Hemavathi Rajaram Shanbhag

Hemavathi Rajaram Shanbhag is an advocate specializing in criminal, civil, and family law, with a strong foundation in litigation, legal operations, compliance, and financial governance built over 18 years in the corporate sector. Prior to pivoting into independent litigation, she held senior leadership roles in the Legal, Risk, Investment Management, Compliance divisions and Employee Relations, labour law compliances, POSH committees of global institutions where she also liaised and worked closely with top law firms in London and India to resolve complex, high-stakes matters, with client satisfaction and organisational compliance as her primary focus.

Her litigation and advisory practice brings this institutional and international insight into the courtroom and client consultations. She has carried forward the same professionalism and collaborative style of working into her practice, where she is not only a legal advisor but also an empathetic counsellor to her clients. Today, she represents clients in a range of matters, from complex criminal cases to matrimonial disputes and civil litigation, with strategic precision, sensitivity, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

She is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Shanbhag Law, a boutique law firm focused on Criminal Defence, Civil Litigation, Matrimonial and Family Law matters and together with her Co-founder Preetham Shanbhag have expanded their presence across all courts in Karnataka.

Areas of Practice

• Civil Litigation – property disputes, contracts, injunctions, recovery, company matters

• Family Law – Divorce, Domestic Violence, Child Custody matters, Guardianship

• Criminal Litigation – quash petitions, defamation, economic offences, cyber fraud, white-collar crime

• Constitutional Litigation – writs, service matters, administrative law

• Commercial & Corporate Law – arbitration, corporate disputes, shareholder issues, M&A-related litigation

• Technology & Regulatory Matters – fintech, online gaming, crypto, NFTs, AI, data governance