Naresh Thacker is a Partner and heads the Litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution practice at ELP. He is a qualified lawyer with the additional attribute of being a Solicitor (non-practicing) in England and Wales.

Naresh has over 20 years of experience in litigation, international arbitration and mediation; particularly in large infrastructure project arbitrations and post M&A arbitrations, corporate litigation, commercial disputes, regulatory and tax disputes and white-collar crimes.

Over the years he has handled a number international and national arbitration cases as counsel under the Rules of ICC, LCIA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, Swiss Rules and Ad-Hoc proceedings for both domestic as well as multinational clients. He has been part of mediation and conciliatory proceedings at the clients’ behest and has brought them to fruition. Some of his recent matters include advising and representing a client on one of the largest hotel management disputes in the country; and also advising and representing one of the most successful real estate barons in a high-profile dispute.

Naresh’s experience in tax disputes span issues relating to indirect tax, including Central Excise, Customs, Service Tax and VAT. On the regulatory front he routinely advises and represents clients on foreign exchange related issues and electricity matters. He has successfully represented clients in matters pertaining to economic offences before diverse Tribunals and Courts in India, large number of which have industry wide implications. Such decisions have been widely reported in various legal journals such as ELT, RLT, AIR, TIOL, Taxsutra etc.

Naresh is currently active in several professional organizations including The Law Society, UK; London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); International Bar Association (IBA); and the All-India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP). He is the Vice Chair for American Bar Association’s South Asia/Oceania and India Committee.  Additionally, Naresh is a member of the Executive Committee of the MCIA’s Users Council (Energy & Power). Naresh is the Vice Chair of the IPBA Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Committee. He is also a member of Legal & Corporate Affairs Committee – Western Region Council under Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and ICC Newly Constituted National Committee- India. He is also part of ABA’s International Arbitration Committee. Naresh has been appointed as the Joint Secretary for the western region of the Arbitration Bar of India. 

He has been a regular keynote speaker, a moderator and a panelist at several international and national conferences on international arbitration and tax laws organized by LCIA, MCIA, SIAC, ICC IBA, AIFTP, ICCA, Corporate Counsels Association of India, Tax Sutra and the Chamber of Tax Consultants. Additionally, Naresh has also been a panelist at the Engaging Asia Arbitration Summit and the CARDS’ Tour de Arbitration conference. Some of the topics he has addressed in his talks include, ‘Demystifying myths of Institutional Arbitration’, ‘International Arbitration within the Indian landscape’, ‘Cross Border Transactions: Dispute Resolution in India’, ‘The Future of International Arbitration in India’, ‘Expert evidence in international arbitration’, ‘Reining in time as well as costs of arbitration in the Indian scenario’, ‘India’s Arbitration Amendment Bill’ and ‘Asia’s Emergence as a Global Epicentre for Opportunities in Arbitration’.

Naresh is often quoted by prestigious international journals and his articles continue to appear in trade publications around the world such as International Law Offices, India Business Law Journal, and Global Arbitration Review (GAR). He has authored the India Chapter for The Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review published by GAR; and the International Arbitration Global Practice Guide published by Chambers & Partners.

Naresh has been featured as Band 1 for Dispute Resolution and in Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific Guide; recognized as leading lawyer in Tax Controversy Leaders Guide; recognized as distinguished practitioner in Asialaw Leading Lawyers and acknowledged as an expert in World Tax guide. He has been co-opted by GAR as part of their arbitration research tool (ART). Naresh has also been recognized as a Leading Individual for Arbitration and Recommended for Litigation by Legal500 – Asia-Pacific. He is ranked as Litigation Star in the Benchmark Asia Pacific rankings.

Naresh also features in the Forbes’ list of India’s top 100 lawyers. Naresh also features in the ALB India Top Disputes Lawyers 2022.  He has also featured in the India Business Law Journal’s A List as India’s Top 100 Lawyers. Naresh has been recognized under Top 50 Disputes Lawyers in Asia by ALB. He has been recognized as India Lawyer of the Year by Benchmark Litigation APAC Awards.    

Prior to ELP, Naresh practiced as an independent counsel on indirect tax and litigation matters.