Expertise

Mrinali’s experience includes acting for individuals, states and corporations across sectors such as pharmaceuticals, hospitality, oil and gas, information technology and construction. She has a keen interest in public law and human rights, which she channels by maintaining an active pro-bono practice.

Career

Mrinali has worked with leading Global Arbitration Review (GAR)-recognised law firms in India and London. She has an undergraduate degree from the National Law School of India University and a Masters in Law from the University of Cambridge, where she received a full scholarship.

Accreditations and Memberships

Editor, Kluwer Arbitration Blog

Experience

• Acting for PETRONAS in an ICSID arbitration under South Sudan’s Investment Promotion Act (IPA). The dispute arose from South Sudan’s refusal to consent to the sale of PETRONAS’s assets to a third-party, in breach of the right-to-use protections under the IPA.
• Acting for shareholders in a London-seated LCIA arbitration involving a family-owned global conglomerate.
• Successfully representing a leading Korean power company in a Singapore-seated SIAC arbitration. The dispute arose from wrongful termination and repudiatory breach of a joint venture agreement for the construction of a power plant in Maharashtra.
• Representing Vedanta in an India-seated ad-hoc arbitration against Gujarat Gas Limited. The dispute involved issues regarding the quantity of associated natural gas supplied under gas supply contracts and the exercise of price revision.
• Successfully representing a leading hotel operator in a Singapore-seated SIAC arbitration arising from a hotel management agreement with a hotel owner. The dispute concerned losses arising from the closure of hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic and the failure to meet annual performance standards.
• Successfully representing Hindustan Oil Exploration Company in an appeal before the Delhi High Court. The dispute arose from a production sharing agreement (PSA) and concerned liquidated damages imposed for an alleged failure to meet performance targets.
• Advising a state-owned oil corporation regarding attachment proceedings brought by Cairn Energy Plc to enforce an investment arbitration award against the Republic of India in New York.

Publications and Media

• 2024 Year in Review Arbitration in India – Reset or Rewind, Kluwer Arbitration Blog
• All’s (not) well that ends well: the challenging in enforcing domestic awards before Indian courts, Scconline (2023)
• Delhi High Court refuses to set aside an arbitral award in favour of Reliance Industries (Union of India v Reliance Industries), Lexis PSL (2023).

Personal

I enjoy all forms of movement, having trained in Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form. I am passionate about food history and studying food culture wherever I travel.