Soon thereafter, India introduced its first dose of liberalisation in 1991. NDA was in the right place at the right time and brought fresh ideas from its global experience to India. It pioneered the Asset Management (i.e., Fund Formation) practice and brought the first five funds to India, which were sponsored by Barclays de zotte wedd management, Alliance Capital, GeorgeSoros and Chase Capital, AIG/ILFS and Walden. Soon, the practice expanded to corporate, IP and cross-border litigation and dispute resolution. NDA quickly became one of the top law firms working in the international arena. In 2000, the firm was named Indian Law Firm of the Year; in 2001, Asian Law Firm of the Year (Pro bono); and later, a series of accolades followed. At the same time, NDA’s interest in social responsibility and impact started intensifying. In 2010, Nishith Desai and his son Suril Desai were awarded the Nobel Laureate Prof. Mohd Yunus Social Business Pioneer Award. More recently, NDA has been nominated for the Thomson Reuters TrustLaw Award for the firm’s contribution to developing the regulatory regime for Impact Investing in India. As time progressed, NDA’s focus steered towards Innovation, using a concerted program of original research to find solutions to complex problems. In 2014, Financial Times announced The Most Innovative Law Firm Awards in Asia for the first time. NDA was right there. For the first six years in a row until 2019, NDA won the most innovative law firm title every year. In 2020, the firm stopped participating in the award as it paused to reinvent itself as the most technologically advanced virtual law firm. When NDA won The Most Innovative Law firm in Asia Award, Financial Times wrote: “Ahead of the curve, Nishith Desai Associates, an Indian law firm, adopted its industry focus, or “vertical” approach to sectors, in the mid-1990s, well before many UK firms. With only 75 professionals, NDA tops the FT’s ranking of firms headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region this year. One reason it punches above its weight is because it invests half its annual profits in research and development. Their competitors tend to use their profit pools to pay partners.” As a result of this willingness to reinvest in the firm, innovation has become the DNA of NDA. The firm has assiduously built a culture of creativity and problem solving. NDA’s practice has since been expanded into various areas while it continues to stay focused on financial services, TMT and Pharma Healthcare and their sub segments.