Divya Prasad is a dual qualified lawyer, having been called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in 2005 and to the Bar in India by being admitted as an advocate on the rolls of the Karnataka State Bar Council in 2008. She has over 13 years of experience.
She began her career in legal practice, working with leading Indian law firms such as AZB & Partners and Wadia Ghandy, on a wide array of matters spanning different fields of law ranging from advising on multi-million dollar mergers and acquisitions to opining on employment, property and trust related matters. She has advised clients as diverse as fortune 500 companies, multinational banks, investment funds, microfinance institutions, hospitals and individuals.
A conscious decision to pursue more socially relevant work led her to Geneva, where she had the opportunity to work within the UN system; in intergovernmental organisations and nongovernmental organisations; as an advisor to permanent country missions to the UN based in Geneva; and as an independent consultant including on projects funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Her work in Geneva focussed on human rights issues (including notably using human rights to counter corruption; and business and human rights issues) as well as trade and development related issues (including inter alia, fisheries subsidies, an issue in respect of which she had the opportunity to participate in international negotiations in the WTO context). Following a rewarding 5 year stint in Geneva, she returned to India where her desire to resume legal practice led her to collaborate with fellow partner, Ramesh Thygarajan to establish Lex Astra Partners and Associates.
She holds a Master of Law degree (with a specialisation in International Commercial Law) from the University of Cambridge, U.K; an LLM in International Law (focussing on human rights issues) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; and an LLB (hons.) degree in Law with Economics from the University of Buckingham, UK.
Ramesh Thyagarajan was associated with an independent legal practitioner, prior to joining Universal Legal (UL), where he worked for 13 years. He served as an Equity Partner in UL for nearly 7 years prior to taking the decision to establish independent practice. He has over 20 years of experience in total.
He has expertise in diverse areas of law including Property Law, Contract Law, Company Law, Consumer Law, Labour Laws and Intellectual Property Rights Law.
His extensive experience in property related matters covers due diligence of properties, drafting, negotiating and vetting of Joint Development Agreements, Sharing Agreements, Agreements to Sell, Sale Deeds, LOIs, Leave and License Agreements, Lease Deeds (including registration of such deeds with the jurisdictional Sub Registrar), Amenities Agreements, Revenue Sharing Agreements, Facilities Agreements and other ancillary & miscellaneous agreements for a multitude of clients in diverse sectors including the IT sector, Real estate sector, Banking sector, Retail sector and Food & Beverage sector amongst others
His corporate experience includes handling several Mergers and Acquisitions transactions for major clients.
He has in-depth knowledge of litigation matters involving Civil and Criminal Law and has represented clients in all Courts, Tribunals and Forums across Karnataka.
He also has a wealth of experience in labour related matters and has advised extensively on various aspects of employment law ranging from routine labour compliances to issues of sexual harassment. He has also handled the Indian Immigration formalities of some multinational concerns.
His desire to develop an independent legal practice led him to work towards establishing Lex Astra Partners and Associates with fellow partner, Divya Prasad.