Samuel Mani is a founding partner of Mani Chengappa & Mathur. A graduate of the National Law School of India University (Class of 1998), Samuel specialises in advising clients on technology and outsourcing transactions, privacy and data protection matters, general commercial transactions, early stage/growth capital and other start-up related matters, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, and dispute resolution. He has extensive experience in running complex high-stake matters but is equally comfortable assisting an entrepreneur in putting a business together. His advice draws extensively on his many years of experience as a business leader.
Recent transactions include advising multiple Indian banks on procurement of technology as well as data security and privacy, advising India’s leading payment and settlement system provider on commercial and procurement matters, advising multiple international clients on Indian privacy and data protection laws, data transfer impact assessments for various multi-national clients considering new technology and data transfer initiatives with an Indian component, advising SaaS companies on licensing and go to market strategies for both the Indian and overseas markets, advising multiple fin-tech companies on the fin tech regulatory system and potential go-to-market models, over 50 early stage/growth capital transactions for either investors or investees, establishing the legal framework for an information technology accelerator, advising a major international bank on global outsourcing templates, advising clients on cyber-insurance coverage related matters, and advising a small group of HNIs on their angel investments in Indian start-ups.
Prior to founding the firm, Samuel was the global Head of Legal for Infosys Limited and all of its subsidiaries where he had overall responsibility for all legal affairs of the Infosys group with additional responsibility for Infosys’ privacy/data protection office and its liability insurance program. He was the primary lawyer at Infosys for a large part of its growth from 700 million dollars per annum to 7 billion dollars per annum. Samuel has also served as a legal advisor to Reliance Industries Limited where he worked primarily in the telecommunications space.
Samuel has been recognized a leading practitioner in the Indian TMT space by Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific and Who’s Who Legal from 2016 to 2019. In September 2010, Lex Witness Magazine named Samuel to its Hall of Fame as one of the top 50 people who are shaping the legal landscape of modern India.
He is also a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on a variety of topics including technology and the law, insurance, and mediation/dispute resolution. Most notably, Samuel delivered the Annual Lecture to the Society for Computers and Law in 2010 in London, England.
Education
National Law School of India University: BA LLB (Hons) – 1998
University of Essex, England: LLM with Distinction in International Trade Law – 2000
Stanford University Graduate School of Business: Stanford Ignite Certificate Program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation – 2013.