Neela is a senior lawyer, teacher, writer, and public speaker with over two decades of experience in the legal profession, including seven years as an equity partner at Samvad Partners. Her professional and teaching expertise lie in venture capital and private equity, private M&A, startups, entrepreneurship and foreign exchange regulation. She has been named in India Business Law Journal’s A-List of India’s Top 100 Lawyers 2026. Neela has been recognised by leading legal directories annually since 2013, including the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners (Global and Asia-Pacific).

Over the course of her career, Neela has advised domestic and international VC/PE funds, as well as startup founders, at all stages of the investment lifecycle, in both domestic and cross-border transactions. She is also deeply interested in the health and wellbeing of lawyers, the experience of women in the legal profession, and in preparing young lawyers to be both technically excellent and equipped with the human skills needed to build a sustainable life in the law.

Neela received her B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law in 2005 and LL.M. from the University of Michigan Law School in 2008.

She can be reached at .