NLU Jodhpur 2007 alumnus Sumit Agrawal left his role as assistant legal advisor to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to start up Suvan Law Advisors with his wife Vaneesa Agrawal, as first reported by Bar & Bench and The Hindu.

Suvan will focus on regulatory and corporate advice and regulatory litigation. Agrawal told Legally India that the firm currently operates from Ballard Estate in Mumbai, with a team of five including the founders. Clients of Suvan currently are those that instructed Vaneesa’s independent practice until now.

He commented: “We see a lot of potential in the regulatory field and a handful of available experts in this sector. One can see the growing trend of new regulators such as Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) being formed, on the lines of successful experiment of securities regulator SEBI Hence, the issues in future are also likely to be similar and equally challenging.”

Agrawal joined SEBI straight after graduation and, according to his Linkedin profile, examined emerging international trends in securities regulation, recommending and carrying out changes to SEBI regulations, drafting regulatory policy and legal opinions and handling contentious work within SEBI and before appellate forums.

He is experienced in handing preliminary investigation of market irregularities, surveillance of stock exchanges and other market intermediaries, drafting of regulatory debarment and penalty orders, and has also been a part of the investigation team for IPO Scam Roopalben Panchal Scam and in preliminary inquiries of the Satyam Scam investigation.