Shailaja Lall is a Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and heads the Insurance & Reinsurance practice of the firm.

She has worked extensively in the field of insurance law for over 20 years and is recognised as a leading practitioner of insurance law in India with remarkable domain expertise. Her experience includes advising insurers, reinsurers, insurance intermediaries and other financial services entities on a full range of non-contentious and contentious insurance matters.

Shailaja is a member of CII National Committee on Insurance & Pensions. She was the Vice Chair of the Lex Mundi Insurance & Reinsurance Practice Group (2012-16) and a member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Insurance and Pensions Committee (2014-15).

Shailaja has been recognised among the “Thought Leaders” in Who’s Who Legal – Insurance & Reinsurance Thought Leaders – 2021-22. The Legal 500 2018-23 has recognised Shailaja as a “Leading Individual” for Insurance, which quotes “As a practice head Shailaja Lall is a key name to note for non-contentious matters”.

She has also been consistently ranked by Chambers and Partners since 2016 and as a Band 1 Practitioner in 2024 for insurance matters. Chambers states that, “Shailaja Lall both heads the team and takes the leading role in most of its key mandates, enjoying market recognition as a “very bright” practitioner who is equally at home in both the transactional and regulatory spheres. A client reports that she valuably combines “a fantastic understanding of the sector” with “a very good understanding of our structure” and “a very clear approach.” Legal 500 describes her simply as ‘outstanding’, whereas Chambers & Partners has quoted her clients as saying “She understands time pressures and the intensities. There were many break points and she made sure that we got the advice and that the negotiations didn’t break down”, and “knowledgeable, with strong research skills”.

Shailaja regularly advises on key regulatory developments impacting the sector. Clients endorse her for her comprehensive and nuanced knowledge of all aspects of the practice, including share and business acquisitions, joint ventures, setting up reinsurance entities and branches, reinsurance arrangements, bancassurance and distribution arrangements, MISP and POS arrangements, group re-organisations and her in-depth understanding of the IRDAI’s registration and licensing requirements. She is also considered as an expert who advises in relation to investment structures, registration/ licensing requirements and applicable regulatory compliances in the insurance sector.

She is often invited to share her experience and insights at public events, seminars and conferences and regularly writes for leading newspapers and journals.