  2016 (“IBC”).

• Advised independent directors of a listed company under the IBC process on their role, obligations and liability. 

• Advising the acquisition of strategic assets of a listed company under the IBC process prior to completion of decision on a resolution process.

• Advising a company interested in making a bid for acquisition of a target company through the IBC process.

Other recent Banking and Finance and miscellaneous transactions:

• Regularly advise international branches of an Indian multinational public sector bank in Bahrain, Japan, London and Frankfurt in multiple lending transactions under India’s external commercial borrowing regulations.

• Advised Japanese bank’s Singapore branch on its lending to company which manufactures chemicals and textiles. This involved advising, drafting and negotiating of a loan agreement, security agent agreement, hypothecation deed, mortgage deed and other ancillary documents.

• Regularly advise a UAE based private bank a variety of its India transactions, including ECBs, guarantees and security creation.

• Regularly represent a Trustee Services company and consortium of  lenders on creation of security for the various facilities availed by companies including in relation to  the security documents such as hypothecation deed, security trustee agreement, inter- creditor agreement, etc.

• Represented an Indian private commercial bank on its lending to leading real estate group for construction of a mall in Hyderabad. The scope of work involved advising on finalizing acceptable title search reports so as to protect its interests, reviewing and marking up the agreement of appointment of security trustee, drafting and negotiating of loan agreement and security documents such as mortgage deed, hypothecation deed, pledge agreement, inter-creditor agreement and other undertakings and declarations. This deal was successfully completed in a timely manner which helped the borrower acquire finance that it urgently needed for its business and projects.

• Represented a leading private bank  lending to logistics service company for purchase of vessel in Panama, including guiding and coordinating the transaction between English and Panama counsel.

Professional appointments and activities

• Member of the Bar Council of Maharashta & Goa

• Member of the Bomaby Bar Association

• Member of the Society of Women Lawyers – India

• Member of the India Business Group

• Independent director on the board of several listed and unlisted companies

Qualifications

• B.A– 1991 University of Bombay

• LLB – 1994 University of Bombay

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