Shweta Shroff Chopra
Shweta Shroff Chopra is a partner in the Firm’s Competition Law Practice and has over 18 years’ experience in advising on corporate and competition law matters.
Shweta has been practicing competition law since its early days in India, having been involved in several high-profile cases relating to cartels, abuse of dominance and merger control. Shweta’s clients include prominent names such as Meta (formerly Facebook), WhatsApp, Temasek, Trian Partners, Reliance Retail, Walmart, JK Group, Maruti Suzuki, PVR Cinemas and Nestle S.A.
Shweta’s practice is a combination of merger control and enforcement. On the merger control front, Shweta has significant experience across industries, and is well regarded for her practical and commercially sound advice. She has successfully obtained unconditional Phase I merger clearances from the CCI for various big-ticket global and Indian transactions, including Reliance Retail’s proposed acquisition of Future Group’s retail & wholesale and logistics & warehousing businesses, Walmart’s acquisition of a majority stake in Flipkart and Vodafone India in its merger with Idea Cellular. Shweta has also been involved in seminal Phase II merger clearances in India, including in relation to acquisition of Larsen & Toubro’s electrical & automation business by Schneider Electric, Holcim Ltd in its “merger of equals” with Lafarge S. A. and PVR’s acquisition of DT Cinemas. Shweta represented CA Magnum Holdings in relation to their acquisition of majority shareholding in Hexaware Technologies Limited, which is a seminal case in relation to treatment of vertical overlaps in the IT / ITES space. She also represented Delhivery in relation to its transaction with FedEx, where FedEx exited its Indian business and acquired a stake in Delhivery, which has since filed for an IPO. Shweta also acted for Flipkart (a subsidiary of Walmart) in its commercial arrangements and acquisition of a minority stake in Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd. Recently, she helped Trian Fund Management secure an approval through the green channel route for appointment of its representative on the board of Unilever.
On the enforcement front, Shweta has been engaged in leading high profile enforcement cases before the Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), High Court of Delhi and Supreme Court of India including representing Meta and WhatsApp in relation to WhatsApp’s 2021 update to its privacy policy, JK Tyres in the Tyre Cartel case, Jai Polypan in the Protective Tubes cartel case, Flipkart against allegations of preferential treatment and discrimination, Maruti Suzuki in relation to allegations of resale price maintenance and Carlsberg India as well as Indo National Limited in leniency applications for their involvement in price-fixing cartels for beer and dry cell batteries, respectively. Shweta also represented Globecast Asia Pte Ltd in their leniency application before the CCI and was successful in obtaining a 100% reduction in penalty. More recently, Shweta advised Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co. in securing maximum reductions for their involvement in the international passenger car carrier shipping liner cartel. She is involved in advising on several ongoing international and domestic leniency cases across a variety of industries. Shweta also counsels a lot of companies in relation to competition law compliance and reviews their business practices from a competition law perspective.
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Shweta has been ranked as an “Elite Practitioner” in the Asialaw Profiles rankings, from 2018 onwards. In Chambers and Partners Rankings, Shweta is ranked in Band 2. According to Chambers & Partners 2022, “Shweta has advised blue-chip clients on sensitive investigations including alleged competitive pricing, as well as merger control, and has incisive knowledge of competition law and all its facets”. She has been commended by clients as an “extremely smart” and “incredibly responsive” practitioner. Another source further emphasises that “she has a great insight into how the CCI investigates cases and is very helpful in strategising how we respond to requests” and she is “highly recommended” for her “impressive reputation”’ as “a bright young legal talent of extraordinary quality”. Shweta has also been recognized in the International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers and Economists (by Global Competition Review and Law Business Research Ltd.) since 2013, describing her as “very knowledgeable and responsive lawyer who is absolutely commended by her peers”. She has also been listed as a foremost practitioner under 45 in “Who’s Who Legal: Competition – Future Leaders” and as a “Thought Leader” in competition law by Who’s Who Legal 2019-22. Shweta was also chosen by the international in-house counsel community as an “Outstanding Practitioner” in the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Competition and Antitrust Lawyers/ Economists as well as profiled in the Euromoney Women in Business Law Guide and the Euromoney Guide to Leading BRIC Practitioners. During the last year, Shweta secured recognition in three prestigious rankings, namely ALB Asia 40 under 40 Lawyers 2021, Global Competition Review’s Women in Antitrust 2021 and Economic Times 40 under 40 Young Business Leaders in India 2021. Legal Era recognised Shweta as a ‘Leading Lawyer Champion’ for Antitrust and Competition in Legal Era ‘Leading Lawyers’ Rankings’, 2022. She was also ranked as a ‘Top 100 Lawyers’ in Forbes Legal Powerlist, 2021.
Shweta has been actively involved in driving policy changes in the space of Indian competition law. In particular, she played an instrumental role in the finalization of the Indian merger control regime in April- May 2011, working closely with the Government of India and the CCI in relation to the finalization of the draft Combination Regulations and associated exemption notifications. She also contributed to the drafting of the national competition policy of India as well as assisted Mrs. Pallavi Shroff in the Competition Law Review Committee deliberations in 2018-19. Shweta also continues to contribute to the ongoing proposals to amend the Competition Act being undertaken by the Government of India and the CCI . In 2019, Shweta also helped organize a series of roadshows with the CCI to help raise competition law awareness. Shweta is also a Non-Governmental Advisor (NGA) to the International Competition Network from India and participated at the ICN Annual Conference 2017 in Porto, ICN’s Merger Workshop in 2020 and the ICN Annual Conference 2022 in Berlin as India’s NGA. She also contributed heavily to the CCI’s Special Report on Cartel Enforcement and Competition in India for the ICN Annual Conference hosted in New Delhi in 2018.
Shweta also regularly contributes to competition law publications and has co-authored leading guides on the law of Dominance and Merger Control in India as part of Lexology’s Getting the Deal Through series, which are key global reference materials for these areas of law. She has also authored Practical Law Company’s Merger Control in India: Overview and Global Competition Review’s Merger Remedies chapter for India.
At the Firm, Shweta is the partner responsible for the Human Resources and is a part of the Firm’s Promotion and Compensation Committee. She is also in charge of the Firm’s Mental Health & Wellness Alliance, as well as setting up the Firm’s Diversity Collective (an initiative to bring awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion along sexuality, caste, gender, age and race lines within the workplace) this year. Shweta also led the Firm’s multi-disciplinary Covid Response Team, which was responsible for the transition to working from home in the early stages of the pandemic and has since led the effort to provide multi-faceted support to the 900+ workforce.
Before joining the Firm in 2007, Shweta qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales after completing a training contract with Denton Wilde Sapte, London and a secondment with Clifford Chance, London. Shweta holds an LL.B. from University of Wales, Cardiff and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Shweta is qualified to practise in India and in England & Wales.
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A detailed experience statement can be shared on a confidential basis.
Professional Membership
- Law Society (England & Wales)
- Delhi Bar Council (India)
Education
- LL.B, (Hons), Cardiff Law School, University of Wales
- LL.M, (Merit), London School of Economics
- Postgraduate Diploma in Law, College of Law, London