Integrity Across Jurisdictions: Shabbir S. Wakhariya’s Journey in Cross-Border Corporate Law

As global companies expand into new markets, opportunity is often accompanied by regulatory complexity. India, in particular, presents a dynamic investment landscape shaped by evolving policies, sector-specific rules, and procedural nuances. For international corporations entering the country, legal guidance requires more than technical fluency. It calls for a practitioner who understands both the letter of Indian law and the expectations of Western boardrooms.

Wakhariya & Wakhariya is an international law firm established in 1998, with offices in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, and New York. The firm represents multinational corporations and international investors conducting business in India, advising on cross-border transactions, regulatory compliance, project finance, corporate structuring, telecommunications, infrastructure, energy, hospitality, and dispute resolution. Its work often involves guiding foreign general counsel through India’s legal and regulatory frameworks while coordinating seamlessly with overseas businesses.

Wakhariya’s path into law was shaped early. He is a second-generation lawyer whose father practiced in Mumbai with a firm whose history dates back to the colonial era. “I was told that if I pursued law, I would be able to serve the community,” he says. “That idea stayed with me.” After completing his undergraduate legal studies in India, he pursued a master’s degree in the United States, seeking broader exposure and deeper knowledge.

What followed was not a calculated international strategy, but what he explains as a natural progression. He joined one of the major New York law firms in the early 1990s, just as India began liberalizing its economy. As foreign investment into India increased, his firm’s clients required India-specific insight across departments, from litigation to project finance, tax, and labor. “I was pulled into anything that had an India component,” he says. “That experience gave me exposure across industries and practice areas.” 

At age 34, he was made partner, one of the youngest in the firm’s history at the time. Soon after, he returned to Mumbai and founded Wakhariya & Wakhariya alongside his father. The firm’s early credibility was anchored in his father’s longstanding reputation within Mumbai’s legal community, but its growth, according to Wakhariya, was driven by relationships. “We never built this practice through aggressive marketing,” he notes. “Work came because clients trusted that we would handle their matters with care and foresight.”

Over the decades, the firm has advised multinational corporations in sectors including aviation, energy, telecommunications, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure. Many engagements arise through referrals from former colleagues, international law firms, and in-house counsel who seek counsel capable of navigating India’s regulatory landscape while communicating in a style familiar to Western executives. “It’s not just about language,” he explains. “It’s about mindset alignment and understanding how decisions are evaluated at the board level.”

Integrity remains central to his philosophy. Excellence and integrity in practice became the firm’s guiding principles. He explains a proactive approach, anticipating issues rather than reacting to them, and emphasizes responsiveness. “Clients should not have to remind their lawyer,” he says. “Our responsibility is to stay ahead.”

Alongside corporate representation, Wakhariya devotes significant time to pro bono advisory work within his community, assisting families and small businesses with organizational and dispute matters. For him, this balance reflects the original motivation that led him into law. “Service was never separate from professional success,” he explains.

Looking ahead, the firm has begun expanding its footprint into East Africa and the United Arab Emirates. In a significant step toward formalizing that presence, the firm signed an affiliation arrangement with a law firm in Nairobi, Kenya, while also soft-launching its operations in Dubai. His engagement in Kenya, where he advised on the development of a university project involving U.S. consultants under English common law frameworks, reinforced the relevance of cross-border capability. “We go where opportunity emerges,” he says. “But the foundation remains the same, understanding different legal systems and helping clients navigate them with clarity.”

After more than three decades in practice, Wakhariya maintains that the work still carries purpose. “I still look forward to the problems clients bring each morning,” he says. “The law, when practiced thoughtfully, is about enabling progress.”

As the third generation of his family steps into the profession, Wakhariya views the firm’s future not as expansion for its own sake, but as continuity of purpose. The cross-border bridge he built, linking international businesses to India’s legal and regulatory landscape, now stretches across jurisdictions, industries, and communities, grounded in the same commitment to service and integrity that shaped its foundation. 

“The law is not just about transactions,” he says. “It is about trust. If clients trust you to carry their responsibility as carefully as your own, then you have built something that will endure.”